Chapter 50: New Year
Kamihara Hajime picked up the shriveled finger. It was very strange… and it seemed impossible to destroy. Some Special Grade Cursed Tools also had similar situations, which was because they exchanged the binding of "stopping life and not harming others" for their own protection.
Sukuna's finger, on the other hand, was a special case. Divided into twenty parts, this cursed object could still attract Curses over long periods of time, making it an absolute monster.
This was also why Jujutsu High needed to retrieve it. If left unchecked, not only would it attract Curses, but if it encountered a suitable "vessel," the Curse King might return to the world.
Taking out a talisman to completely wrap the finger, as the Cursed Spirit was exorcised by Kamihara Hajime, the western district of the prison also returned to normal.
Ijichi Kiyotaka, who was waiting outside the barrier, saw it slowly disappear, and then Kamihara Hajime's figure appeared from the corridor.
"You've worked hard. Has Genichi-kun already retrieved the mission target?"
Kamihara Hajime showed the wrapped finger in his hand and asked with some disdain, "Is there any box I can put it in? It feels really uncomfortable carrying it around."
Ijichi nodded, "There are some wooden boxes in the car, they were originally meant for cursed tools."
"Let's go then."
Under the enthusiastic farewell of Yamaguchi Takuya, who appeared from who knows where, Kamihara Hajime and Ijichi left the place.
Looking out the car window at the sky, which seemed to have a filter over it, white snowflakes gradually fell from the sky, landing on the ground and on the nearby car window, only to instantly leave a small water stain and disappear. As if remembering something, Kamihara Hajime murmured.
"The New Year is coming soon."
Ijichi, in the driver's seat, said with surprise, "Today is already the thirtieth. Many people are preparing to queue at shrines tomorrow."
Japan, influenced by the culture of that great nation, has always celebrated the New Year. In the past, they celebrated both New Year's Day and Chinese New Year. After adopting the Gregorian calendar, the Japanese only celebrated New Year's Day. Many customs still show ancient influences, mixed with many local traditions.
For example, on the last day of the year, temples would strike their bells exactly one hundred and eight times. This is because Buddhism states: ten entanglements and ninety-eight knots make one hundred and eight afflictions. People believe that each bell strike can dispel one affliction, so they strike the bell one hundred and eight times to dispel all afflictions. After ringing the bell, people then pray and worship at shrines and temples, which is called "Hatsumode."
This signifies the first visit to a shrine or temple in the New Year. Many people, hoping for good luck, would queue up on the thirty-first just to get an early spot.
In addition, there are other customs like eating soba noodles, which won't be discussed one by one. Kamihara Hajime used to have dinner with Megumi Fushiguro and others during the New Year. Tsumiki's noodles were always eaten clean by him and Megumi Fushiguro.
"Mr. Ijichi, are you going home to spend the New Year with your family? Oh, by the way, are you married, Mr. Ijichi?"
Ijichi laughed heartily, "Not yet. Many Jujutsu Sorcerers marry quite late. As you know, there are too many unexpected factors in this line of work. As a Supervisor, I'm a bit better off. As for the New Year, of course, I'll go back and spend it with my family. To be honest, my family is also urging me to find a partner, haha."
Ijichi, of course, knew Kamihara Hajime's situation, and quickly put away his smile, coughed, and changed the subject. After returning to Jujutsu High, Kamihara Hajime bid farewell to Ijichi. He still had to hand over the mission and return Sukuna's finger to the Repository.
The person he met was Principal Yaga. After he took the wooden box containing Sukuna's finger and listened to Kamihara Hajime's general report on the mission, there was nothing else for him to do there, except wait for his reward.
On the way to the dorms, he saw Yuta Okkotsu and Inumaki Toge outside, with Shirogane following them. They were carrying large bags and waved to Kamihara Hajime from afar. After going over to help them share the load, Kamihara Hajime was naturally curious about what they were doing.
"Everyone is planning to spend the New Year at Jujutsu High. Inumaki-senpai and I went to buy some things. Gojo-sensei even said he would make handmade noodles for everyone."
"Salmon."
A knowing Kamihara Hajime tried to imagine Gojo Satoru kneading dough, but found it difficult. In his impression, Gojo Satoru had never cooked before, but judging by his constant assertion of "I'm omnipotent," it should be fine, right?
"What about Maki and the others?"
Yuta Okkotsu thought for a moment, "When we left, she was still training with Megumi Fushiguro, so they probably haven't finished yet. Panda said he went to clean the house; he's going to clear out a classroom for the party."
