Tense Situation

A few minutes later, Satoru entered the classroom with his usual silly behavior, which didn't show any sign of the strongest dignity.

"I'll introduce the transfer student!"

"Get excited, everyone!"

"..."

"Come on, get excited!"

Receiving no reaction from the four students, Satoru felt a bit disappointed.

Maki and the others were already aware of the news about a transfer student joining their class.

Only Eiji knew specific information about the transfer student. While Maki, Panda, and Toge only knew that the transfer student had severely injured a classmate by putting them in a locker.

"I heard he's quite troublesome. I don't want to liven up the atmosphere for someone like him." Maki seemed indifferent.

"Salmon." Toge agreed with her.

"..." Panda remained silent in agreement.

"..." Eiji, as usual, always appeared calm in any situation.

"Sigh..."

Seeing their attitudes, Satoru sighed disappointedly. Instantly, his depression disappeared, and he became enthusiastic again, stretching his arms and facing the entrance.

"Never mind. Come in."

"..."

Supporting her cheek with her hand, Maki looked towards the entrance.

(I'll just ignore him.)

The door was pushed open by a young man wearing a Jujutsu High School uniform in white.

That young man was none other than Okkutsu Yuta.

As Yuta stepped into the classroom, everyone present felt the atmosphere drastically change.

Maki, Panda, and Toge felt their hairs stand on end, their most basic instincts warning them that a very threatening danger was approaching.

Only Eiji and Satoru were unaffected by the cursed energy momentum emanating from Yuta.

With each step Yuta took towards the podium, Maki and the others could no longer maintain their composure. They saw a terrifying figure walking behind him.

"Haaa!!!"

Rika felt their gaze on her, she turned to look at them with hostility. Then, the first-year students, except Eiji, immediately took action.

Toge pulled down his collar to reveal his mouth, Maki pulled the zipper of her bag and took out a naginata, and Panda assumed a boxing stance.

"Is this some kind of test?"

Maki thrust the naginata into the blackboard, just a few centimeters from Yuta's face.

"Eh?"

A surprised expression was clearly visible on Yuta's face, he still didn't understand why they were surrounding him with unfriendly attitudes.

"Oi."

Seeing him still silent, Maki became more annoyed. She then realized Eiji was still sitting in his seat.

"Kamiki, don't just sit there. Aren't you angry about this transfer student's arrogant behavior?"

"He didn't do it on purpose. Maki, Panda, Toge, you're overreacting."

"Really?"

Hearing his words, Maki stared at Yuta carefully. Sure enough, she saw him looking confused.

"You're cursed. This is a place to learn curses. Not a place for cursed people."

"But... Gojo-sensei and Kamiki-kun said I could attend school here to learn my powers to save others."

"Oh, saving others, huh... That's a noble goal."

Yuta's sincere answer changed Maki and the others' impression of him.

"By the way, you should all back off now."

Standing by the window, Satoru warned them.

"Eh?" (3x)

Breaking through the blackboard, Rika in her Cursed Spirit form appeared behind Yuta with her left hand gripping the naginata.

Seeing this scene, Maki, Panda, and Toge jumped back to keep their distance.

"Yuta..."

"Wait, Rika-chan!"

Panic filled Yuta's heart. He was worried Rika would harm his future classmates.

"Don't bully Yuta!"

Rika's giant hand reached out to crush Maki. However, Eiji appeared to stop her.

Rika's hand seemed to stop moving and couldn't advance.

"Okkutsu Yuta, calm down your girlfriend."

"Rikka-chan, stop, or I'll get mad."

Without needing Eiji's reminder, Yuta tried to calm down the angry Rika.

"Tell her you'll hate her if she doesn't obey."

Seeing Rika still aggressively wanting to harm the people behind him, Eiji gave advice.

"But..."

"It's just a threat, you have to do it."

"I-I'll try."

Under Eiji's pressure, Yuta decided to try.

"Rikka-chan, listen to me, don't hurt them, they're my friends. If you don't stop, I'll hate you."

Honestly, he couldn't bear to say this and felt guilty in his heart.

"No, no, no, don't hate me, Yuta. I'm sorry, forgive me."

The method proved effective, Rika stopped attacking, hastily apologizing like a child who made a mistake.

"I could never hate Rikka-chan."

With a gentle smile on his face, Yuta patted her head.

After that, Rika disappeared.

"Wow, you have quite the taste." Maki commented after seeing their intimate interaction.

"Salmon." Toge pulled up his jacket collar and covered his mouth.

"Such a dangerous Cursed Spirit, I shudder just looking at it." Panda said.

"I'm sorry, Rikka-chan didn't mean any harm. She just wanted to protect me."

Bowing before them, Yuta apologized.

"Well, it's not entirely your fault. We were the ones who acted first, it's our fault too."

Picking up the naginata from the floor, Maki admitted her mistake without making excuses.

"Thank you for stopping Rikka-chan, Kamiki-kun."

Yuta didn't forget to thank Eiji who had stopped the tragedy before it started and also gave advice.

"Even without me, with Gojo-sensei here, no one would have been hurt." Eiji said casually.

"I'm glad I'm so trusted~. Alright, everyone back to your seats. Okkutsu, you take the desk at the back."

After giving instructions, Satoru stood in front of the podium.

"Sensei is sure you're curious why Okkutsu is cursed by such a powerful Cursed Spirit, right? There's a deep story behind all this, Sensei will tell it so you all treat Okkutsu better."

Maki, Panda, and Toge showed their interest. After all, Rika was the scariest and strongest Cursed Spirit they had ever encountered.

Not everyone was like Eiji, who met Special Grade Cursed Spirits like seeing cabbage at the market.

Moreover, Rika was among the strongest of the Special Grade Cursed Spirits.

Then, Satoru conveyed Yuta's past.

Six years ago, Yuta, who was hospitalized, met Orimoto Rikka while passing by her ward. Since then, they became close and often played together.

Their relationship developed to the point where Rika gave Yuta an engagement ring, and they promised to marry when they grew up.

In Japan, such things are common among children. But most of these promises wouldn't come true in adulthood, and only a few childhood friends would actually marry in the future as promised in childhood.

Returning to the topic, a tragedy separated them between life and death.

Rika died in a street accident. Unable to accept the sudden death of his beloved, Yuta unconsciously cursed Rika, trapping her soul in the world of the living, making her a Special Grade Cursed Spirit who always stood by his side.

Of course, the final part was only known to Eiji thanks to Lin Fan's memory. Even his cousin was still investigating the reason for Rika's appearance by Yuta's side.