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CHAPTER START---
---June 20th, 2014, The Netherlands, 1 AM…
Atop a hotel that towers above all others in this area, a Curtain persists to conceal the ongoings of the rooftop.
Beneath this Curtain is the rooftop pool and deck of the hotel, both heated, well-lit, and currently closed to all residents.
However, on one of the comfortable chairs is Mei Mei, wearing a pale blue bikini that barely hides anything and perfectly matches her hair.
In her hand is a small book she's taking meticulous notes in, priceless insider information she can't risk putting on a digital device is contained in this book.
Her book of good fortune, as she calls it.
And a few meters away, sitting atop the steady warm water of the pool, is Taiyo.
One of the only two people she's told about this book and its contents, but over the past few months, and especially these past three days, she's developed a better understanding of him.
Mei Mei doesn't truly trust anyone, but, she trusts that his interests align with hers.
And she would always trust the selfish desires of people.
After updating her book with today's changes, she sets it aside and stretches her limbs, already dreading her long flight back to Tokyo in a few hours.
She lies on her side, looking at Taiyo, who is using his Cursed Energy to sit atop the water, just as Kusakabe and Yuki had demonstrated.
Taiyo's blood-red hair was shorter than Mei Mei would like, but his face had sharp features she found pleasant, and his body was sculpted muscle, as expected of a top-tier Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Mei Mei narrows her eyes at him, focusing on the sphere of Cursed Energy around him.
Neutral blue Cursed Energy spreading out two meters around him, a Simple Domain that's double the size of any other, except for Kusakabe's.
In the past three days, she observed Taiyo intuitively grasp the concept of domains. Then, with a bit more effort, he was able to program his Cursed Energy for his body to react should anything enter it.
His rate was infinitely slow compared to the likes of Satoru Gojo, who understood all of this and was able to perfectly perform it at a glance.
But compared to anyone else, he was progressing quite incredibly, and after a few days of studying him, Mei Mei realized what made him different.
Unlike most who wish to master Jujutsu itself, he dedicates himself to being a student of Jujutsu.
He uses his intuition to uncover new skills and possibilities, then takes time to reverse engineer and understand what he did, and then he is able to improve upon it.
Because of this, he appears far less skilled than many, including Mei Mei herself, but unlike him, she cannot truly improve upon things she intuitively grasps.
Unlike the way Gojo cannot improve upon Simple Domain because he performs it instinctively, Taiyo instead has to work more for the same level of mastery, but can eventually go past it, to the level of Kusakabe.
'He needs time between battles,' Mei Mei concludes. 'Taiyo can uncover skills in the heat of battle, but his mastery falls off a cliff after that first moment. He needs time to study and practice the uncovered skill before properly using it again…how strange.
So while Satoru Gojo becomes stronger as each second in a battle passes, instantly figuring out and countering anything that's thrown at him. And using the Six Eyes to bring his efficiency to perfection, giving him virtually infinite Cursed Energy
Taiyo has to use the small window provided by his intuition to surprise the enemy and end the fight. Otherwise, he won't be able to replicate his feat until he returns to the training field for some time.'
Mei Mei reaches for her phone and checks her inbox, seeing no urgent mission requests.
Then goes to check the details of her flight, and his.
She glances over at him for a moment, still seeing his Simple Domain active as he sits on the water, eyes closed.
Then makes up her mind and changes her travel arrangements.
"Are you making any progress?" Mei Mei asks, and gets no response. "Such intense concentration…" she says with a mischievous smile.
Leaving her phone with her book, she gets up and walks over to the pool, slowly lowering herself into the water and swimming below the surface.
Taiyo's eyes were closed, his senses completely shut off from the world as he focused everything into his Simple Domain.
He pushed everything aside, including the innate sense of everything within the domain.
His brain was entirely focused on expanding the range of this domain as much as possible, and for that, he needed to properly understand it and himself.
