The station square was shrouded in a light drizzle.
As evening fell, the chilly autumn wind wove a delicate, layered net that clung to people's bodies, making them feel as though they were submerged in the depths of the ocean, surrounded by an inescapable cold that seeped into every pore.
Yotsuya Miko sat on a bench at the station.
She had originally intended to wait for the rain to clear—early autumn showers like this usually didn't last long. But now, she felt an icy chill creeping over her, as if she had plunged into a frozen lake, trapped beneath a thick layer of ice. She sat rigidly on the bench, not daring to move a muscle.
Fear surged through her like a tidal wave, overwhelming every inch of her body beyond her control. Her instincts screamed at her to tremble, but she forcibly suppressed them.
"Hey… can you see me?"
A massive chestnut-like monster, its head crowned with a lantern, stood right in front of her. Its hollow, pitch-black eyes stared down at her, scrutinizing her with an oppressive gaze that felt like it could bore holes straight through her.
Yotsuya Miko didn't speak. Not a trace of panic showed on her face.
She simply tilted her head up, staring blankly at the sky.
"When… will the rain stop…?"
She murmured the words absentmindedly, as if talking to herself, her eyes fixed on the unrelenting drizzle.
No one could have known.
She was staring directly into the monster's eyes.
Its enormous body, large enough to swallow her whole, loomed right before her. Those eyes bore into her relentlessly, and its entire being radiated danger, as if it might snatch her up at any moment, toss her into its maw, and chew her to pieces.
"Can you… see me?"
The monster lowered its head, its tone tinged with disappointment, but it asked again, unwilling to give up.
Yotsuya Miko acted as though she hadn't heard it at all. After watching the sky for a while, she sighed as if resigned to the fact that the rain wouldn't stop anytime soon. Bored, she lowered her head and began scrolling through her phone.
The monster observed her movements. Seeing her completely absorbed in the digital world, it lingered in front of her for a while longer. Only when it became clear that she truly couldn't perceive it did it finally turn away in disappointment and leave.
Not until the monster was gone did the tension in Yotsuya Miko's mind finally ease. Her heart pounded violently, her blood rushing so fast she could hear it in her ears. Her hands and feet were as cold as if she'd just been pulled out of icy water.
"Ugh…"
She sniffled, letting out a quiet whimper.
Her eyes grew moist, but she stubbornly held back the tears.
She curled her knees up to her chest, shrinking into the corner of the bench like a disheartened cat that had just lost its territory.
"I think I leaked a little… I should take a bath when I get home…"
Her skirt felt slightly damp underneath.
She must have been so scared that she couldn't hold it in.
But seriously, what was that monster?
It looked like something straight out of a horror movie—terrifying just to look at.
The fact that she had managed to hold out until it left was something even she had to admire. Most people would have screamed in terror, bolted in panic, or simply frozen in shock.
Had monsters like that always existed?
How come she'd never seen them before?
And why had she suddenly seen one today?
Was it her who was out of sorts, or was it the world?
As soon as she relaxed, her mind couldn't help but wander.
"...Alright, hurry up and go!"
"No way, it's too scary!"
"Don't you want to be praised by everyone?"
"That doesn't mean we have to pick a monster that looks terrifying! I don't care—I want to find a weak curse spirit! Just take a photo, and people will still praise me!"
What was that sound?
An argument?
Miko snapped back to reality. She was about to peek out but flinched at the thought of the monster she'd just seen, shrinking back into herself.
But the voices outside were clearly human, and they were talking about monsters and curse spirits.
Unable to resist, Miko cautiously peeked out, turning her gaze toward the source of the voices.
There stood a boy and a girl, both around their teens.
The white-haired boy stood behind the pink-haired girl, hands on her shoulders as if forcefully pushing her toward the station.
The pink-haired girl resisted with all her might, her face twisted in refusal. Anyone who didn't know better might think she was being pushed off a cliff.
"With me here, what's there to be afraid of?!"
Roy pushed Bocchi step by step toward the station. Bocchi's feeble resistance was no match for him.
"Hurry up! That curse spirit's about to get away!"
"It's getting away? Great! Let's find an easier one to pick on!"
"That's just a Grade 3 curse spirit—already the weakest kind. Even your pet slug could beat it!"
"...Are you serious?"
