11 The One They Left Behind

In a big dark room with one well-lit centre surrounded by Shoji, stood one man.

He was a tall man with spiked brown hair and sharp dark eyes. He wore a dusty brown peacoat over a white dress shirt with a jade necktie, black pants, and black shoes.

His name is Atsuya Kusakabe, a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer without a Cursed Technique. He was considered by some to be the Strongest Grade 1 Sorcerer with his mastery of the New Shadow Style. 

Today was his day off, so normally he would be at home, lazing on his couch but he was sent a message to arrive at Jujutsu Headquarters before the Higher Ups.

'I don't think I did anything to annoy them. I'm far too unimportant for them to care about.'

One of the higher-ups behind Shoji spoke up, "Atsuya Kusakabe, correct?"

"Yes, that is me. What do you honourable elders want of me?" Kusakabe said with the utmost reverence as any less would anger some of them. He might even be executed.

"You have been chosen to mentor Megumi Zenin in the New Shadow Style for three years. You will have to teach him in the Zenin Household and will be rewarded accordingly."

'That isn't too bad. I could get some easy money without having to risk my life exorcising curses. The number of reported cases of Grade 1 and Special Grade Curses has been steadily on the rise. Gojo Satoru can deal with them instead of someone like me.'

"Thank you all for this opportunity," Kusakabe said while bowing down. 

Kusakabe was then permitted to leave and did just that as lingering around wouldn't be good for him.

***

I lay down on my bed while looking at the ceiling. 

Yesterday, The Hei jumped me. They didn't even give me a moment to breathe or let me use my cursed technique. Of course, I tried to use my Shadow Defence but Ranta kept paralyzing me with his cursed technique. So I couldn't use the combination stance for Simple Domain and Falling Blossom Emotion which meant that I couldn't pull it off. Of course, I could have defeated all of them in a one-on-one fight, but in JJK you can never expect a fair fight. 

Today is no different. I was peacefully sleeping in my bed before my instincts warned me of danger. They sent a Kukuru (Unit with no Cursed Techniques) member to attack me while I was unprepared. Luckily I managed to wake up and dodge his attack. Then knocked him out with a strike to the back of his neck.

I was now lying on my bed with a random knocked-out dude on the ground. In this relative calm, I could think about some things that have been bothering me since I migrated here.

'Who am I?'

I didn't remember much about my past life. All I knew was that I watched JJK and how I died. I remember getting stabbed in the back while minding my business and waking up as Megumi.

'Why don't I remember anything else? I don't even know my previous name, face or if I even had friends or family. Was I traumatised by my death or something that caused me to forget? I don't feel traumatised…'

I stopped thinking when I heard some footsteps getting closer to my room.

'One of them is light and kind of rushed. She must be my attendant. The other is heavy, but controlled and at a steady pace.'

I then heard a familiar voice speak, "Young Master Megumi, I have brought Atsuya Kusakabe. He's here to teach you about the New Shadow Style."

"You can come in."

They came into my room and noticed an unconscious man on the ground. 

My attendant didn't show any surprise and Kusakabe looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a judging look.

"Don't look at me like that. It's not what it looks like. This is part of my training." I say before they get any more weird ideas about me.

Kusakabe didn't look convinced and said, "Sure, your training."

I just sighed at that.

"But enough of that. If you want to learn the New Shadow Style, I'm going to need to know what level you're at."

Immediately I opened up my Simple Domain.

Kusakabe's eyes widened at that, but he quickly managed to hide his surprise and lock in.

"Good, but not what I meant. Simple Domain is an important part of the New Shadow Style but the core is swinging your sword. Let's go to your clan's dojo and we'll get you started."

I took a step but then remembered that I had kept the New Shadow Style Manual in my shadow. I had already read it and its author notes a thousand times, but you can't become a good swordsman by just reading. 

'Maybe I should show it to Kusakabe'

"Wait a moment, I have something to give you." I gave him the manual to look over.

Kusakabe looked towards me in suspense but froze when he saw the manual.

"Is this what I think it is?" Kusakabe looked like a kid who had just got his first comic book.

I looked at him in confusion.

"This is the original manual that Ashiya Sadatsuna wrote. You can see the Kanji in the corner of the first page. That's his hand sign!"

"Why is that important?"

"Haven't you noticed?! It has all his notes and improvements to his clan's sword style. No other manual has this! Look, there are even some theories about a new move called the "Hazy Moon" technique which forms an aura that elongates the length of your Katana!"

"Well, it seems we are both lucky. You teach me the New Shadow Style+ and you become a better swordsman and I'll pay you for the lessons for three years."

Megumi and Kusakabe looked at each other with the motivation of becoming stronger.

Kusakabe would train Megumi on the weekends and Megumi would have to withstand all the torture that the Hei would throw at him during the weekdays.

Wake up, eat, train, torture, fight, eat and sleep. This was the routine they built for Megumi.

Before they even noticed, three years had gone by.