NOVEL NEXT Chapter 37: Family I?
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Glory to my chief Proofreader; Solare for he is the one who points out mistakes and acts as my favourite wall to bounce ideas off of.
It really is terrible timing that this chapter comes out right after the previous one, huh?
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2 Weeks Later, 3 am.
Zoshigaya Cemetery, Tokyo.
"Let's try again. Your form is decent but you lack concentration, now chant with me here and don't let up on your stance. Got it?" Megumi guided as he held a hand up into the pose of a curtain.
"Of course Big Bro, I got it!" Affirmed a young boy with light blue hair, he copied the black haired man's pose almost perfectly.
""Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure.""
Both of their voices overlapped, and although Megumi didn't supply any cursed energy for the creation of the curtain, it was still created by the cyan haired boy. The curtain fell down upon the graveyard before them, he heard the young boy cheer slightly at his success.
"Hm, good work Ui Ui, you managed to pull it off this time. Although you used too much cursed energy and the barrier is unstable, this is a good start." Megumi praised as he placed his hand over the young boy's head and ruffled his hair slightly.
"Hell yeah! It's all thanks to you Big Bro, I wouldn't have been able to learn it without you!" Ui Ui said with a giant grin, happy to have satisfied his teacher.
"Mhm, now to take care of the curses inside of the graveyard little one. Here take this, use it when they get close to you. It's a gift from a friend of mine so make sure to not break it okay?" Megumi explained as he got on one knee and handed him a cursed dagger he had borrowed from Maki called 'Slaughter Demon'.
The shadows beneath Megumi and Ui Ui bubbled over as from them emerged two of his Shikigami along with a Merged Beast had been born.
First to be summoned was Blizzard hopped out of his Shadow and ran around the two of them for a moment before sitting down in front of them in attention with a short bark. The second to be summoned was Tai Lung, who emerged from the shadows with a giant leap, he twirled with the air for a moment before falling back down onto the ground in a perfect 'superhero' landing.
"Maximum Technique; Merged Beast: Quetzalcoatl."
A Huge feathered serpent emerged from the shadows with iridescent green and blue feathers. Its body is long and serpentine, adorned with vibrant, emerald-green feathers that shimmer in the moonlight. The serpent's eyes are a piercing Viridian Green and its large, feathered wings blend avian and reptilian features in a powerful, divine form from which flowed droves of Electricity.
"Alrighty then, these three will take care of most of the curses for you. All you need to do is lead them around and take care of any weak curses that slip by them, got it Ui Ui?" Megumi asked, turning to his shikigami slightly as he did so to make sure they got the message.
"I understand!" The cyan haired boy chirped cheerfully as he gripped the dagger with two hands.
"Very well, my brethren and I will be sure to clear this Shrine of the fallen and keep thine Offspring safe Master, I swear upon my-." The Divine Tiger promised, bowing his head along with his comrades who followed him but was interrupted.
"Er, he's not my kid Tai Lung. I'm just guiding him a little bit for his sister over there." Megumi interjected, gesturing to Mei Mei who was sitting atop a stone fence cross legged a few feet behind them. To this, she just giggled slightly and waved back at them before looking back down at her phone.
"Oh? But you act as if you are a close guiding figure to him, and to my knowledge, you are quite close to his guardian are you not?" Tai Lung seemed confused and showed so by slightly tilting his head to the side.
"Just shut up and go will you? You two run off ahead and take care of the Special Grade threat in the crypt at the middle of the cemetery, but be sure to bring it out and let the boy watch you take it apart while making sure to devour all the Cursed Energy you can. Blizzard, you stick close to the little one and be sure to keep him safe above all else." He ordered with a deadpan expression.
"Stay safe Kid."
"I will!"
Megumi watched as Ui Ui and his Shikigami walked off into the cemetery, immediately finding curses and tearing them apart with complete ease. They took special care with keeping the boy safe while still allowing him to do his own damage without holding his hand too much.
He nodded at this before turning around and walking towards where Mei Mei was sitting with his hands inside the folds of his Haori. As he walked, Megumi looked up at the moonlit skies where he saw dozens if not hundreds of crows circling around before spreading throughout the cemetery skies.
"Never thought you'd be so soft with children as you are Megumi, it's almost like watching a different person." The silver haired woman teased as he approached and leaned against the stone fence beside her.
"I suppose I do have a soft spot for them which I don't for most other things..." He replied as his shadows expanded and shot out a small TV, which Mei proceeded to tinker with for a moment as she placed a talisman at its back.
"... So Mei, what's this about? You and I both know that a lower level special grade alone isn't enough to spook you of all people enough to request assistance. And with your connections, you could have easily gotten any old window to teach him Curtains if you wanted to." Megumi questioned.
He watched the TV suddenly light up to show an aerial view of the cemetery while the silver haired sorcerer hopped up onto the fence to sit beside him again, a little bit closer this time.
"He… He wanted to see you again." She confessed with uncharacteristic softness.
"Besides, this is good experience for him, who better to train him than a Special Grade sorcerer? You taught him Curtains in 5 minutes where it would have taken 'any old window' atleast a few days to, saves me more time. A sorcerer's time is expensive, no?" Mei Mei then revealed as she brought a hand up and rubbed her index and thumb together, purposely down playing her first point.
