Visiting the Shrine

Hatsumode is a Japanese tradition of visiting Shinto or Buddhist shrines at the beginning of the new year.

This tradition aims to pray for peace and luck for the upcoming year.

"Don't get separated."

Seeing the crowded streets even at midnight, Eiji reminded the two girls beside him.

"There are many people visiting the shrine. If you look at it like this, there's no significant difference."

Kosaki didn't feel like she was in a different world, but just moving houses and living in Tokyo.

"Onee-chan, did you forget about the existence of Cursed Spirits and Jujutsu Sorcerers? Our world is much safer." Haru said in a low voice.

When she brought this up, she couldn't help but remember her trauma caused by the Jujutsu Sorcerers.

"Don't get distracted while walking, it's dangerous."

Eiji pulled Haru closer as she almost bumped into another pedestrian.

"Thank you, Kamiki-kun."

"You're welcome."

Keeping her distance, Haru managed to temporarily forget her bad memories.

"Are you okay, Haru?" Kosaki asked concernedly.

"I'm fine, Onee-chan. I'm sorry for making you worry."

"That's good then..."

Compared to her sister's experiences, Kosaki was slightly better off.

"..."

Realizing the atmosphere had become awkward, Eiji searched for a topic to discuss.

"Haru, are you comfortable at the new school?"

"Everyone is very friendly and nice. Thank you for fulfilling my selfish request."

"No need to thank me, it's just a trivial matter."

"..."

The conversation topic ended.

Initially, Eiji wasn't one to engage in conversation, while Haru had only moved schools a week ago and there wasn't much to talk about.

As a result, the three of them walked in silence.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, there were stairs leading to the summit where the shrine was located.

The stairs, usually deserted on ordinary days, were crowded with people on the first day of the new year, coming to pray.

70% of the people were wearing yukatas, the sound of wooden clogs was clear.

Eiji along with Kosaki and Haru, climbed the stairs slowly due to the crowd.

"Ridiculous."

"Kamiki-kun?"

Hearing his muttering, Kosaki didn't understand why he suddenly said those words.

Haru, who was afraid of the men around her, also looked at Eiji curiously.

"Don't you think the Japanese are very foolish? They claim to be atheists, but they marry according to Shinto or Christian traditions, and when they die, they are buried with Buddhist ceremonies."

"They're not consistent and instead mix various religions according to their preferences."

"..."

"..."

Kosaki and Haru looked at each other unable to argue. They had never thought deeply about this because everyone else did it, so they thought it was normal.

But when they thought about Eiji's words, they found it very logical.

"Don't think too much about it, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Not wanting to ruin the good atmosphere, Eiji stopped discussing this topic.

Arriving at the shrine, they queued up to wait for their turn to pray.

"Hah, Kamiki-san, is that you?"

While waiting in line, Eiji heard someone calling out.

"It really is you, Kamiki-san. I thought I got the wrong person. Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, Fushiguro."

The person was none other than Fushiguro Megumi, a member of the Zenin Clan and inheritor of the famous Ten Shadows Technique.

"This year you're a Jujutsu High School student, call me Senpai."

"Okay, Kamiki-senpai. These two..."

Megumi noticed the two beautiful girls who looked like sisters beside Eiji.

"Onodera Kosaki and Onodera Haru, both are my friends."

"His name is Fushiguro Megumi, he's Satoru Nii-san's foster child."

As a third party, Eiji introduced both sides.

"Ah, Gojo-san's foster child? Happy New Year, Fushiguro-san. Gojo-san has helped us a lot."

This was the first time Kosaki learned this information. She didn't expect an eccentric person like Gojo Satoru to have a foster child.

It was very surprising!

"Pleased to meet you."

Hiding behind Eiji, Haru, who still had a phobia of men, didn't dare to face Megumi.

"I'm not a foster child! Gojo-sensei just took care of me, that's all." Megumi denied.

Although he and his sister were raised by Satoru, he never saw him as a father figure.

It was very inappropriate to describe Gojo Satoru like that.

Moreover, if Megumi admitted Satoru as his father, wouldn't Eiji, who was only a year older than him, be considered an uncle?

"Has Tsumiki-san's condition changed?"

"No, Nee-san's condition hasn't changed. So far, there hasn't been any successful treatment."

As they talked about his sister, Megumi felt gloomy.

"I see."

Knowing the cause of Tsumiki's unconsciousness, Eiji remained silent. Besides, he had no way to solve this problem.

Should he use Black Flash to shake the soul of Yorozu residing in Tsumiki's body?

Eiji was sure that if he did this, Kenjaku would suspect he already knew about the ancient Jujutsu Sorcerer's soul residing in a modern human's body and waiting to be awakened.

Before Kenjaku was killed, Eiji didn't want to drastically change the plot.

"I've finished praying. Well then, I'll take my leave."

Feeling the fearful gaze from one of the girls beside Eiji, Megumi decided to leave.

"Um." Eiji nodded slightly.

Watching Megumi's figure move away, Kosaki asked softly, "Because he's your junior, could it be..."

"Yes. He's also a Jujutsu Sorcerer, and his background is no less than mine. The Zenin Clan is just like the Gojo Clan, one of the three big sorcerer families."

"It turns out he's an amazing person."

Kosaki knew a little about the three big sorcerer families from Eiji.

About 10 minutes later, they finally had their turn to pray.

Kosaki and Haru shook the rope to ring the large bell, threw coins into the offering box, then prayed earnestly.

As for Eiji, he only observed without intending to pray.

He didn't like things like this.

After praying, they didn't leave immediately, but visited the stalls set up by the shrine.

On special occasions like New Year's, the shrine made a lot of money by opening stalls selling talismans, wooden plaques, souvenirs, etc.

The staff selling were young girls wearing Miko attire, attracting visitors' attention.

"This is for you, Kamiki-kun."

Kosaki handed over an empty wooden plaque.

"No need, I don't believe in this kind of thing." Eiji declined.

"Okay."

Despite her disappointment, Kosaki didn't force him. Then, she and Haru wrote their wishes on the wooden plaque and hung it on the bamboo tree.

After that, the three of them wandered around, approaching stalls selling food such as candy apples, cotton candy, takoyaki, etc.

At 1:40 in the morning, Eiji escorted Kosaki and Haru safely home. Then, he teleported to the dorm room, changed clothes, and slept until noon.