Megumi and Nobara were sent on a mission two days after he talked with the Principal.
Megumi, naturally, hadn't told Nobara anything about his plan of disappearance. He needs to keep it a secret and keep himself hidden until the Sister school event. Once he gets promoted to a special grade, Megumi will have more authority and leeway to act against the Higher-ups.
It wasn't that Megumi didn't believe Nobara; rather, he just didn't want to involve her in this mess and make her an enemy of the higher-ups and the Zen'in's.
"Oi, Megumi...do you want one?" Megumi shook his head at her offer.
Currently, they were sitting near the station, waiting for the handler to arrive. Nobara took the chance to quench her thirst and bought a soda.
"Here." Despite his rejection, she gave him an orange juice—which Megumi took with a grumble
"I told you I didn't want one."
*Psst*
As he popped the can, he complained only for Nobara to ignore him and continue sipping on her drink.
Was she like this canonically as well? Megumi wondered.
There weren't many people around given today was a weekend and the time was nearing mid-noon.
The murmurs of people around. The passing train. The distinct chirps of passing birds...the perfect recipe for afternoon sleep. However, Megumi couldn't slack off. Not until he doesn't do anything about his presence in Jujutsu High. Once he disappears, he will have a lot of leisure time to rest and prepare.
The dangers of the world resolved not only around Yuji but him as well. The bearer of the Ten-Shadow technique has made many people hopeful of varying things. And the King of Curses was there as well.
'*Sigh* I need to do something about it when the time comes...' It wasn't like Megumi didn't have any plans against Sukuna. Megumi's soul and mental fortitude are better than the original one. Along with that, Megumi has gained a skill that suppresses any jujutsu technique.
"Why does it always seem like you are planning something evil?" Suddenly Nobara asked while her legs crossed and elbow resting over her knee.
She looked genuinely curious since whenever she randomly looked at Megumi he remained contemplating over something.
"That's my face. Ignore me." Megumi told her before drinking the juice and getting up.
Throwing the container in the dustbin he urged her, "She is here."
Nobara also got up and found the black car halting a few meters before them. From the inside, a short blond-haired woman came out while holding a device in her hand, which most probably held the location of their mission.
"New manager?" Nobara asked, only for Megumi to inform her,
"She is Akari Nitta. I have heard about her."
"Hello, I will be your manager for today. If it's okay then let's sit down inside the car before I start briefing."
Megumi nodded before he walked towards the car, followed by Nobara.
He sat in the passenger seat while Nobara took the backseat.
Once Akari began driving the car, she handed Megumi the tablet which showed the picture of a mansion.
"This place was built for the owner of a construction company; however, after the family began living here, they complained about hearing strange noises from the wall and falling sick often. After that, they gave the mansion to someone else on rent, and the new occupant had the same complaints."
Akari informed the history of the place where the two sorcerers were going to exorcise the possible cursed spirit.
"Did someone measure the grade of the cursed spirits we would be facing there?" Nobara nonchalantly asked with her fingers interlaced behind her head and the girl completely uncaring about the mission they were sent to.
"There might be several Grade 3 and one Grade 2 waiting for your two," Akari replied.
Megumi stopped focusing on the screen and handed it back to the girl before asking, "Are we the only ones given this task or is there someone mentoring us?"
"No, I haven't received any notice about that," Akari responded; this time a bit hesitantly.
Kugisaki snickered, "It would be a piece of cake for you. After all, what's there to stress about Grade 2 when you already have slaughtered a Special Grade."
Akari glanced at Megumi as the thought, 'So it was true' came to her mind. However, she didn't make any comment nor asked for a photograph with him and continued driving.
Megumi didn't react to that and casually said, "Even the strongest can kneel before their foe if they aren't careful."
Nobara didn't say anything about that and the rest of the ride went in silence.
Truth be told, Nobara had been feeling a variety of emotions for Megumi for the past few days. He can be so annoying sometimes...yet at the same time, he shows consideration and care for the people around him.
For now, she knew that he was going through some situations because of his clan and higher-ups. However, Nobara could kill curses for the whole day, but consoling someone...she didn't know how to do that.
"We are here." After an hour of ride, they finally reached the location.
Megumi and Nobara exited the car and faced the mansion which looked nothing less than a haunted house used in horror movies.
Nobara could feel the ominous vibes arriving from the mansion, which could have looked beautiful if it had been maintained well.
"Do we get the place if we exorcise the curses?" She joked.