Megumi chose to play along and allowed the dismissal to go past without much care. The two of them watched the live footage of the cemetery as within it they saw curses be eviscerated by the dozen.
Quetzalcoatl was the most eye-catching, they watched the feathered serpent charge up then fire off Lightning Breath, sending Blasts of Electricity like tidal waves that turned any curse it touched below Grade 1 into ashes immediately. The Merged Beast then twirled around with its body roughly as air pressure gathered around it before firing off and shredding apart curses with ease.
Then there was the Divine Tiger Funeral, his brilliant Azure flaming cursed energy shot around the cemetery in a blinding light show as he took care of curses by the dozen without even a bit of trouble, not even 1st grade curses could match up to his overwhelming power and skill.
Lastly was Ui Ui, the boy was currently elbow deep inside a 3rd grade curse as when he pulled back, the curse was gutted open like a fish with the help of Slaughter Demon. While the cyan haired boy recovered, he left himself wide open to a backstab from several other curses, however he didn't even notice their approach as they were torn apart before they could even get within 4 metres of him by Blizzard.
"Just 'good experience' huh? Careful Mei, if you keep this up I might start thinking you're a good older sister. However, you said it yourself; I'm a Special Grade sorcerer aren't I? My time isn't all that cheap either." He snarked as he folded his arms together at his chest, to which the silver haired woman chuckled slightly.
"Well~, I suppose you've learned a lot about the importance of knowing your value after so much time together, hm? Fine, fine~, you'll get your payment in about… Now." She placated in amusement while tapping away at her phone.
Megumi felt a shake within his abyss a second after she said so, reaching a hand into his Haori, he pulled out his phone and looked at the first notification on it while ignoring an email from the higher ups and a text from Satoru.
A smirk covered his face as he read the number of Yen that was deposited in his account, 1 followed by 6 zeros.
"Hm, pleasure doin' business with you."
"Money really does make the world go round, doesn't it~?"
The two of them sat in comfortable silence as they watched a crypt in the middle of the cemetery explode outwards, from it emerged a Huge curse that held special grade levels of cursed energy. Its entire body was marked with dozens upon dozens of ways in which it was possible to end your own life, chief among them being a Purple noose tied around its saggy yet bulbous neck.
"Speaking of making the world go round, how're my investments doing with your assignment? I paid good money for them, so they better be paying off." Megumi inquired, utterly unaffected by the curse's appearance.
"Relax~, most of the upper managers rolled over without much fuss after only a few words and exchange of hands, the rest followed suit without much issue after a little bit of probing and… Persuasion." She said with a sly smile as she placed her index finger at her cheek.
"You mean ass beating?"
"Isn't that what I just said~?"
The special grade curse was immediately surrounded and pounded into the dirt as soon as it made its entrance. Tai Lung threw an azure flame infused palm blast point blank into the curse's gut, throwing it into the air which was followed up on by the feathered dragon who slammed it right back down with a veritable tidal wave of lightning.
Ui Ui stood there and watched in awe with sparkling eyes as he watched the monster be torn apart by the two shikigami, unable to even defend itself while it was bounced around by the two of them with extreme ease. Blizzard himself seemed confused as to why he was so impressed, as to him it was an average everyday occurrence.
"There was even an unexpected offer extended to us from above."
"Oh?"
"Mhm~, looks like one of those old men at the top finally took the time to wear his glasses and saw the writing on the wall."
"Aiming to save his fossilised hide in advance, instead of trying to reveal us to the rest of his fellow skeletons? I certainly didn't expect that."
"More like he finally realised what kinda monster was stealthily taking apart their base, and knew which side he wanted to be on before the shit really hits the fan."
At that, Megumi turned to look at the silver haired woman beside him, who just smiled and shrugged in response. He shook his head for a moment before looking back at the carnage on the TV, not having a rebuttal.
However, in the time it took him to look back at the TV, the final remaining curse of the cemetery was nothing more than an ashen, broken and charred husk of its former self.
Funeral Tiger and the Merged beast were both standing above its crumbling body, sharing a sense of slight disappointment at how easy the mission was. This disappointment was not shared by the cyan haired boy, who seemed even more excited than ever with his cheering.
"Well, now that that's done, I better get outta here. Got some other things to deal with, my time is precious after all. Get your talisman back, I just know you're gonna try and make me pay for a replacement if I take it with the TV." Megumi said dismissively, which drew a chuckle from the silver haired woman.
"Alright, alright~. You know me too well~." Mei Mei laughed out, she hopped off the fence and walked off towards the TV. She bent over forwards while reaching behind the TV to grab at the talisman, while not paying him any mind as he approached from behind.
"Tell Ui Ui he can keep the dagger as a gift from me, you can keep the TV too." He whispered in her ear, before a loud slap sounded out throughout the moonlit sky.
The Silver haired woman jolted upwards immediately and turned around to look at him, only to see his grinning face dissolve away into shadows before her very eyes, revealing himself to be a clone the entire time.