After putting down the things Yuta and Inumaki Toge had bought, the three first went to Panda's place. They then saw Panda wearing an apron and holding a broom, cleaning. The place wasn't actually dirty, at most a bit dusty; it was more about symbolism and psychology.
With the help of the three, they quickly finished up here, and then they went to the training ground. Maki and Megumi Fushiguro were having an intense back-and-forth. When the others arrived, they had already been fighting for a while, and Megumi Fushiguro was defeated by Maki again shortly after.
"You should review properly first."
Leaving Megumi Fushiguro to learn from his experience, Maki walked up to the others who had arrived and greeted them, then said, "Are you all done? I was going to come and help you and Megumi Fushiguro later."
Panda said cheerfully, "Genichi solved a lot of things with his Technique in one go. Everything's already done over there."
"Tuna mayonnaise!"
Kamihara Hajime was suddenly reminded and immediately asked, "Toge, are you also planning to stay at school?"
"Salmon."
Panda explained, "Toge has already told his family. He plans to go back on the first."
As for the others, Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro had nowhere to go; going home or staying at school was the same. Yuta had some conflicts with his family before, and he had gotten much better since Rika's Curse was lifted, but he also planned to spend this New Year at Jujutsu High first.
Maki, on the other hand, simply didn't want to return to that cage-like "home." A day like New Year should, of course, be spent happily. As for Panda, his home was Jujutsu High. Thus, this upcoming New Year seemed quite lively.
"By the way, you all don't have anything to do today, right? Why don't we go out for dinner? Mr. Ijichi introduced me to a restaurant earlier, and he said the food is quite good," Kamihara Hajime suggested.
Panda scratched his head, "Actually, the sukiyaki you made last time, Genichi, was also very delicious…"
As soon as this was said, it brought back everyone's memories. The others had mixed expressions; it was indeed delicious, but at the same time, the fiery spiciness made everyone a bit hesitant. One could say they loved and hated it.
"It's okay, we can make it tomorrow too. We can also invite others. Didn't Principal Yaga like it a lot last time?"
Then it was happily decided. After getting the location and contact information of the restaurant from Ijichi, Kamihara Hajime first booked a private room. But then a problem bothered them: none of the six people were adults with driver's licenses. How would they get there?
In the end, they had to trouble Ijichi and Nitta Akari, who happened to be free, to drive them there. Both were then warmly invited to stay and join the party, as they would have to trouble them again for the ride back anyway.
"It seems everyone is much more relaxed as the New Year approaches. I feel like the world has become a better place," Nitta Akari couldn't help but exclaim after enjoying the delicious food.
Maki adjusted her glasses and agreed, "Indeed, Cursed Spirit activity has decreased significantly. It's also due to people's emotions and psychology shifting towards a more positive direction as the New Year approaches. I've only run one mission these past two days."
Everyone was agreeing, except for Kamihara Hajime, who had a dark expression: "Huh? Why have I run several missions these past few days? I've even seen two Special Grade Cursed Spirits."
Panda scratched his head, "Genichi, have you been that busy these past few days? No wonder I haven't seen much of you."
Maki scoffed, "It must be the blindfold idiot who assigned you the missions, right?"
Kamihara Hajime had nothing to say, but it didn't matter to him. He had just said it to follow the conversation. Then, the few of them talked about the Cursed Spirit Kamihara Hajime encountered during his mission.
It wasn't particularly important information, and there were no outsiders present. If someone else had listened, they would probably have been completely confused, not knowing what they were talking about.
"A stitched-face, humanoid Cursed Spirit that can speak human language?"
After listening to Kamihara Hajime's description of Mahito, everyone discussed it. Such a Technique was indeed very dangerous; a slight carelessness could be fatal, and Reverse Cursed Technique couldn't even counter this kind of damage.
"Tactical retreat!" Panda said righteously. This was the conclusion he reached after thinking. Maki frowned, wanting to retort, but found that if one's strength was insufficient, fleeing was indeed the only option. If it were her, and she didn't have a cursed tool that could harm souls, the best choice would probably be to escape immediately.
"By the way, Yuta, are you going abroad?"
Yuta Okkotsu smiled slightly, "Ah, Gojo-sensei has entrusted me with a long-term mission, so I might have to stay abroad for a while. I plan to bring back some local specialties for everyone. Do you have any preferences?"
Kamihara Hajime said indifferently, "It has to be a local specialty, otherwise it loses its meaning. In that case, it would be better to just buy it online."
Maki, hearing him, retorted, "I think it's better if it matches the recipient's wishes. That way, both sides will be happy. Some specialty products can be very strange, and you might not like them after the novelty wears off."