Maintaining the Simple Domain, along with the layer of Cursed Energy below him so he could sit cross-legged atop the water, was already mentally taxing enough.
So when he felt a hand on his leg, the Simple Domain instantly collapsed.
Taiyo opened his eyes and looked down, seeing Mei Mei half-submerged, only her face and large breasts above the surface as she smiled up at him, the rest of her body beneath the surface, under him.
If he lost his focus right now, he'd drop directly onto her toned belly, so luckily for both of them, he kept his thoughts straight.
Even as Mei Mei was swaying slightly in the water, just enough for her breasts to sway and catch his attention.
"Trying to distract me?" Taiyo asks.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she says. "I'm just enjoying the pool. Is that not allowed?"
"Were you that bored?"
"I've never found myself bored with you, only curious," she says, while still holding onto his legs so she doesn't float away. "Why are you so insistent on this path? Why do you want to be the strongest so badly?"
"Because only the strongest can experience the most love," Taiyo says.
Mei Mei scowls. "I'm right here, and all you can think about is becoming king and having a harem. I wish I had brought some crows…"
Taiyo smiles and leans forward, using his index finger and dipping it below the surface.
Tracing a line from the top of her belly, between her breasts, up to her face, and ending on her forehead.
"Not that kind of love, and unless I'm made of gold, I can't get that from you."
"You're practically made of gold," Mei Mei says. "After all, you're Speci—"
Taiyo gently pushes down on her forehead, cutting her off as she's forced to hold her breath as he submerges her head.
Beneath the surface, Mei Mei glares at him, still not moving as he keeps her under.
Then she taps her finger on his leg, and he brings her back up.
She takes a deep breath and shoots him an annoyed look. "Alright, what kind of love?"
"The kind of love you can only get when everyone wants to reach you, the kind of love only that glass wall between you and everyone else can bring."
"That sounds lonely."
"That's a matter of perspective."
"For a man without love, you seem very happy."
"With a view like this, it's hard not to be." He glances down at her body for a moment.
"You know that's not what I meant, but thank you."
"How can I not be happy? Jujutsu is a realm I didn't know existed, and now I get to climb all the way to the top to earn that love," Taiyo says. "The gratitude for the climb makes the love all the better."
'No wonder all my instincts tell me his 'love' is dangerous. He loves the game itself,' Mei Mei realizes. 'And if the game is something evil like Jujutsu…he's definitely some kind of monster.'
"What are you thinking so hard about?" Taiyo asks, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, I was just thinking that. It's really no wonder we get along so well. You may be the first person I've met who's just as selfish as me, well, maybe that's not entirely true."
"Oh, who is the other person?" Taiyo asks.
"Suguru Geto, but I think his desire to destroy all humans isn't selfish, but a misguided heroic belief…the hero types are the worst."
"Well, you never have to worry about me being that. All I want is the world looking up at me. What they decide I am is up to them."
"That's a relief," Mei Mei says. "Now, how about we try the restaurant I was telling you about for lunch? Their menu looks great."
"Lunch? Your flight back home is in a few hours, you'll be gone before sunrise."
"Actually, I've decided that I'll be going to London with you, and I've already changed my flight to yours," Mei Mei says. "That is the last stop on this competition circuit, right?"
"Oh, really now," he gives her a teasing smile. "You know, I wish you had told me a few days ago when I booked my room. The hotel was full, so now we might have to share."
Mei Mei stops floating and instead stands in the pool, bringing her head a bit closer to him.
"Well, we're both mature enough, so, I promise not to bite," she says. "How about we make a Binding Vow, if that makes you feel more comfortable?"
Taiyo chuckles and reaches down into the water, gently grabbing her by her sides and lifting her out of the water to his eye level.
Mei Mei responds by wrapping her legs around his waist, and he brings her to sit on his lap, facing him.
"You can make that vow if you want," Taiyo says as he slowly brings them closer together. "But I'll never agree to those terms…"
END CHAPTER---
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