itadori and katsumi were all cozy, huddled up in several blankets and lying in katsumi's bed watching a movie when out of nowhere the door slammed open. the pair jumped and turned around, coming face to face with a disgusted kugisaki. she let out a huff, playfully rolling her eyes.
''get up, lovebirds. we've got a mission.''
the ginger left, leaving the two laughing. katsumi leaned back in her bed and sighed, a smile on her face soft.
''i don't wanna get up~''
''come on, the sooner we leave the sooner we can continue.'' itadori nudged katsumi's leg. he carefully took her laptop from the bed, pausing the movie they had been watching, before he turned back towards katsumi. the girl clicked her tongue.
''you're right.''
''where are we goin'?''
katsumi stepped out of her lotus, scaring kugisaki and itadori. together they all stepped into the car, katsumi taking the shotgun (much to itadori's and kugisaki's disappointment.)
nitta akari was the one driving the car. the auxiliary manager had been assigned to help the four first-years in their mission.
''they all got killed by the same cursed spirit?'' katsumi inquired, glancing down at the tablet in her hand. she scrolled through the files. ''both dates and locations are different and the only real clue we have are those doors?''
''does even the door issue have anything to do with the cursed spirit? would a cursed spirit even trip a door sensor?'' itadori added, looking at the manager. nitta glanced at the trio in the back through the rear mirror. ''it's not the door sensor. the door operator was influenced by the cursed spirit and went crazy.it's hard to confirm from the crime scenes whether or not it's the same cursed spirit.''
''ah, they all went to the same junior high.'' katsumi realized, tapping the screen of her tablet.
''so they all went to the same junior high and got the same curse and then it manifested after all these years?'' kugisaki speculated, earning a thumbs up from itadori and katsumi.
''there's a good chance that's the case.''
it turned out that their sole 'witness', had died the same way as the other three and thus the five jujutsu sorcerers made their way toward urami east junior high. katsumi looked around the school grounds, her eyes taking everything in.
''you good?'' itadori nudged his girlfriend softly, snapping her out of her daydreaming. she sent him a grin and waved her hand in a dismissive manner. ''yeah yeah, i never went to junior high.''
''wha–?!!''
the other first-years looked at katsumi, eyes wide in disbelief. even fushiguro was surprised. the cursed lotus user shrugged her shoulders, not thinking it was such a big deal.
''you never went to school?'' kugisaki asked. she grabbed katsumi by her shoulders, staring deeply into her turquoise eyes.
''uhhh no?'' katsumi's answer sounded more like a question. ''i was homeschooled and–no wait. we'll discuss this later, we still have a mission to finish.''
''hamasaki is right. we should focus on the mission for now.''
''oh! we got some punks over there. let's teach them some discipline and beat them up.'' kagisaki pointed at two delinquents sitting just a few meters away from the group. unbeknownst to the group, katsumi slowly walked away.
the girl turned around the corner and glanced around. many pictures and achievements adorned the walls of the hallway. a strange feeling swirled in katsumi as her eyes traced the pictures on the walls. if her parents hadn't died when she was little would have she attended school? katsumi didn't blame shoko for not allowing her to go to school. the girl had always been sensitive to cursed energy and both shoko and gojō feared something bad would have happened if they let her into a place full of negative emotions.
''sumi!'' itadori's voice caused the girl to turn around. itadori walked into the hallway and grinned when he saw katsumi. with quick strides he walked over to her and grabbed her hand gently, pulling her towards the exit.
''we've got a lead. let's go!''
''bungee?'' katsumi leaned over the railing, her blondish locks dangling in the wind. suddenly, she was pulled back by fushiguro when no one else than her boyfriend decided to jump over the bridge, a thin string being the only thing holding him.
''yūji?'' she called over the edge.
''i'm good! can you help me up?''
with a small laugh, katsumi summoned a few of her petals before she sent them below the bridge. in a matter of seconds, itadori was back with the group, sitting at the railing and watching the cars pass by.
''um-'' the salmon-haired boy yawned and slouched over. ''where exactly is this curse supposed to be?''
''have you sensed anything hamasaki?'' everyone turned towards the said girl. out of everyone in the group, katsumi had the most affinity towards cursed energy and she could sense it even in the smallest amounts.
''it was faint and i was barely able to sense it.'' katsumi put a finger on her chin. ''could be a veil of some sort. if we go down there maybe i'd be able to track it down.''
''hey! there you are!'' a sudden yell caused the group to look over towards the owner of the voice. the delinquent from the school was approaching them on the bike and was carrying another person.
''who's that again?'' kugisaki whispered to itadori and katsumi.
''idiot a, i believe.'' the latter answered, sharing a small laugh with kugisaki.
''glad i found ya! weren't you talking about yasohachi bridge?!'' the delinquent huffed out, trying to catch his breath. he pointed at the girl sitting behind him. ''this is my older sister.''
''i'm glad you still remember me...'' fujinuma nodded at fushiguro, and let her brother continue.
''i was telling my sis about how i saw you yesterday.''
''i saw that the motishita family had a funeral ceremony.'' fujinuma began. ''my brother was telling me about how you guys are investigating morishita and the bridge. i thought it was more than a coincidence.''
''what do you mean?'' the black-haired shaman interrogated.
''i mean, there's a connection with morishita's death and the bridge.''
''it's irrelevant. it's just–''
fujinuma interrupted fushiguro. katsumi noticed the girl was trembling quite a bit and seemed to be breathing heavily.
''-i...during my second year of junior high, i went to yasohachi bridge at night!''
chapter 22&23 will be out tomorrow!