The two looked at each other, sparks seemingly flying from their eyes. Kamihara Hajime scoffed, then began to debate with her whether gifts with local characteristics were better or gifts that matched the recipient's wishes.
"Um… couldn't there be something that has both local characteristics and that you all like?"
Yuta Okkotsu carefully interrupted their argument, and the air suddenly fell silent. Kamihara Hajime coughed and asked, "Yuta, do you know which country you're going to?"
Yuta Okkotsu shook his head, "Gojo-sensei hasn't told me yet. I'll ask him later."
After enjoying the food at this old restaurant, Ijichi's recommendation was indeed excellent. Kamihara Hajime felt that this restaurant was no worse than those heavily advertised brands, perhaps even better.
There was nothing else to do after returning to Jujutsu High. The rest was just preparing some things in advance, like hanging shimenawa ropes.
With free time, Kamihara Hajime dragged Panda to play games together. Next was the arrival of the New Year.
The next day, the thirty-first, a beaming Gojo Satoru arrived and immediately handed out red envelopes to everyone. There is also a red envelope culture here, but it's called "O-toshidama," with the same meaning.
One could only say that he was indeed the wealthy head of the Gojo Family. After receiving the bulging red envelopes and thanking him with beaming smiles, Gojo Satoru asked curiously, "What are you preparing?"
"Hotpot. We plan to eat hotpot for lunch and noodles for dinner. Everything is already prepared for you, sensei," Panda replied.
Gojo Satoru gave a thumbs-up and a confident smile, "No problem, just wait to enjoy my absolutely superb cooking!"
Kamihara Hajime had just finished the kitchen preparations and walked out, hearing Gojo Satoru's words. He immediately retorted, "Gojo-sensei, I've never seen you cook before. Don't let us down."
Gojo Satoru seemed unconcerned, "Don't worry, I'm omnipotent… Huh? That smells so good."
"Haha, before that, sensei, why don't you try my cooking first."
"Did you prepare a lot of food? I'll call Ieiri Shoko and the others too. They should still be at school."
Kamihara Hajime immediately said, "Plenty. Call Principal Yaga, Nanami-senpai, Ieiri Shoko, and anyone else at school. Isn't New Year about being lively?"
…
Finally, the last day of the year became very lively. The tidied room was almost full of people, gathered around the steaming hotpot. Ieiri Shoko and Nanami Kento began to have a drinking contest.
Yaga Masamichi and Ijichi also had a small drink, while Gojo Satoru continuously ate and drank the same beverages as the students.
"Phew… A cold winter needs this kind of fiery feeling," Ieiri Shoko, who had an unusually high alcohol tolerance, commented.
"But it might be a bit too irritating for the stomach…" This was Ijichi, who was in a bit of a dilemma.
As for Yuta and the others, who were more used to it, they were doing better, and their tolerance had also increased significantly.
After a pleasant lunch, Gojo Satoru made handmade soba noodles in the evening, and the taste was surprisingly good.
Afterward, everyone prepared to go to Senso-ji Temple for Hatsumode, but this time not everyone went. Gojo Satoru had already said his goodbyes and disappeared in a flash. The main group going were the students.
Senso-ji Temple, being a famous spot, naturally had many people. The queues were terrifyingly long, but in such a lively atmosphere, it didn't feel annoying. During this time, Kamihara Hajime, Megumi Fushiguro, Inumaki Toge, and Yuta Okkotsu standing together attracted many shy girls who came up to talk to them.
It's estimated that if it weren't for Maki and Panda's distinctive appearances, even more people would have approached.
"Huh? What are you saying?"
Panda held back Maki, who was about to roll up her sleeves and charge. The few of them were playfully bickering until it was time for the bells to ring.
The few of them were lucky enough to get the chance to ring the bell themselves. After making their wishes, they sent their beautiful prayers with the sound of the bell into the New Year.
Worshipping gods and making wishes. Although Kamihara Hajime was an atheist, it didn't stop him from following the festive atmosphere and bowing to the clay and wooden idols. He felt it was more like a formality or a symbol.
Finally, while treading on the soft snow, Panda started a snowball fight, and Inumaki Toge and Kamihara Hajime, who enjoyed watching the chaos, immediately joined in, dragging the others into it as well.
As a result, Maki was extremely accurate with her throws, hitting whatever she aimed at. If she wanted to throw it down your collar, it would never hit your face.
Ieiri Shoko, who had come along, exclaimed, "This is youth… and companionship."
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