Chiba isn't as bustling as the neighboring Tokyo. During the evening rush hour, there's no overwhelming crush of people, only a few students walking on streets bathed in the last rays of the setting sun, housewives carrying shopping bags entering the discount areas of various supermarkets, and office workers who got off early heading to izakayas lit with orange lights.
In the midst of the lively scene, there's a sense of tranquility.
Yukinoshita Yukino, carrying her backpack, walked home following the directions Sukuna had given her, while two steps behind, Hachiman Hikigaya was pushing his bicycle.
"This is the usual route home after school, isn't it?" Yukino furrowed her brow, asking. Could it be that the cursed spirit is hiding in the high-end apartment building where she lives?
"Because it's not far from your place," Sukuna replied nonchalantly. "It happens to be within the range of my cursed energy."
He didn't hide his voice; it appeared near Yukino's collar, and no one walking on the street would notice the three distinct voices between them.
While walking, Sukuna casually explained the concept and classification of cursed spirits to Hachiman Hikigaya.
"So, what level cursed spirit are we dealing with?" the dead-fish-eyed boy asked cautiously.
"A level 3 cursed spirit. It's weak," Sukuna said casually.
"What if we can't defeat it?"
"Then you'll die."
"...You must be joking, right?"
"Guess," Sukuna smiled.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Hachiman's forehead. He felt like Sukuna might really let someone die without a second thought. Yukino might be fine, but he wasn't so sure about himself.
"Can I just go home now?" The dead-fish-eyed boy, feeling a bit reluctant, began taking steps backward as if trying to retreat.
"You can try," Sukuna smiled again.
"Guess not." With a helpless sigh, Hachiman stopped pretending and jogged back to Yukino's side, walking alongside her. "Protecting the life of a club member is the president's responsibility, right?"
"You're spineless, Hachiman-kun," Yukino said, not looking at him, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. She seemed a little tense, too. If this were usual, she'd have given Hachiman a mocking look when saying this, but now she didn't. "It's fine. Even if you hide behind me like a frightened frog, I won't hold it against you."
"Fine," Hachiman nodded succinctly.
Yukino hesitated for a moment, a speechless expression overtaking her. She had clearly underestimated the thickness of her subordinate's skin, and even Sukuna found this amusing.
She had Sukuna's seal on her, so even if she got hurt, she wouldn't be in any real danger. Yukino, who had felt some lingering guilt about Hachiman getting hit by her car earlier in the semester, was secretly hoping to compensate by standing in front to bear the brunt of any harm, even if that was just a form of self-satisfaction.
But now it seemed, it might be better for Hachiman to suffer a little.
From her understanding of Sukuna's nasty personality, while he wouldn't truly let Hachiman die at the hands of a cursed spirit, he might just wait until Hachiman was severely injured and close to death before stepping in to heal him.
"We're almost there."
Under Sukuna's guidance, the two of them reached a district mostly made up of old buildings, which looked like they were from a decade ago compared to the taller buildings they passed on the way.
Yukino noticed those cheap, low-rent buildings with only two stories, external stairs, and rusted tin roofs that made her wonder if they could withstand the rain. The walls had turned a dull yellow over time, with occasional stains and creeping vines growing wildly.
She hadn't expected there to be such an old building district near the high-end apartment where she lived. As she marveled at the contrast, she couldn't shake the feeling that this area seemed oddly familiar, like she'd seen or heard about it before.
Not long after, they arrived near a four-story office building. The surrounding area was surrounded by a temporary iron wall, indicating that construction was about to begin on the building.
This office building appeared to be the tallest in the area, but it was clear that no office workers had been there for a long time. The exterior was chipped, the cement walls faded from years of sun and wind, telling the story of time's passage.
Suddenly, Yukino's deep blue eyes widened as she saw several figures walking out of the construction site. Among them was a familiar figure—someone she knew all too well.
"Sister?!" She instinctively wanted to hide, but the nearest hiding spot was over 200 meters away, and now she was trapped.
Even if there was somewhere to hide, there was no time.
