Chapter 106 : Dumb

Chapter 106: Chapter 106 : Dumb

In the training grounds of Jujutsu High, Yuji stood in gym shorts while Mark stood a few feet away in a T-shirt and shorts. Mark had decided to start with the basics before letting Yuji attempt the Eight Gates properly.

"So, this technique won’t let you exorcise a cursed spirit by itself," Mark explained.

"It’ll make you physically strong enough to beat one down and weaken it, but you’ll still need cursed energy to actually exorcise it."

"So I beat the curse first, then exorcise it?"

"No. You’re still not listening." He pointed at Yuji.

"Cursed spirits can only be exorcised with cursed energy. The Eight Gates only increase your physical abilities. You can punch a curse hard enough to damage it, but that doesn’t mean it’ll disappear."

"You still need to reinforce your attack with cursed energy and put enough of it into the final blow to exorcise the curse."

Yuji nodded slowly. "Okay, I understand... something."

Mark stared at him. He didn’t understand a damn thing.

"Forget it. We’ll work on that later." He walked over and gestured toward Yuji’s shirt. "Now take your shirt off."

Yuji froze. "...Yes, Teach." He started pulling at the hem, then stopped halfway. Wait. His expression turned suspicious. "Why?"

Mark looked at him like he’d just asked the dumbest question imaginable.

"Get your mind out of the teenage gutter. I need to help you circulate cursed energy through your body while you open the Gate. The shirt just gets in the way."

Yuji’s face went red. "I wasn’t thinking anything!"

"Sure."

"I wasn’t!"

"Just take it off and stop wasting time."

Yuji sighed and pulled his shirt over his head. "Fine."

Mark looked him over. "Good. At least you’ve got the physical foundation for this."

"Really?"

"Yeah. That’s probably the one thing working in your favor."

Yuji clenched his fists, visibly more motivated. "So when do we start?"

"Right now."

Yuji’s expression shifted. "...What exactly are we doing?"

"Opening the First Gate."

"That sounds simple."

"It isn’t." Mark stepped behind him. "Once I start, don’t fight the pain. Control your breathing, keep your cursed energy moving through your body. If you lose control, I’ll stop you."

"Got it."

Mark placed a hand against Yuji’s back.

"Let’s see how much your body can handle. Since your cursed energy and mine are different, your body’s going to instinctively resist mine."

"I can’t keep feeding my cursed energy into you for long, so remember the feeling while I’m doing it."

"The First Gate can increase your physical output several times over, and your physical strength’s already ridiculous, so if you actually learn to use it, you’ll be a lot stronger."

"Okay, teach."

"Then here we go."

He pushed his cursed energy into Yuji’s back. The moment their energies met, Yuji’s body tensed — the two didn’t mix smoothly at all.

He could feel the foreign cursed energy moving through him while his own instinctively pushed back against it.

"Don’t fight it," Mark said. "Remember the feeling. That’s all you need to focus on."

Yuji closed his eyes and concentrated. The sensation was strange — energy moving through places he never usually noticed. For a brief second something seemed to click.

Then the foreign energy got pushed back out.

Mark pulled his hand away instantly. "That was less time than I expected."

Yuji opened his eyes. "Did I get it?"

"Did you feel anything?"

He thought about it. "...Nope."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

Mark sighed. "Well, I didn’t expect you to get it in one minute. Let’s try again."

They tried again. And again. And again.

After two hours and dozens of attempts, Mark finally dropped onto the grass, completely worn out from repeatedly forcing his cursed energy into Yuji’s body only to have it rejected every time.

"I’m exhausted, you dumb fuck."

Yuji stood nearby, still trying to hold onto the sensation.

"Thirty-nine attempts," Mark said.

Yuji scratched his head. "Was it really that many?"

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"Don’t apologize. Just learn the damn thing."

"Okay."

Mark lay back on the grass, staring at the sky. "I swear, teaching you is going to shorten my life."

"But you’re the one who said I could learn it."

"Yeah. I clearly wasn’t thinking straight."

***

Nobara came walking across the training grounds carrying several shopping bags. She stopped when she saw Mark sprawled on the grass with Yuji standing nearby, both of them looking wrecked.

"Wow. Two men sweating together in one place. Can anything be more disgusting than this?"

Mark glanced over. "You seem pretty happy."

"Of course I am. I finally got rid of this horrible outfit. It has no style whatsoever." She lifted one of the bags, pleased with herself.

Mark eyed the bags, then her. "Clothes don’t make you beautiful. It’s your character that makes you likable."

Nobara’s expression snapped. "Wait. What are you saying? Are you saying I have an awful character?"

She stepped forward and headbutted him, grabbing his shirt collar.

THUD!

The blow never actually landed — his Infinity caught it before it reached him, and Mark barely reacted.

"You said that yourself," he said calmly.

Nobara rubbed her forehead. "You made it sound like you were insulting me!"

"I didn’t say anything about your character being bad."

"Uh... Kugisaki, do you like Teach?" Yuji suddenly asked, breaking his silence.

The question killed the conversation instantly. Mark and Nobara both turned toward him at the same time, staring like he’d grown a second head.

Nobara’s face twisted in disbelief. "What the hell? Why would I like this useless excuse for a grown-up?" She jabbed a finger at Mark’s forehead.

"He’s lazy, he’s annoying, he doesn’t even know what he’s supposed to teach us half the time, and he spends more time telling Megumi to teach than doing it himself."

Mark rubbed his forehead. "You seem to have a lot of complaints about me."

"Because you give me plenty of reasons."

Yuji scratched his cheek, already regretting the question. "I mean... I don’t know. I just kind of get the feeling."

"You’re an idiot."

"I might be."

"You are." She shoved one of her shopping bags into his hands and started walking off. "Come on, pink-haired sissy. Since you’ve got enough free time to think about who I like, you can carry my bags."

Yuji looked down at them. "Wait, why am I carrying these?"

"Because you asked a stupid question."

She kept walking without looking back. Yuji hurried after her. "That doesn’t seem fair!"

A/N : There will be Minor crossover and the next world is Jujutsu Kaisen

****

A/N: Advanced Chapters are available on Patreon.

👉 patreon.com/Mark841

Currently, 22 advanced Chapters are available