Jujutsu Kaisen: Purple

Chapter 6: Residuals

"I'll b-b-break your t-teeth!"

The boy frowned. He clasped his hands. A black, tar-like substance engulfed the teenager's purple fingerless gloves, creating a dark one-metre puddle on the floor in front of him. The cursed spirit snarled and stampeded in his direction.

"Extension Technique..."

A triad of identical shadow hands burst out from the darkness. The teenager narrowed his eyes.

"Merging Shadows."

The phantom arms melded together while the creature approached, combining their size and strength into a single entity — which formed the shape of a fist before slamming towards the ground and pulverising the monster. Purple blood flooded the boy's surroundings. He watched as the crushed cadaver withered away, its blood following suit. The upgraded shadow hand retracted into the swamp.

"Yukari!" called out a woman's voice.

The teenager's gaze turned to the doorway; Kana and Hinotori stood by the entrance.

The female sorcerer's vision was stolen by a mosquito-like curse. Her eyes widened. "Behind you!"

A phantom arm shot past the boy's head — skewering the apparition like an arrow. Its blood splattered his uniform. The shadow hand casually crept back into the darkness as Yukari made eye contact with his teammate, the purple blood evaporating from the fabric of his clothing.

"Yeah?"

The sharp-toothed sorcerer grinned. "That was awesome! When are you getting promoted to second-grade?"

Kana glared at Hinotori before transferring her attention to the purple-haired teenager. "I'm glad you're okay. I told you to stay near us."

"Sorry," stated the boy. He looked back at the ground. "I wanted to see how strong I've got in the last few months." Yukari stared at the disappearing shadow swamp, his cursed energy contemporaneously dissipating. "I rarely get the chance to fight alone ever since the factory incident."

The female sorcerer sighed. "I understand, but please be more careful."

"I will," replied the teenager. "Are there any more curses?"

"Nah, we're finally done," informed Hinotori while stretching his arms. "I guess that's what happens after so many cases of bullying."

"Cool, let's get lunch."

The boy paused upon hearing his phone ringing. He took the device out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Yukari froze.

It's... Shinji.

Half an hour had passed since the mission. The purple-haired teenager stood near the edge of a closed street, carrying a black umbrella to shelter him from the diminishing rainfall. Beside him was Shinji, retaining an umbrella of the same colour. Parked police cars accompanied the muffled murmur of police officers lurking in the background, along with flashing red lights. A solemn mood plagued the district.

The boy stared at the pavement, attempting to digest the sight of two charred skeletons sprawled out across the concrete. He shivered, his discomfort made worse by the frigid winter air. The green-eyed sorcerer crouched down to examine the human remains.

"It's the third occurrence this month," declared Shinji. "This time, it was a couple of second-grade sorcerers not affiliated with Jujutsu High." He got back on his feet and shifted his focus to Yukari. "Can you see them?"

Yukari nodded. A black, tar-like substance smothered the burnt bones. He glanced at the man, unable to speak.

"These residuals were left behind by a cursed technique. I hope you understand why I called you here."

The teenager hesitated before nodding again — this time a little more slowly. "Y-yeah."

The sorcerers simultaneously brought their vision back to the corpses. Silence.

"Yukari."

Shinji made eye contact. An unnerving intensity underpinned his tone.

"You don't have any relatives capable of utilising Jujutsu, do you?"

The boy shook his head weakly. "I d-don't think so... My parents never mentioned it to me."

"I see."

The man looked back at the crime scene.

"I'm Yukari Tsumeyami... I don't get it. What are you talking about?"

The residuals I found that evening were identical.

The sorcerer narrowed his eyes.

Mrs Yokiuji's cursed technique already confirmed he's not involved. If anything, this may help lead us to him.

After what felt like an eternity, Shinji sighed.

"That is all. Thank you for cooperating. You may leave."

Yukari bowed and left before entering a black vehicle. Sitting in the driver's seat was Miss Yamakado, who smiled and greeted the teenager. "Is everything alright?"

The boy gave a quiet nod. He gazed out of the window, lost in his thoughts. As the car sped away from the district, a single question lingered in Yukari's mind.

What's... going on?