Crimson Tides (Malereader X JJK)

Chapter ~ 18

"Everything about this seems to be like a normal mission." I said as Nobara sat beside me, eyeing the tablet displaying the mission information as we sat in the back of Ijichi's car

"Yeah, however, there's information not put on that tablet." Ijichi said, his eyes never leaving the road as they neared closer to their destination "To recap, You two will be sent out to investigate a potential curse sighting at Takayama Town, a town located deep in the Gifu prefecture. Execute it as fast as possible due to the location being close to the family of one of the higher-ups."

I chuckle a bit, adjusting my repaired jujutsu uniform, the same ninja-based one I had during the encounter with Patch Face "The higher-ups sending one of the people they tried to kill to save their family? Ridiculous..."

"Now that I think about it... You did say the higher-ups could've been behind the incident at the detention center." Nobara said

Ijichi sighed "That's a theory."

"A theory backed by Gojo. Come on Mr. Ijichi. Don't suck up to them so much, they can't even hear you now." I said, smirking as Ijichi slumped in dejection

"Well, I hope this isn't another ploy to get rid of an Itadori." Nobara said as she leaned back in her seat, sighing with her eyes closed

"I doubt it." I respond "If there really is a kid of a higher up here then they wouldn't risk us dying alongside them. The only question is why not send someone stronger?"

Nobara chuckles in amusement "I may not have known you for long but I get the odd feeling that you don't believe there are many people stronger than you."

Annoyed, I huff before rolling my eyes "What makes you say that?! All I believe is that I'll become the strongest soon. So naturally, there's gonna be people stronger than I am now."

"Relax." Ijichi intervened "We'll be arriving soon, don't forget to get your items from the trunk."

"Alright." We both respond as I let myself sink deep into my thoughts

'The way Megumi's shadow storage works is that anything he puts in there he feels the weight of. I was able to string together a few binding vows to mimic that effect somewhat when it comes to my Shikigami. Suto as I call him, is my blood bag. The importance of which is obvious. I get viable weights for training, and I can take on the weight of the Shikigami while fighting.'

I can't help but chuckle mentally 'Old man Ikeda is a genius. Without his work on Shikigami, I wouldn't be able to accomplish this. In other words, I'm accelerating the development of my muscles due to having modern exercise knowledge.'

~

"So... This is the place?" I ask, staring at the entrance of the town, my weapons and other important things stashed in the guitar case that dangled off my shoulder

"Of course it is." Nobara said "We should start the search as soon as possible. So I can get back to shopping."

"Then you might as well get some trinkets here." I respond, patting my case "Gojo gave me a ton of cash so I could get some stuff as well. We should be able to afford a few nights here as well."

"Unfortunately, I'll be leaving." Ijichi began before turning to me "As far as I'm aware Kusakabe has begun teaching you the simple domain. If you're already at that level you should be able to cast the veil when you need to."

I nod in response "I already have your number so I'll text you when we're done here."

"Once again I apologize for the inconvenience. Things have come up so us assistants are needed constantly." Ijichi apologized before walking back to his car