Bocchi's ears perked up.
Hearing that the curse spirit was weak, her resistance immediately lessened.
But remembering her demon teacher's usual tactics, she shot him a suspicious glare over her shoulder.
This was the same guy who'd thrown her into a basement full of curse spirits without hesitation. Even if he said this one was weak, it could easily be a lie!
"If you don't believe me, go try it yourself!"
Roy rolled his eyes. Who was he working so hard for, anyway?
"Listen, we're not going back until you exorcise at least one curse spirit today. The next one we run into might not be this weak, so think carefully!"
Roy pointed at the curse spirit moving away in the opposite direction, urging Bocchi to hurry up and take it down.
"Um... It still looks way too scary. Look how tall it is! Let's just find another one—what if the next one's even weaker?"
Bocchi swallowed hard as she watched the curse spirit retreat.
Even if Roy said it was weak, it looked huge! And terrifying, with all those arms. There was no way it could be considered weak.
Yeah, compared to this clearly strong monster, she'd rather take her chances with the next one. Maybe the next one would be even weaker!
A person should have dreams!
Believe in the possibilities of the future!
Don't put all your eggs in one basket!
"..."
Roy shot her a disgusted look.
Then he bent down, picked up a small stone, and wrapped it in cursed energy.
"Flick!"
With a snap of his finger, he sent the stone flying like a bullet.
In the blink of an eye, the stone crossed over a hundred meters.
With a sharp shhh, it accurately struck the lantern atop the cursed spirit's head, tearing apart the tentacles connecting it to its skull.
"Uoooh!"
The cursed spirit suddenly let out an ear-splitting roar.
The lantern dangling from its forehead was flung right before its eyes, landing on the distant asphalt road, twitching incessantly like a gecko's severed tail.
Furious, it spun around to look behind it.
"W-what do we do? It's looking this way... Roy-sensei?!"
Bocchi-chan instinctively tried to hide behind Roy.
But when she glanced back, there was nothing there.
Roy, who had just been pushing her forward moments ago, had vanished without a trace!
Panicked, she whipped her head left and right, only to realize the vast sidewalk was completely empty—she was utterly alone!
"Ah, I'm done for..."
"Roooar!"
The lantern-less cursed spirit turned its head, spotting only the pink-haired girl behind it. With an enraged bellow, all four of its hooves stampeded forward, charging at Bocchi-chan like an angered husky.
"Eeeeeek! Heeeelp—!!!"
Bocchi-chan let out a scream akin to a slaughtered pig, her entire body turning ashen as fear reduced her to a colorless stick figure. She swung her legs wildly, fleeing for dear life.
"Sensei! Sensei, where are you?! Don't leave me alone, I'm scared! I wanna go home, mooom! I don't wanna go to Jujutsu High anymore, I don't wanna be praised anymore, I just wanna go home, I wanna go to a normal school!!"
Her wails were as heart-wrenching as a cuckoo's mournful cry, moving all who heard them to pity and sorrow.
"Um... is she going to be okay?"
At the bus stop.
Miko watched the pink-haired girl sprinting past her, her expression a mix of bewilderment and fear. She gulped and turned to the white-haired boy beside her.
She hadn't even noticed when he'd arrived.
The white-haired boy had appeared in front of the bus stop as if teleporting, startling her.
"She'll be fine—because I'm here."
Roy flicked his fingers, and a glowing magical rune flew from his fingertips, forming a simple barrier around the bus stop.
The moment the barrier activated, the figures of the two at the station vanished like a mirage.
From the outside, the bus stop appeared completely deserted.
"O-oh, I see..."
Miko didn't know what to say, so she just nodded along, pretending to follow the conversation.
Wait, what's going on here?
Who are these people?
What kind of situation is this?
Is it really okay for this boy to leave that girl alone outside, letting her be chased by that monster?
From what she heard earlier, he's her teacher?
What kind of teacher does that?!
No, calm down! Calm down!
She might have stumbled into something extraordinary.
Whether it was that monster earlier, this boy who could draw symbols with his fingers and move like a ghost, or even that pink-haired girl in the distance—her running speed was far beyond normal. None of this could be explained by common sense.
She needed to stay calm, observe the situation as much as possible, and figure things out first. Yes, that's right!
