BXBX NOVEL Chapter 26: NO. 26 - The Ends Justify The Means?
Chapter 26: NO. 26 - The Ends Justify The Means?
A negative multiplied by another negative creates a positive. That should mean that I should be able to multiply my cursed energy by itself to create reversed cursed energy.
Sadly, it wasn't that simple.
Reversed Cursed Energy, or RCT, is mainly used to heal oneself or another. The latter is much harder to do, considering only three characters could do so in JJK.
Those being Shoko, Yuta, and Sukuna. Not even the strongest sorcerer of the modern era, Gojo Satoru, could heal someone else with his RCT.
RCT is capable of healing large wounds, poison effects, or even healing an entire lost limb's back. Thus making having the RCT in your arsenal a massive boon.
There was also another bonus effect of the RCT besides healing.
That is the ability to fuel one's cursed technique with positive energy to create its reversal. Gojo's Reversal: Red is a prime example.
The only caveat of RCT is its formidable complexity. It's incredibly hard to use and understand, a challenge that only a handful of jujutsu sorcerers in JJK have managed to overcome. Those sorcerers were either geniuses or extremely talented at jujutsu.
The skill ceiling on this technique was practically among the stars, considering that I've failed to grasp how to use it over the past six years. Not even the boost of CE understanding granted to me from a Black Flash helped me get any closer to understanding the core of cursed energy.
"I really hope I don't have to be nearly killed like Gojo to understand RCT. Even then, I doubt it's a guaranteed skill to learn when I'm bleeding out."
Standing atop the rooftop of an old building in my jujutsu uniform, I leaned against the gritty concrete, letting the cool evening air wash over me. Before me sprawled the city of Osaka, its skyline punctuated by a blend of sleek glass towers and aged brick structures, each one telling a story of its own.
Cars raced along the avenues, their headlights streaking past like shooting stars against the darkness. I could hear the distant echoes of laughter and conversation, hints of life woven into the fabric of the night. The aromas of street food wafted up, teasing my senses with the promise of adventure and indulgence.
"There he is."
I looked down at a lone male student with black, unkempt hair. He had a striking resemblance to Izuku that one wouldn't be remiss in assuming Hasashi cheated on Inko. He was dressed in an expensive-looking school uniform as he walked down the lone street towards his home.
"Hello there, Saito," I muttered as my black tattoos burned to life. Brushing my hair back, I grinned at the unsuspecting student. "About time you showed up."
I raised my hands, fingers spread, placing one in front of the other while my thumbs hooked on one another.
"Nue."
x x x
[General POV]
"Yes, Mom. I'm fine. Just a little tired," Saito said as he spoke on his phone. "I should be home in a few minutes, okay? Alright, see you soon."
Slipping his phone into his pocket, Saito jumped as a deafening roar echoed around him. Saito turned with his heart racing in his chest, just in time to see a shadowy form swoop down from the darkening sky.
'W-what was that!?' Saito thought as he looked around the sky in fright. 'A Villian?!'
Before he could scream or run, thick, a tight pressure latched onto his shoulders, lifting him effortlessly into the air. Panic surged through Saito as he dangled high above the ground from the invisible force, his home city sprawling like a patchwork quilt below.
"Saito, right?" A sudden voice said from above, causing Saito to look up and see a hooded figure somehow standing in thin air above as they flew through the sky.
"W-who are you?! What is this?!" Saito's yells pierced the blowing winds as he thrashed and kicked, but whatever was holding him had an ironclad grip.
Sukuna grinned at Saito but remained silent. Saito yelled in fright as they jerked upwards into the air. They grew higher and higher, up until the point that the city below seemed so small.
"Oh god... Oh god!" Saito muttered in terror as his body came to a stop in place in the sky. "So high! I'm going to die!"
"Heh, don't worry. You won't die." Sukuna said as she looked down at Saito with a grin. "That is if you do as I say."
"W-what do you want?"
"It's simple really. A month and a half ago, a girl named Toga Himiko stabbed you and drank your blood. Allegedly," Sakuna said as his voice turned cold and uncaring, a far cry from the playful tone he had before. "You're going to drop all charges against her, and you're going to tell the police that you attacked her. Acting in self-defense, she defended herself with a boxcutter she found on the ground. There was a struggle, and you ended up stabbed. Toga then tried to help you, but it was misinterpreted as her drinking your blood by a scared and confused onlooker."
