Jujutsu Kaisen: Reincarnated as Hajime Kashimo Chapter 10 10: Are You All Right?

"Kashimo, just... how much further?" Rinzo called out, her voice thin with exhaustion. Her legs had turned to jelly, and every step felt like she was wading through deep mud.

Kashimo stopped and looked back. The girl was a ss. She stood with her hands on her knees, face flushed and hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. She looked like she'd been dragged through a river, staring at him with a desperate, pleading expression.

Kashimo rubbed his chin, doing a quick calculation. "About two hundred and forty kiloters."

Rinzo stared at him for two seconds. Then she sat flat on the ground, legs stretched out, and refused to move another inch.

"I'm done," she mumbled. "I'm not going."

Kashimo looked at her, his expression bordering on amused. "If you really can't walk, I could carry you."

Rinzo looked up, panting. "Won't that just make us slower?"

Kashimo didn't answer. He simply crouched down and offered her his back. "Get on," he said. "Before I change my mind."

Rinzo hesitated for a mont before pushing herself up. She shuffled over and climbed onto his back, her movents cautious and small. Kashimo stood up, shifting her weight to get a better grip on her legs, and started walking.

The mountain breeze drifted past them, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth.

"Hold on tight."

Kashimo's warning was sudden and toneless. Before Rinzo could ask what he ant, she felt a violent surge of energy beneath her. Pale blue electricity crackled around them, the sparks making her skin crawl and her hair stand on end.

"Wait! What are you—"

The world sared into a blur of distorted colors. The sound of the wind turned into a piercing shriek in her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling as if an invisible hand had gripped her and was hurling her through the air.

An hour later, they were three kiloters outside the gates of Edo. Kashimo slowed his pace, eventually coming to a stop beneath the shade of an old locust tree.

"We're here," he said, sounding as relaxed as if he'd just finished a casual stroll.

Rinzo didn't move.

Kashimo tilted his head to look at her. The girl was white as a sheet, her lips bloodless. She was staring straight ahead with wide, vacant eyes, as if she hadn't quite realized they were standing on solid ground again.

"Hello?" He shifted his shoulder slightly.

Rinzo swayed with the movent, but her gaze remained fixed on nothing. Kashimo stayed quiet for a mont.

"Did I break you?"

She didn't answer. Slowly, she let go of his neck and slid off his back. Her legs gave way the mont her feet hit the grass, and she collapsed into a heap, instantly beginning to retch.

Kashimo stood by and watched her, scratching the side of his head. "So... are you all right?"

Rinzo looked up at him, her face pale and her eyes filled with the look of soone who had seen the end of the world. All right? She wasn't even close to all right. She was fairly certain her soul was still two hundred kiloters back in the mountains, trying to catch up.

"Anyway, once you've settled your stomach, we'll take a look around the outskirts," Kashimo said, acting as if nothing had happened. "See if there are any sorcerers worth noting."

He tossed the erald staff to her. Rinzo was still on the ground, but she managed to catch it instinctively, clutching it to her chest as she stared at him in disbelief. She swallowed hard.

The man was a lunatic. Her heart was still hamring against her ribs and her legs were useless, yet he was already talking about scouting.

Kashimo waited a few seconds. "Let's go. It'll be dark soon."

Rinzo took a deep breath and used the staff to haul herself up. The wood felt warm in her hands, helping her steady her nerves. "Fine."

The area outside the city was more crowded than Kashimo had expected. Stalls lined both sides of the main road, selling everything from snacks and trinkets to street performances. Peddlers wove through the throng, their cries rising above the din of the crowd. Families, groups of young people, and even well-dressed officials with their retinues were all making their way toward the city gates.

Groups of samurai stood at the intersections, their blades gleaming under the afternoon sun. Kashimo scanned the faces as they passed.

Nothing. Not a single trace of a sorcerer.

He glanced back at Rinzo. She was struggling with the staff, her pace slow as she adjusted her grip every few steps. The weapon was significantly taller than she was.

"Change of plans," Kashimo said, turning toward the city gates.

"What?" Rinzo blinked. "I thought we were scouting out here. Why are we going into the city?"

"To have so fun."

Kashimo led the way, stepping around a rchant who had almost collided with them.

"Fun?" Rinzo hurried to keep up. "What about the sorcerers?"

"We'll find them," Kashimo said without looking back. "But there's no one out here right now. We're here anyway. Might as well enjoy it."

Rinzo opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it. "Whatever you say."

She followed him into the city, clutching the staff as she was jostled by the crowd.

Shortly after they passed through the gates, two figures erged from the press of people.

"Boss, give two of those. The rabbit ones."

The speaker was a woman in red robes with a black sash. Her long, dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail that swayed as she gestured toward the candy stall. She was striking, with a bold, confident air that suggested she was soone of importance.

The vendor looked up, his face pale as he bowed low. "Lady Fuka!"

"At ease," Tokugawa Fuka said with a grin. "Two rabbit sugar-sculptures. Put them on the shogunate's tab."

The vendor nodded frantically and got to work, his hands trembling as he quickly wrapped two candies and handed them over. Fuka took them and turned to the silent woman standing beside her.

"Here, Hotaru. This one's yours."

Tokugawa Hotaru took the candy with a small nod. She was much quieter than her sister, dressed in a simple, elegant blue kimono with her hair falling loosely over her shoulders. She accepted the gift with a detached, polite grace.

Both were daughters of the Tokugawa house. And both were jujutsu sorcerers.

"The Three Great Families will be here for the festival, won't they?" Hotaru asked. Her voice was soft, her eyes fixed on the moving crowd.

Fuka took a bite of her sugar rabbit and nodded, her mouth full. "Yeah," she managed after a mont. She swallowed and wiped her lip. "The Gojo head is coming. As for the other two..."

She shrugged.

"The Zenin are in seclusion, doing whatever it is they do. And the Kamo..." She paused, her tone turning somber. "I heard their master is too sick to travel. He's not coming."

Hotaru didn't reply. She simply nodded, the sugar rabbit still untouched in her hand.

***

***

***

10 reviews = 4 bonus chapters.

100 power stones = 1 bonus chapter.

For early access to 10 chapters ahead: p@tre~~/Demonic_Fiction (Link is in the synopsis and my profile).