As the cyan haired boy approached with the shikigami around him fading away into shadows as well, he paused in confusion as he watched his sister hold her rear with a smirk while looking at nothing.
"Well~, I may have taught him too much if he's pulling this on me now. Honestly~, scamming me of all people." She laughed out, she brought out her phone and proceeded to type out 4 words. "It's an odd feeling, Pride in someone else."
"Usual Spot, 4:30 AM."
"Uhh, Big Sis? Why is your face all pink?"
"D-Don't worry about it Ui Ui…"
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The Next Day, 8 am.
"Why are we the ones that have to do this? Don't we have people to do this kinda stuff for us?" Nobara whined, she held 6 huge cloth bags filled to the brim with various foods and was surprisingly comfortable with them despite the weight.
"You're the one who left the countryside to live a lavish, independent life in the city. Getting groceries every now and then is a part of that independent life y'know?" Megumi explained, in between taking sips of his coffee.
"Yeah, but because somebody eats as much as an average village does in a week during the span of a couple days! You aren't even helping me with carrying these bags, didn't your mom teach you to take care of women like flowers?"
"I yearn for True Gender Equality. I have no patience for one who talks about female privilege when it suits them, and then complains about someone 'not being a man' when it's convenient." The black haired man declared his ideals immediately without hesitation.
"And besides, you're handling them just fine, it's good endurance training for you. Just stop being a baby." He then continued on while waving his free hand dismissively.
"Tch, whatever…" She simply said in response, not able to come up with a response that justified her complaints.
The two of them continued walking towards their rooms with some small talk here and there, enjoying the calm autumn breeze. It was a rare sunny day with beautiful clear skies after all.
However as they approached their main building, Megumi grabbed Nobara by her shoulder and motioned for her to stop.
"Stop, there's two people approaching. If I were to hazard a guess, they're probably from the Kyoto School. The start of the Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event isn't too far off after all." He deduced.
"Should I be worried?" Kugisaki asked, wanting to be sure that the situation warranted her attention or not as she placed the groceries to the side.
"Well, all except 2 of them are worthless weaklings, and even then the other 2 aren't strong enough to warrant much consideration. I guess maybe the idiot would be annoying due to his Cursed Technique…" Megumi rubbed his chin in consideration for a moment before speaking again.
"…But nah, they're weak as hell. Zero threat." He announced with a smile before downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp.
"Hm, really? Seems like it's gonna be a fire sale of ass kicking in the Goodwill event."
"It really will be."
The two of them stood by and watched as within the next few seconds, two figures appeared before them on the street. One was a large muscular man with black hair in a top-bun and the other a decently tall girl with long light blue hair.
The muscular man had marched towards the two of them with strength and confidence in his posture while the blue haired girl was covered in sweat due to her exerting herself to be able to catch up to him.
"I suppose now's as good a time as any. Nobara, meet some of the members of the Kyoto sister school. This is Aoi Todo and Miwa… I wanna say Asumi? To be honest I'm not quite sure, I kinda forgot." He introduced them but drew a blank while trying to remember Miwa's last name.
"Poor girl, looks like that dude's been running her ragged all day from how much she's sweating." Kugisaki commented softly in sympathy while looking at Miwa's ragged form.
"I-It's Kasumi…" Miwa corrected under her breath, not finding within herself the heart to do so actively despite the fact that she was internally celebrating and squealing at the fact that a sorcerer she admired had known her by name.
Miwa has long, light blue hair that extends past her shoulders and frames her forehead. She also has dark, triangular eyebrows and asymmetric bangs. She wears a black, long-sleeved jacket over a light-coloured button-down shirt and an all black suit with a belt that she uses to hold her sword.
[Image (In Discord)]
"I'm here for one thing and one thing only. It's about time we finally meet Fushiguro Megumi. The man those fossilised higher ups decided to place at Special Grade status like Gojo, Okkotsu and Master. Fushiguro Megumi, I am here to ask you one question!" Todo declared to the heavens with all his heart while taking off his jacket, causing Nobara and Miwa to both tense up in anticipation.
Aoi Todo is a tall young man who stands about the same height as Satoru Gojo. He has a very defined, heavy muscular build and relatively tan skin. He has small black eyes and shoulder-length black hair that is tied into a top-knot bun. One of his most notable features is the large scar running down the left side of Todo's face that he got from harsh training with Yuki.
He currently wore a Purple shirt with black pants that matched the jacket in his hands as part of his normal everyday uniform.
[Image (In Discord)]
"Megumi Fushiguro! What kind of women do you like?!" Todo shouted out with iron clad conviction.
This declaration drew several different contrasting reactions from the crowd present. From Miwa, it drew exasperation and tiredness at the role thrust upon her by her class leader. From Nobara it was confusion and surprise at the unexpected reversal of what she expected to come from his mouth.
And from Megumi, it was a giant grin as he knew exactly what to say in response to this and was anticipating this moment for a long time.
"If you like Men, that's fine too. But depending on your answer, I'll beat you half to death even though you're a Special Grade. By the way, I like tall women with huge asses!"
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Next Chapter Title: Family II?
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