21. Special-Grade Cursed One (II)

On the sun-drenched beach, a table was set beneath a parasol, laden with drinks. Clear, sparkling ice cubes bobbed in the vibrant liquid, clinking softly against the transparent walls of the glasses as bubbles rose to the surface.

Four humanoid cursed spirits sat in beach chairs, each holding a hand of playing cards. Jogo’s brows were furrowed, Hanami looked solemn, Chuuya Nakahara was on high alert, and Osamu Dazai wore a relaxed smile—it was clear at a glance who held the upper hand.

The card table had always been a good place for conversation. Dazai casually played a card while sharing news about another special-grade cursed spirit with Jogo and Hanami.

"It doesn't matter," Jogo said, eyes focused on his cards, dismissive. "A cursed spirit that relies on humans like that can hardly be considered one of our own."

Dazai remarked, "Your standards for comrades are quite strict, Jogo!"

"That’s the bare minimum, isn't it?" Jogo replied as if it were obvious. "Or are you suggesting we bring a human along to our gatherings?"

Hanami nodded in agreement.

Jogo sighed, "You really are quite attentive to our new companions, Dazai!"

Dazai glanced at Chuuya, saying brazenly, "Indeed, that is the kind of warm-hearted... cursed spirit I am."

Chuuya caught the imperceptible pause in Dazai’s voice and let out a scoff.

Hanami asked with concern, "Dazai, Chuuya, do you two still not get along?"

Chuuya said firmly, "We never have."

Dazai pointed a finger. "It’s clearly Chuuya whose attitude is the problem."

Chuuya retorted angrily, "As if you’re any better!"

Dazai looked perfectly innocent. "I’m incredibly kind. If you don't believe me, ask Hanami."

Hanami nodded and said to Chuuya, "Dazai has always cared very much about you, Chuuya."

Chuuya made an expression that defied description, casting a defiant, sidelong glance at Dazai, who was suppressing a smirk.

Dazai feigned hurt. "That’s just how Chuuya is, which is exactly why I hate him the most!"

Chuuya replied without hesitation and out of habit, "The feeling is mutual—I hate you the most, too!"

Hanami looked worried about the relationship between the two companions.

Jogo rolled his singular, large eye with blatant exaggeration. "Hanami, don't mind them. I’ve never seen two people who claim to hate each other spend every waking moment together!"

Chuuya: ...

Dazai: ...

As expected of a cursed spirit who had lived for who knows how many years, he had hit the nail on the head.

The relaxed smile on Dazai's face stiffened slightly. Chuuya, who had been feeling a bit awkward, saw Dazai’s expression and broke into a smug, gloating smile.

Dazai threw down his final card. "I win."

"Tch!" Jogo tossed his cards onto the table, protesting, "How is it you again?!"

Hanami put down his hand with a look of regret.

Dazai glanced at Chuuya and boasted nonchalantly, "Can't help it. I’m just that brilliant."

"Show-off!" Chuuya muttered.

Dazai said hypocritically, "There’s no sense of achievement in showing off to you, Chuuya."

Chuuya snapped back quickly, "Who are you calling an idiot, Dazai?!"

Dazai mocked, "Your reflexes are suddenly quite sharp when it comes to that!"

Jogo’s head began to buzz from listening to their bickering. Dagon, who had been soaking in the sea alone because he lacked hands to hold cards, poked his head above the water to look at the beach with a blank expression. Hanami looked as though he wanted to intervene but didn't know how to start.

"You two..." Finally, veins bulged on Jogo’s forehead, and thin wisps of white smoke began to rise from the volcano on his head. He roared, unable to endure it any longer, "Stop acting like there’s no one else around! If you get along so poorly, then just go your separate ways!"

Dazai and Chuuya glared at each other. Dazai complained, "That’s easy for you to say, Jogo. You and Hanami are together all day, too."

"We don't argue," Jogo said.

"Yes, yes, inseparable as glue!" Dazai sounded envious. "Must be nice, unlike Chuuya and me..."

"And whose fault is that?" Chuuya snapped. "If you had a temper as good as Hanami's, we wouldn't be fighting!"

Dazai questioned him with righteous indignation, "Is Chuuya saying he has no responsibility here?! I couldn't possibly start an argument all by myself!"

"You just said yourself that you can't start one alone!"

"I'm saying Chuuya bears half the responsibility!"

"You're the one who always picks the fight first!"

"Are you being reasonable, Chuuya?!"

"I don't need to be reasonable with you! It’s a curse that I met you the moment I was born!"

"Are you saying I shouldn't have waited for you to be born?!"

Ignored once more, the volcano on Jogo’s head shifted from thin wisps of smoke to thick white fog; it looked as if it were about to erupt.

Dagon watched with wide, bewildered eyes as his two companions turned the beach upside down with their argument.

Hanami sighed deeply and urged, "Dazai, Chuuya, please stop fighting."

"Hanami and Jogo are so close, they can't possibly understand our relationship!" Dazai asked, "Are we the only special-grade cursed spirits with intelligence?"

"What else?" Jogo said. "Special-grade spirits are rare to begin with, and finding one with intelligence is even harder."

Dazai: "So we just have to endure it even if our personalities clash?"

Chuuya: "It’s clearly me who’s enduring you!"

Jogo tried to make them solve their problems the way cursed spirits do: "Why don't you two just have a fight!"

Taking Jogo’s advice, and under the weary gazes of the other three spirits, Dazai and Chuuya left Dagon’s domain to find a place to settle their dispute.

"Well? Are we going to fight, Dazai?" Once they were far from the others, Chuuya looked at Dazai with an eager grin.

"I certainly won't!" Dazai refused to be beaten up. "If your hands are itching, go fight Jogo."

Chuuya asked teasingly, "What’s wrong? Bitter because your plan failed?"

Dazai arched an eyebrow, his expression naturally carrying a touch of arrogance. He asked calmly, "Chuuya, have my plans ever failed?"

Chuuya’s gaze rested on his face, and unable to refute him, he pursed his lips. "Then what are we doing now?"

"Going to see the person who was cursed by that spirit." Having figured out the perspective of orthodox special-grade spirits like Jogo and Hanami toward spirits like 'Rika,' Dazai was even more convinced that someone was using 'Rika' to divert Gojo Satoru’s attention away from them.

Since the other party wanted to keep Gojo away from them, tracking the clues left by Gojo would eventually lead to a breakthrough.

Chuuya said, itching for action, "Are we going to Tokyo Jujutsu High?"

"Does Chuuya have to be so high-profile?" Dazai said helplessly. "Obviously, we wait for him to come out!"