The place they were standing was in the middle of the main road, and as soon as those figures turned their heads, they would spot them.
And unfortunately, her sister, Yukinoshita Haruno, seemed to have some kind of special connection with her. The moment Yukino saw her, their eyes locked.
Haruno, with her short hair, walked toward them, after briefly talking to a few people in black suits holding briefcases. She was even wearing high heels.
It was impossible to run now. Yukino stood frozen in place, as if hit by some kind of paralysis.
"That's Yukino's sister?" Hachiman, confused, scratched his head and asked, clinging to some hope. "She seems to have come out of that abandoned office building. Does that mean we can't go today?"
Sukuna didn't have the chance to burst his bubble because Yukinoshita Haruno had already arrived in front of them.
She resembled Yukino in looks, with seven parts similarity, but she looked more mature, her eyes and brows adorned with delicate makeup. Her short hair was slightly curled at the ends, with a faint wine-red tint, giving her a dreamy and seductive appearance.
She was wearing a business skirt suit, and from the earlier scene, it seemed like she had been in a business meeting. Unlike Yukino, who always kept her school tie neat, Haruno's tie was loosely tied, with extra room at her chest that her sister didn't have.
"Wow, didn't expect to run into little Yukino here! What brings you to this area?" Haruno's sweet voice sounded, full of surprise with a hint of interrogation.
Her bright, deep eyes looked at her cute little sister, while Hachiman was completely ignored, which was just what he wanted.
"What about you, sister? What are you doing here?" Yukino asked awkwardly, turning her head away to avoid looking at her sister.
"Ah, little Yukino, even your clever brain forgets sometimes? Didn't I tell you? There's an area near your apartment that's being demolished?" Haruno raised a finger to her lips playfully. "Our company's been contracted for the job, and they gave it to me to handle. Even though I'm just a university student myself."
This woman exuded a kind of irresistible charm with every movement.
Hachiman, feeling uneasy, subtly backed away.
Yukino's mind buzzed.
No wonder it seemed familiar. Her sister had mentioned it!
The strange events of the past few days had caused her to completely forget about it.
"So, little Yukino, what are you here for? Don't tell me you came to help your sister out?" Haruno's smile was perfect, but her gaze held a faint hint of coldness.
What should she do?
Should she tell her sister the truth? No, she couldn't do that. She absolutely couldn't drag her sister into this.
Then, should she lie and try to get away with it? What kind of lie would work to fool her sister? But lying is wrong, and one lie would require countless others to cover it up.
Yukinoshita Yukino had never lied to anyone. At most, she had only concealed parts of the truth. She wouldn't lie, and she certainly didn't have the confidence to deceive the sharp woman standing before her with a half-baked lie.
The girl chose to remain silent, like a little hedgehog facing an enemy, raising her own spikes to fend off the predator in front of her, hoping to make this hunter give up and leave her alone. "…This isn't related to you, is it, sister?"
"Eh~ Is that so? Little Yukino, if you say that, you're really hurting your sister's feelings, you know? I'm just worried about you." Looking at her sister, who tightly pressed her lips together and turned her head away, refusing to make eye contact, Yukino's older sister, Yukino Yukino, couldn't help but smile faintly.
She never really expected Yukino to honestly speak the truth, she just wanted to see her cute, stubborn face.
However, that didn't mean she'd just let Yukino off the hook. Putting aside the matter of running to her own company's construction site after school, there was something else that caught her attention.
Squatting on the side, quietly counting the ants crawling along the corner, the invisible Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Just then, a sweet voice called from behind him: "Hey, hey, the person over there!"
Hikigaya Hachiman shuddered, stood up, and forced a bad smile. "…Can I help you?"
"I'm Yukino's sister, Yukino Yukino~ What's your name?" Yukino Yukino walked up to them and asked with a smile.
"Yukino, Hikigaya Hachiman." Hikigaya's dead-fish eyes briefly met hers but quickly darted away when he noticed the probing look. He looked like someone trying to avoid suspicion.
