Chapter 106 : Kurosawa and Morofushi's Spirit Forms
Joking aside, after the teasing, Jiang Lai still sat down next to the devil-horned wolf-dog Matsuda Jinpei, casually ruffling the other's curly fur before opening his phone: "Come on, let's watch learning videos together."
"What learning videos?" Matsuda Jinpei tilted his head to look, only to see a series of items appear on the phone screen:
[#Puppy walking videos, super cute little bundles#]
[#What to do when your dog at home can't walk? This trick helps you solve it easily#]
[#Gold medal professional dog trainer, 15-day training, turns vicious biting habitual offender fierce dog into gentle maid outfit milk dog#]
Matsuda Jinpei: "......? Is this really useful? And what the heck is that last one?!"
"I searched for 'puppy learning to walk,' these are the related recommendations that came up. Cough, that last one should be an ad, no need to mind it."
Jiang Lai silently clicked [Not Interested] on that ad, then asked with concern, "As long as you imitate the videos and work hard with diligent practice, you'll surely achieve great success someday! Which one do you think would be most effective?"
Matsuda Jinpei flicked his fluffy tail, complaining: "None of them would work! And we don't need such passionate motivational speeches here!"
Jiang Lai pondered for two seconds, then had an epiphany and began typing on his phone keyboard again: "I get it, I shouldn't have searched for 'puppy learning to walk,' it should be 'big dog learning to walk'!"
"That's not the problem here!!" Matsuda Jinpei nearly gestured wildly with the wolf-dog's body.
Immediately after, in the next second, as a police officer, he keenly noticed the sly mirth gleaming in Jiang Lai's eyes.
After pausing his movements, Matsuda realized that the previous part wasn't serious but was his friend's joke.
"Alright, Jiang Lai, worthy of being a mutual roasting friend. In that case..." The black wolf-dog over two meters long suddenly pounced over, though his limbs were still uncoordinated, this situation only required simple body movement.
With a heavy, fluffy big dog pressing on him, Little Sheep Jiang Lai wasn't afraid and laughed heartily.
The devil-horned wolf-dog also quite humanely flashed a dashing smile, fangs slightly exposed, that Schrödinger's cigarette still dangling from his mouth. He raised one front paw to press lightly but firmly on the brown-haired boy's chest, pretending to be menacing:
"Hmph, now you can't beat me. Better beg for mercy quickly."
"That's not necessarily true." Jiang Lai gripped the pair of devil horns on the other's head, half-jokingly saying, "Is this some alternative gladiator match?"
After the friendly you-hit-me-I-hit-you roughhousing that was also intimate interaction, the last trace of distance from their long separation also dissipated into the air.
The recent bout of laughter had been quite exhausting. Lying flat on the floor, Jiang Lai spread out his body, pushing at the black wolf-dog on top of him with one hand: "Alright, stop fooling around, get up quickly! You're way too heavy."
"Can't help it, who made me a majestic great wolf-dog now." Matsuda Jinpei replied thus, but his body movement was quick. After the recent play-fighting, he had adapted somewhat to his body and wouldn't do a big split like before.
Just overall, his movements were still somewhat stiff.
Jiang Lai sat up, returning to serious topics, his tone calm: "From the current situation, you'll need some time to adapt to the body and abilities. I won't take you to the battlefield until you're completely familiar with it."
Matsuda Jinpei's expression paused, but he didn't argue about this.
He knew that in his current not-fully-proficient state, going to battle in the jujutsu world would more likely worry his friend and actually be a hindrance.
"Mm, I know." Matsuda Jinpei nodded in response. Rationally understanding the reasoning, but emotionally he still felt somewhat stifled.
In their previous world, they had been friends who could fight side by side. Now, having finally crossed worlds to reach the jujutsu side, he couldn't immediately truly help much.
As Matsuda Jinpei felt slightly down, he suddenly felt someone embrace him from the side. The teenage-looking Jiang Lai hugged the black wolf-dog tightly, speaking sincerely:
"Thank you, Matsuda. Just having you all's companionship makes me very happy."