"What!? That's not what happened! That psycho-"
Saito was interrupted when his left shoulder was suddenly released, causing him to yell as he swung around from solely his right shoulder. His old stab wound burned to life, sending pain through his chest. Saito's eyes turned down to the city below, and fear began to squeeze his throat.
"Don't drop me! Help!" Saito screamed as tears streamed from his eyes.
"Tell me, Saito. What happened that day you were stabbed," Sukuna said coldly with his hands in his pockets. "I suggest you be honest."
Saito's eyes grew wide and finally closed with resignation.
"I-I... I attacked Toga-san... she was scared and defended herself. She s-stabbed me in self-defense. It was my fault. Not hers! Sa-Sayaka-chan was confused about what she saw that day... Toga-san was trying to help me. Not d-drink my blood. That's what h-happened."
"Good, very good. Now that your memory has been refreshed, I suggest you talk to the Detective in charge of your case and enlighten him about what actually happened. Is that understood?" Sukuna said as Saito felt the invisible force on his right shoulder began to loosen.
"Yes! Yes, I understand!"
"Excellent. Oh, and Saito." Sukuna leaned down to peer at Saito with a steady gaze. "Don't think about telling anyone about this or going back on your word. Because I will find you and your family. Trust me, you don't want that to happen."
Saito looked away from Sukuna's terrifying, cold eyes and nodded. His cries overtook his ability to speak correctly.
"I'm glad you understand. Now, let me take you home. I'm sure you don't want to keep that dear mother and that sweat little brother of yours waiting." Sukuna said as they began flying through the now night sky. "Don't worry about Sayaka; her story will match yours. Trust me."
x x x
[General POV]
Detective Ige Yoichi slumped into his worn-out armchair, the kind that had molded to his body over the years. His grey hair, once full, was beginning to thin at the temples. His once-bright eyes now seem dulled, with dark circles forming beneath them as he looked around his home.
The faint light from the streetlamp outside cast long shadows in the dimly lit living room, where the clock ticked away in a steady rhythm. Yoichi's coat was crumpled on the floor.
He surveyed the room, a mix of unwashed coffee mugs and scattered case files cluttering the coffee table, each one a testament to the relentless grind of his job. The harsh memories of the day – crime scenes that haunted him, the grief-stricken faces of victims' families – flickered through his thoughts like an old film reel. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension coiled there.
Standing up, Yoichi passed his coffee table, where several past-due medical bills sat alongside a framed picture. The picture was of Yoichi, a brown-haired woman, and a little girl hugging a teddy bear. The picture was what one could call the perfect family.
Stepping out to his balcony, Yoichi pulled out a box of cigars and slid out a stick. Lighting it with a small, engraved lighter. Yoichi placed the cigarette in his mouth and took a long drag.
Each minute felt like an hour, each hour a lifetime. Yoichi recalled the nights they used to spend together, reading his daughter her favorite stories as she snuggled close, her giggles echoing through the house.
Now, all he could do was pray for her recovery, reliving moments of joy that seemed so distant now. Thinking of his sick daughter, Yoichi felt a growing headache.
'What if the doctors couldn't find the right treatment? What if... no, I can't let myself think that way.' Yoichi thought as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Having finished his current cigarette, Yoichi pulled out another. Just as he was about to light it on, the lights within his house turned off. Looking over his shoulder through his glass sliding door, Yoichi froze. He then took a deep breath to calm himself and walked inside.
'Calm down. I must have forgotten to pay the electric bill.' Yoichi thought as he walked over to the light switch on the wall.
Flipping it, he froze when he saw a hooded figure sitting on his recliner, the framed picture of his long-dead wife and daughter in his gloved hand. Glancing over where he left his service weapon, Yoichi began to slowly slide over to it.
"Don't," Sukuna said as he placed the frame down on the recliner's armrest. "You'll be dead before you get anywhere close."
"Who are you?" Yoichi hissed, his nerves firing. Despite his fear, he kept himself calm. His decade's worth of police experience kicked in. "What are you doing in my home?"
Sukuna ignored him in favor of lifting up one of his newest case files. Yoichi recognized it immediately; it was the Toga family case. "I'm here to talk to you about this. You will come upon a sudden breakthrough with the case tomorrow. Shuji Saito and Emiko Sayaka can no longer continue the lie, and they will finally tell the truth about what happened that night when young Saito attacked Toga Himiko. I believe their confessions will finally close the case."
Yoichi swallowed the built-up saliva in his mouth, his face covered in a nervous sweat. "What have you done to those children?"