"Eh, Hikigaya, huh…" After a moment of pondering, Yukino's beautiful face once again showed a perfect smile. "Well then, nice to meet you!"
"Ha…" The dead-eyed boy gave a short, nervous laugh, then silently took a step back.
Noticing his small movement, Yukino's eyes showed a trace of surprise, and then she turned back to tease her sister. She pulled Yukino's shoulder in a playful manner and poked her cheek, saying, "When did you get a boyfriend, Yukino? You didn't even tell me!"
"Can you stop joking, sister?" Yukino rolled her eyes and slapped away the hand messing with her face.
She hadn't gotten a boyfriend, but she had found a parasite who sometimes took over her body without warning!
If I were to bite your sister's finger, do you think she could still keep that smile on her face?
You dare!? Wait! No, don't! I can't let you drag my sister into this!
As she desperately tried to stop Sukuna's sudden bold thoughts in her mind, Yukino reluctantly played along with her sister's teasing.
"You've been hanging out together after school, and you're still not admitting it, huh?" Yukino hummed and then turned to Hikigaya Hachiman. "Is he your boyfriend?"
"He's just a clubmate." Hikigaya quickly raised his hands, making a French military salute. "I came here because of a cat-searching commission, nothing more."
"Eh, so it's the club Yukino formed." Of course, Yukino was aware of her sister's Servant Club; she had connections within the school, including Shizune, who often updated her on Yukino's academic progress.
"Well, let's just leave it at that." Yukino smiled. "But there are no cats at the construction site, so don't run in there recklessly, alright? After all, it's an old building, so it could be dangerous."
It seemed like Hikigaya's little lie had slipped past her for now, or maybe she just didn't have the time to keep teasing them. Yukino waved as she prepared to leave. "Well, I'm heading back to the company now. Yukino, don't stay out too late, okay? Bye~"
Watching her sister leave, Yukino only sighed in relief once she saw the car drive out of sight. "Finally, she's gone."
Hikigaya Hachiman kept staring in the direction the car had disappeared. He felt like he had seen that car somewhere before.
"Alright, now that the irrelevant people are gone, we can go in." With no one around, Sukuna appeared right in front of Yukino's face. He controlled her to raise one hand, making a snapping gesture to destroy the surrounding cameras with his cursed energy.
Even though Yukino had seen this happen before, Hikigaya Hachiman still found it strange to see an extra mouth and eye on her face. But after a while, he got used to it, and it felt strangely coordinated.
"Um, the gate we can enter seems to be locked." Hikigaya pointed at the locked iron door.
"Climb over it, idiot." Sukuna grumbled, "If you dare say you can't jump over it, I'll throw you over myself."
I knew it would be like this. I really was an idiot for still having any hope.
Hikigaya sighed inwardly, "No need for you to do that."
Looking around to make sure there were no pedestrians, Hikigaya carefully climbed over the gate and entered the construction site. He looked around the quiet, empty space before signaling to Yukino. "No anomalies, Yukino, come over."
The next second, Yukino took two steps back, then sprinted forward, leaping over the two-meter-high gate like a professional high jumper. She even did a flip mid-air before gracefully landing.
"No way…" Hikigaya stared in disbelief, his mouth hanging open.
"This body can easily do things like this now." Yukino ran a hand through her hair, her expression also showing some surprise.
She only vaguely felt that she could jump over easily, so she gave it a try. She didn't expect it to be not just easy but also have extra margin.
"Stop being surprised by these insignificant things, alright?" Seeing their lack of ambition, Sukuna sighed in exasperation.
He could slice the building in half with a single strike, but his host and his annoying student were getting all smug over jumping over a gate—how ridiculous.
"Let's go! Stop dawdling!"
Under Sukuna's urging, they reached the abandoned office building and stood in front of the locked glass door. Sukuna controlled Yukino to carefully cut the door lock.
Beyond the glass door was a dark corridor, like a giant beast opening its mouth, waiting for the prey to fall into its trap.
They exchanged a glance before both pushed open the door and stepped into the office building.