Matsuda Jinpei was slightly stunned. After who knows how many seconds, he coughed: "What's there to thank me for? Being there when needed, that's what friends and family do."
The originally stifled feeling in his heart now eased. Wolf-dog Matsuda Jinpei rubbed the boy with his soft curly fur, responding to his embrace, his tone seemingly carefree yet mixed with his characteristic tenacity:
"Don't worry, don't underestimate me! I guarantee I'll master everything here at super speed."
"Of course." Jiang Lai smiled, "I believe in you."
His expression was bright between his brows as he extended his hand toward the black devil-horned wolf-dog.
Matsuda Jinpei maintained his cool posture, steadily extending a front paw to clasp with the boy's hand.
Though neither was in their original form, they still high-fived and shook hands as before. Looking at each other, both smiled.
"No problem." ×2
…
During the following period, the practical training officially began under the leadership of Nanami Kento and Haibara Yu.
In combat drills, the two mainly trained Itadori Yuji, Fushiguro Megumi, and Kugisaki Nobara, showing no mercy in simulated battles.
Little Sheep Jiang Lai, being relatively young and having just mastered his technique recently, didn't join these ruthless combat sessions. Instead, he was only required to observe and learn from the sidelines, or practice familiarizing himself with his technique in another open area.
Taking advantage of this time, when his Detective Conan friends had free time, Jiang Lai would summon Matsuda, Morofushi, and Kurosawa, who knew the truth about Little Sheep's persona, to adapt, improve, and train together.
Kurosawa Akira's spirit form was a silver snake that could freely change its size.
The beautiful silver-white snake had scales that shimmered like silver foil throughout its body, with gray-green eyes containing vertical pupils. This appearance gave off a cold and sharp first impression.
However, Kurosawa Akira usually didn't display that cold aura. During rest periods, he would shrink into a lazy little white snake, coiling around Little Sheep Jiang Lai's wrist, cool and refreshing like a bracelet.
Jiang Lai half-jokingly said that if it were summer now, Kurosawa in this form of a human-shaped portable ice pack would definitely be very popular.
Kurosawa Akira: "What kind of ice pack does Brother Jiang Lai want? I'll try to see if I can transform into it."
Jiang Lai: "......Cough, that's not necessary." He patted the silver little snake's head, "This is already very good."
Morofushi Hiromitsu's spirit form was a pure white unicorn in jujutsu style, with a slender build, an exquisite yet dangerous spiral horn, and familiar blue upturned eyes.
Though he usually appeared relatively gentle, he could actually gore people to death and could take down one cursed spirit per horn strike.
Transformed into a unicorn, Morofushi Hiromitsu had even carried Little Sheep Jiang Lai for several laps. His posture was graceful and his speed extremely fast. Little Sheep Jiang Lai held onto his neck, his tied-up little ponytail blown by the wind.
Jiang Lai originally didn't want to get on, since knowing this was his friend, he couldn't treat him with the attitude toward a mount.
But Morofushi Hiromitsu didn't mind. His upturned eyes curved as he expressed that "since I'm a unicorn good at running in this jujutsu world, I should make full use of it. There's no need to mind it. If you really mind, then just take on more household chores when we're back there."
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Jiang Lai readily agreed, only to realize afterward: Wait, how many days of household chores did I agree to?
Jiang Lai: ......There it is, the gentle-faced, black-hearted Morofushi!
Of course, this was more of a joke among friends.
Morofushi Hiromitsu didn't really care about the household chore rotation, just wanted his friend not to be so formal.
Having Detective Conan friends able to come to the jujutsu world in spirit form was a great help to Jiang Lai. However, their cursed energy levels were somewhat connected to Little Sheep Jiang Lai's.
So Little Sheep Jiang Lai had to continuously improve himself for the spirits summoned by his technique [Electronic Spirits] to display their maximum power.
Considering that events here would be drawn in manga for the Detective Conan world next door, Jiang Lai planned to give his Detective Conan friends some code names.