"Me? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. I merely suggested they come clean. Embrace the truth." Sukuna said as he rose to his feet. Yoichi noticed the black tattoos on his lower face. "Your job, Detective, is to use their confessions to clear Toga Himiko's name. Drop all of the criminal charges on her."
"...you're asking me to twist the truth. Cover Toga Himiko's crimes." Yoichi grits out, his hands clenched into fists. "I refuse."
Sukuna grinned at his response as if expecting it. He then reached into his jacket pocket and brought a smartphone. On the screen was a video. A live video. Yoichi's eyes slowly grew wide in terror as he saw the live feed on the phone.
The video was of someone recording his sleeping daughter in her hospital room from outside her private room. The video then shifted to show a masked person looking down at the camera before moving back to the young, sick girl.
"This is your daughter, right? I'm sorry to hear about the cancer. It's just not fair." Sukuna said as he tossed the phone at Yoichi. The man quickly caught the device, his face contorted in fear and worry. "Kyushu University Hospital. A very good hospital. A very expensive hospital." Sukuna walked over to the coffee shop where several unpaid bills were sitting. He then threw down a photo of Yoichi talking to several tattooed men. "Now, why would a highly decorated detective like yourself be seen talking to the local Yakuza?"
"...I borrowed money from them," Yoichi said in defeat as he slowly fell to his knees. "I was there to pay off some of my debt."
Slam!
Yoichi jumped when a black duffle bag full of several stacks of 10,000-dollar yen bills was dropped on his coffee table.
"There. Your debt is paid." Sukuna said as he looked over at Yoichi. "There will even be enough left to pay off those pesky hospital bills for your little girl. Maybe even some for her university tuition."
"...why are you doing this?"
Sukuna said nothing and walked over to stand beside Yoichi. Sukuna then grabbed the top of his hood and pulled it back to reveal his young, tattooed face.
"You know who I am?"
"...yes. Those tattoos. Those clothes... You're him. You're Sukuna."
"Correct. You do know what me showing you my face means, don't you?"
Yoichi looked away from Sukuna's cold, expressionless face and nodded.
The seasoned Detective knew what Sukuna was implying. Now that he knew what he looked like, Yoichi and, by extension, his daughter's lives now belonged in the hands of this competent and dangerous individual.
Detective Ige Yoichi was now in Sukuna's pocket.
"...I do."
"Good. Now, here's what you're going to do for me."
x x x
[Shimizu Souta POV]
I slid down a brick wall in some dirty alleyway with a groan. I yanked my hood off my head as my tattoos melted away. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my forearm and let out a long sigh.
"Damn, that was harder than I thought."
I, of course, had no real intentions of hurting any of the people I threatened tonight. It was all a big bluff in the guise of the threat of bloody murder.
Yes, a bluff...
While I may have gone a bit overboard with Saito, my whole plan relied on him following through. His confession was pivotal for the case to be thrown out to ensure Himiko's freedom. While I did feel a bit bad about turning him into the attacker and possibly ruining his life, I quickly didn't care.
Himiko came first.
That meant I had to put the fear of god into him.
When it came to threatening Sayaka, the girl who witnessed Himiko drinking from Saito like a cup of juice, I kinda ended up making her cry. Like a lot. Damn girl was an ugly cryer. But at least I knew she wouldn't talk.
Threatening to burn her house down with her and her family inside was rather effective.
I was worried things were going to get dicey when it came to the Detective, thankfully, my carefully crafted plan worked to get him in my back pocket.
Sure, it cost me a bag of cash and beating up a crew of Yukuza, but it was a long-term investment. He would be my prime source of information when it came to the police or any ongoing investigations with the heroes.
Hopefully, my money would help his kid...
Oh, look. I do have a heart.
As insurance, I had a crow watching each of them just to be safe.
Despite not completely agreeing with my evil methods, I couldn't disagree that they were effective in getting my chess pieces to move where I wanted them to. The only piece left was to take down the king piece.
The king piece being Himiko's parents.
This time, however, I was rather excited about threatening them. Depending on how they reacted, I wouldn't be opposed to actually going through with my threats.
"Now then..." I pulled out my phone and looked up the Toga family name. "Where to start."
-
AN:
I want to say I'm shocked you guys got your second bonus Chapter in a day, but at this point, I shouldn't be. That makes three new Chapters in one day! You'll run out of your weekly supply at this rate.
Anyways, let me hear your thoughts and opinions on this Chapter. This was one of the harder ones to write for me so some feedback would be appreciated.
Until next time!