"You know the answer," Megumi answered before he walked inside with his hands in his pocket.
Nitta cast a veil while the duo entered the mansion.
The eerie silence of the place was making even the air seem to be frozen and the evil presence within the mansion sent a shiver down her spine as Nobara instantly took out her hammer and nails.
Both of them saw the cursed spirits scattered around the place, varying in shapes and grades.
Megumi could tell that there are more than one Grade 2 here, but what caught his utmost attention was...
"There is a special grade here."
Nobara's eyes widened as she suddenly turned to look back at the entrance—and now, there was no door to exit the mansion.
Great.
********
A special grade again?! Is the system trying to kill us?
Nobara couldn't help but ask herself after hearing Megumi confirm her hunch. The moment she stepped inside, she felt the presence as ominous as that bastard back in the detention centre.
'How can it be that two cases consecutively given to low-grade sorcerers turned out to be high-ranked?' She gritted her teeth and clenched the hammer handle firmly.
It was then that it struck her, 'Are they deliberately fooling us to kill Megumi off during a mission?' She looked at the person beside her before uttering a question,
"How far can your clan go to get rid of you?" She asked while continuing to have her senses distributed in all directions.
The Cursed spirits began to move, and they were heading in their direction, naturally.
Megumi releases the two shinigami wolves and allows them to lunge at the incoming prey, as he answers the girl, "They can get pretty nasty. And now, you are stuck with me here."
Nobara bashed the incoming Cursed Spirits with her hammer before pinning a nail in the creature and turning it into ashes. Glancing at him, she ferociously stated,
"If you had informed me beforehand-"
"You would have abandoned me?" Megumi asked, his expression shifting a bit and his dark brows raised high.
Nobara grumbled before she pulled back her hammer and punched the incoming dog-like curse while cursing. Throwing more nails in its direction she spat, "Just get onto work. We don't get the whole day for this."
'Not like it was me who wanted to converse...' Megumi kept that thought within him as he clasped his hand, and using Nue's ability, he released a torrent of purplish current through the moist floor and targeted a huge crowd of low-grade curses.
Nobara was quick on her feet as she advanced towards the second-grade curse she could see far in the corner; waiting for its opportunity to attack.
She swatted away the mob curses that came her way and approached the second grade with her all.
"Shit!" However, she had to stop in her tracks as the cursed spirits, with four hands, suddenly extended its limbs in her direction.
Nobara instantly hammered her nails in the cursed spirit's direction, which stabbed the said spirit as well. However, it was too late, and the brunette was punched away.
"Ugh!" She winced, upon the impact.
Megumi didn't pay attention to her since his hands were full. Two second-grade curses were attacking from both sides. They were bulky and had several limbs to attack.
He was blocking their attacks, and in the next instance, another one followed.
"Agh..." Megumi winced as he found a punch landing on his stomach, however, if he got hit, he punched back as well.
The second Cursed Spirit was sent flying once Megumi used his raw strength to punch it in the face.
The remaining one slammed its hand together, and from a close distance, Megumi found his ears ringing because of that collision.
Finding the opportunity, the second-grade curse joined its hands and raised it above its head to hammer it down on the human.
However, suddenly, from the corner of the room, an eruption responded.
The cursed spirit looked at its brethren and found its whole body now exploded into pieces.
[Khekew?]
Once the second grade turned to look at the human it was supposed to attack, the cursed spirit found a gaping hole in its chest.
Using the cursed tool Megumi borrowed, he stabbed the spirit to death.
"Nice job there," Nobara spoke as she walked to stand beside him.
Megumi glanced at the exploded body of the second grade cursed spirit before he complimented back, "You too. Was that your technique?" Although he knew, he asked.
Nobara just smirked while resting her left hand on her waist.
Their fun time was soon over as suddenly the mansion began to quiver.
Nobara frowned as she readied herself for round two.
Megumi noticed that all the other spirits had stopped attacking them, and for some reason, they were cowering away....or more like they were getting absorbed inside the wall of the mansion.
"Where is this special-grade bastard located?" Nobara asked while holding her weapon closely and surveilling the surroundings to find the cause of these tremors.
Megumi tapped on her shoulder, before informing her,
"This whole mansion is a cursed spirit."
"..."
******
A/N:- I have very few ideas of Arata Nitta's character, and if she could cast a veil, so, cut me some slack.
I will try to maintain other canon characters' personalities and won't be forcing or rushing romance.
And also, about the update schedule, I will try to upload one chapter once a week.
Thanks for reading.