After pondering for a moment, Jiang Lai followed the order of Matsuda Jinpei, Kurosawa Akira, and Morofushi Hiromitsu, saying one by one: "Black Curl, Little White, Big White?"
Detective Conan friends: "?"
That's way too simple!!
Jiang Lai blinked: "Then......Shadow Dog, Silver Snake, Pegasus?"
Coming up with spirit names that weren't duplicates, were descriptive, and could be shouted loudly without being too chuunibyou was really not easy!
"The latter group." Morofushi Hiromitsu nodded, "Simple names like Shadow Dog, Silver Snake, Pegasus will do."
"Am I a wolf or a dog......but wolf-dogs should be dogs." Matsuda Jinpei pondered this subtle point, then nodded in agreement.
Kurosawa Akira had no opinion on the names. He had already started planning how to design new merchandise after appearing in future plots, including fan art and such.
This peaceful training routine continued for almost a week. When the weekend came, they took a break from training to rest.
The Fushiguro-Itadori-Kugisaki group, who had been rigorously trained by adult seniors every day, could finally catch their breath. Itadori Yuji happily suggested going to an all-you-can-eat buffet together.
Haibara Yu, who was equally enthusiastic, immediately responded with a cheerful smile: "Great! I haven't had a good feast in ages either. Training schedule has been pretty tight lately. I'll treat everyone today, let's have a good meal!"
"Yay, hooray!!" Itadori Yuji and Kugisaki Nobara high-fived in celebration.
Though Fushiguro Megumi didn't show much emotional expression, he also displayed some relief.
Little Sheep Jiang Lai's expression was equally joyful, after all, good food was humanity's common pursuit.
Nanami Kento adjusted his clip-on glasses, saying calmly: "Then tomorrow, I'll treat everyone."
"Ooh, two days of big meals in a row!" The happiness of youthful boys and girls was just that simple.
They walked along the street as a group. Due to the limited width of the road, they weren't walking side by side.
Haibara Yu led the way at the front, with the enthusiastic Itadori Yuji and Kugisaki Nobara close behind, discussing what to choose.
Fushiguro Megumi maintained his calm expression, occasionally responding to Itadori and Kugisaki's questions. His pace was normal, roughly aligned with Little Sheep Jiang Lai and Nanami Kento, who was guarding the rear.
It was midday, and there weren't many pedestrians on the street. After Haibara Yu, Itadori Yuji, and Kugisaki Nobara turned the corner ahead, they followed a step behind.
However, in just this brief one-step time difference...
When they turned the street corner, there were no longer any figures ahead!
Both Fushiguro Megumi and Little Sheep Jiang Lai were startled, then immediately became alert!
Nanami Kento was even faster in drawing his cursed tool-wrapped blunt sword, his expression becoming serious, his voice calm and steady:
"Attacking during a relaxed moment fits the enemy's approach perfectly."
Fushiguro Megumi stepped toward Little Sheep Jiang Lai's side, protecting the youngest person present. He pressed his lips together: "Itadori and the others......"
"They're fine. The enemy couldn't have dealt with them so quickly. Most likely we've just been temporarily separated. This might be some cursed spirit's incomplete domain effect." Nanami Kento's gaze swept around the surroundings, "Don't know when the opponent started setting this up. In any case, first find the people, or the caster himself."
Little Sheep Jiang Lai didn't rush to act. He was also observing the surroundings, silently thinking: The enemy is making their move? Is this under the Supervisory Committee's direction, coming to retrieve the divine status fragments in Itadori Yuji's body?
Don't know if it's someone dispatched under Kenjaku's decision, or Mahito himself returning with other unknown cursed spirits after his previous failure.
Feels like Kenjaku, knowing so much, wouldn't be so direct. Maybe it's Mahito being upset about the previous result and specifically coming back.
No matter what, the fragment is currently with Ryomen Sukuna. Jiang Lai thought silently. Whoever goes to mess with that guy is asking for trouble.