Miko rubbed her temples, struggling to suppress the storm of thoughts in her mind and forcing herself to stay composed.
She took a few shallow breaths.
Suddenly noticing the white-haired boy beside her staring at her, seemingly having done so for quite a while, Miko raised her hand somewhat guiltily.
"Um, is there something on my face?"
She scratched her cheek.
It feels clean though?
"Nothing there."
Roy shook his head but continued staring intently at the girl.
The girl appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen, with long black-to-deep-blue gradient hair cascading naturally. Her amber-like pupils were clear and bright, and she wore a high school uniform—a white blouse with a pleated skirt—exuding youthful energy and giving off a quiet, studious JK vibe.
"What's your name?"
Roy suddenly asked the girl.
Miko felt her scalp tingle under his gaze.
To be fair, the white-haired boy's gaze was clean, devoid of any lewdness—not even the kind that seemed to be assessing her looks. Instead, it was very earnest.
It was precisely this earnestness that unsettled her.
Could it be that there was something unclean not on her face but on her body?
Driven by this uneasy feeling, Miko honestly revealed her name.
"...Miko Yotsuya."
"Miko... Yotsuya..."
In Miko's eyes.
Visibly, the white-haired boy's expression turned peculiar.
His expression only deepened Miko's unease.
"Um, is there something wrong with me?"
"No, nothing. You're perfectly healthy. The issue is on my end."
Seeing Miko's anxious expression, as if his reaction had added unnecessary stress, Roy smiled reassuringly.
There was, of course, nothing wrong with Miko.
He just hadn't expected this scenario.
If he remembered correctly, Miko Yotsuya's world and Bocchi's world weren't the same, and neither had any connection to the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. Well, in terms of setting, Miko's worldview might actually share some similarities with Jujutsu Kaisen, making it more compatible with this world than Bocchi the Rock. But regardless, the two shouldn't be the same world—in fact, all three should belong to separate worlds.
"Are you on your way home from school?"
Roy studied Miko with keen interest, as if intrigued by her origins.
Given his experience in the Type-Moon world, Roy suspected Miko might have been pulled into this world secretly, much like Utaha and the others.
"Yes, I am..."
Relieved to hear there was nothing unclean on her, Miko relaxed slightly. Seeing Roy continue his questioning, she answered honestly without hiding anything.
"Is this station on your usual route home?"
"That's right."
"You've passed through here many times? No chance of taking a wrong turn?"
"Yeah..."
His questions felt a bit odd.
Miko felt slightly uneasy, but though the questions were strange, they weren't inappropriate, so she didn't dwell on it.
Instead, her attention was quickly drawn to the fight between a person and a cursed spirit outside.
"That girl... she seems to be running away..."
She pointed at the battle on the street outside the station, looking at Roy in surprise.
Was her remark a bit too blunt?
If these two were in a teacher-student relationship, wouldn't that imply his teaching skills were lacking?
"Sigh..."
Roy gave Bocchi a speechless glance.
He didn't find Miko's words presumptuous, but Bocchi-chan's battle had left him mentally exhausted.
"Sensei! Sensei, save me! I was wrong, I give up, I don't want to be a curse user anymore, come save me!"
Bocchi-chan was fleeing for her life, tears and snot streaming down her face, her wails pitiful and drawn-out.
Perhaps thinking Roy was still nearby, she dared not leave this street—like a kitten abandoned by its mother—running back and forth across the wide road, trying to summon her teacher back with her desperate cries.
She completely failed to notice.
The speed at which she was unconsciously reinforcing her legs with cursed energy rivaled that of a speeding car, far surpassing the cursed spirit's capabilities.
The cursed spirit chased desperately behind, exerting all its strength yet unable to match even half her speed. It had stopped at an intersection, panting heavily, glaring at Bocchi-chan as if she were its mortal enemy.
Only Bocchi-chan remained, sprinting back and forth across the road, unable to muster the courage to even glance at the cursed spirit.
"This is her first time dealing with a cursed spirit... she lacks experience..."
Roy wore an awkward expression, offering Miko this explanation at least.
He couldn't let her misunderstand his teaching abilities.
Hearing this, Miko suddenly understood.
"I see, no wonder she's acting like a rookie soldier on their first battlefield... Shouldn't we help her?"