Chapter 52: I... Am a Ninja.
This frustrating system was really too much.
Tatsuro went home, took a shower, and then lay on his bed, staring at the plain white ceiling above. He kept staring just like that. Although he wanted to rest, he didn't feel sleepy; the fatigue had dissipated with the cold water.
It seemed like he didn't want to rest right now, but he couldn't think of anything fun to do either. Shura, on the other hand, made itself comfortable on the bed and fell asleep immediately.
The house had been swept this morning, so no cleaning was needed. Although he felt the sister school exchange event with Kyoto Jujutsu High was approaching, Gojo-sensei hadn't given a specific date yet; it seemed it was still being decided.
Moreover, as far as he knew, there were only two first-years: himself and Okkotsu Yuta. He didn't know how many students were in the other grades.
However, he did hear Fushiguro Megumi mention yesterday that he had run into two upper-year seniors on campus.
If his guess was correct, there were probably only two upper-year students as well. Including the two of them (Tatsuro and Yuta), that made four people in total. After all, apart from the first-years, the upper-year students at the school were already quite strong. Few would deliberately stay at Jujutsu High; most were assigned missions outside.
Only fledglings like them, whose wings hadn't fully spread, would remain at school receiving education.
Meeting those two seniors sounds like it could be interesting! Forget it, sleeping at noon is a waste of time, especially since I'm not sleepy now. Let's go meet those two seniors!
He was actually looking forward to it!
Tatsuro patted the already asleep Shura and said, "Stop sleeping. Come out with me for a stroll to find two people, then we'll go get ingredients for tonight's extra meal. Today was the first battle where we cooperated, even though our coordination was terrible... it's still worth commemorating."
"Awoo~!"
Shura woke up reluctantly, but hearing about good food made it instantly alert. It bounced on the bed a few times, barking, "Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof! (Quick quick quick, I want yummy food!)"
After barking, it dashed towards the door. Just as it reached out its right paw to open the door, it suddenly felt a chill on the back of its head as a slap came down hard.
Smack!
Tatsuro was shocked to see Shura about to open the door and quickly stopped its action, scolding, "I haven't put on clothes yet, you rebellious dog! Do you think everyone is like you? Walking around naked?"
He was currently bare-bodied, not even wearing underwear. What if someone was right outside, especially if it was Maki!
Heh heh... just destroy me, I'm tired.
Shura's ears drooped, looking wronged. "Woo~ (Is it wrong that I want to eat?)"
"It's not wrong. Once I'm dressed, you won't be wrong. Before that, opening the door is wrong."
After lecturing Shura, Tatsuro took clean clothes out of his bag. Honestly, raising this dog wasn't easy. Although it added some fun to daily life, when he first got it, the creature would relieve itself anywhere in the room.
It took two days of patient teaching to show this guy how to squat on the toilet. Honestly, the first time he saw a dog squatting on a toilet felt quite strange, but then he remembered he was the one who taught it, and his sense of accomplishment surged.
After all, how prestigious would it be to say your dog knows how to flush the toilet!
Uhh...
Hiss!
Tatsuro suddenly realized something was wrong. A dog using a toilet should be absurd, right...?
Wouldn't telling people about this be a bit bizarre?
After quickly getting dressed, he walked to the door, patted Shura's head, and said, "Alright, don't be sad. How about we cancel tonight's training?"
Hearing that training was cancelled, all the negative emotions in Shura's mind vanished instantly. After all, that training volume really wasn't something a three-month-old puppy could endure.
Who could understand training without cursed energy enhancement from just after dinner until midnight, with only a half-hour rest?
Who could understand the pain of being hit on the head by branches because it was too dark?
Sometimes, it even suspected its master wasn't human at all – waking up punctually at 5:30 AM to train, and sleeping at 12:30 AM, only getting five hours of sleep a day.
Shura itself was better off, sleeping until past 7:00 AM unless there were special circumstances. If it had to wake up as early as its master...
Its grave grass would probably have grown tall by now.
Click—
The door opened, and Tatsuro and Shura stepped out. They hadn't taken more than two steps when they encountered Okkotsu Yuta running towards them. Seeing Tatsuro, Yuta's face lit up with joy, seemingly having something to tell him. Tatsuro asked:
"What's wrong?"
"Tatsuro-kun, great! I thought you were taking an afternoon nap."
Tatsuro asked, puzzled, "I was planning to nap, but found I couldn't sleep. Is something up?"
"Gojo-sensei wants us both to go over. It seems he wants to talk about the Kyoto Jujutsu High matter, and there are two seniors we don't know."
"Hmm? Really!"
Hearing that he didn't need to search for the seniors himself, Tatsuro looked surprised. Although he had considered that the seniors returning meant participating in the exchange event with Kyoto, he hadn't expected it to be so soon.
They returned yesterday, and they're leaving today?
No, no, maybe he just wants us to get acquainted first. After all, that would facilitate cooperation.
"Of course! Let's hurry over. Gojo-sensei and the others are waiting in the classroom."
"Okay."
...
The two humans and one dog arrived at the classroom door.
Gojo Satoru was standing at the podium. Seeing the two arrive, he waved and said, "Good afternoon! I thought you'd be napping late, Tatsuro-kun, didn't expect you so soon. Let me introduce you two second-year seniors!"
"Good afternoon, Gojo-sensei," they both replied.
As soon as Tatsuro walked in, he saw the two seniors sitting in their seats.
Uhh... how to describe them?
Very distinctive?
Although they were only one year senior, one of them looked like he was already over thirty. His hair seemed unwashed for a long time, matted together. He had the face of a yakuza uncle that would make children cry on sight. Around his neck was a thick gold chain, the width of a pinky finger, giving off a strong nouveau riche vibe. The muscles on his arms, exposed below his black short-sleeved shirt, were bulging. One look told you he wasn't someone to mess with.
As for the other one...
Is this a man or a woman?
Although the visual impact wasn't as exaggerated as the muscular senior, they looked somewhat strange, like a man dressed as a woman.
Not only was he sizing them up, but they were also sizing him up.
"Hey, hey! Look over here."
Gojo Satoru called out, "I believe you've all formed initial impressions of each other during that staring contest. Introduce yourselves! Tatsuro-kun, you first!"
Hearing Gojo-sensei call him, Tatsuro walked up to the podium, took a deep breath, and said with a serious expression, "Hello everyone, my name is Tatsuro. This dog is called Shura, he's my son. His strength is resilience; his weakness is slightly low intelligence. I myself am untalented, don't know many things, but I am proficient in various martial arts and assassination techniques. If I had to sum myself up in one sentence, I'm a ninja!"
"Huh? What the hell?" came the simultaneous reaction from the two seated figures, looking at Tatsuro on the podium with astonishment.
Gojo Satoru clapped his hands and said:
"Alright, Yuta's turn."