First-year

"Panda!"

Not far away, a Panda stood upright, taller than a person, waving at him. Though huge, he still looked incredibly adorable beneath that bulky exterior.

Panda waved and called from afar, "Genichi~" Shen Yuanyi put down his luggage and embraced the big, fluffy Panda. Looking at them together, Panda was quite a bit taller than him.

After catching up, Panda helped carry some of the luggage and patted Shen Yuanyi on the shoulder. "Gojo-sensei was supposed to pick you up, but you know how he is... I'll take you to the dorm first, then introduce you to the First-years. They're all super interesting."

Shen Yuanyi picked up the rest of his luggage and walked beside Panda, smiling as he said something. Panda let out one astonished sound after another. "Really? They're all the latest ones! I can't wait to play."

Their voices gradually faded away. After Panda helped Shen Yuanyi find his dorm and put down his luggage, he brought him to a classroom.

Panda pushed open the door and shouted inside, "Woohoo! Maki, Inumaki Toge, the new student is here!"

A boy and a girl sat in the classroom, both dressed in Jujutsu High uniforms. The girl wore her dark green hair in a neat Ponytail, and her features were striking, though somewhat hidden behind the old-fashioned round glasses she wore.

The boy had short silver-white hair, and everything below his nose was hidden by his collar. He looked very refined.

Maki and Inumaki Toge watched Panda walk in with a white-haired boy. A warm smile remained on his face, and although he wore stylish sunglasses, his exceptional looks were still obvious.

But... why did he look somewhat familiar? Especially that indescribable feeling about him.

"This is Shen Yuanyi, the one I'm always telling you about." Panda introduced him with one hand raised and the other lowered.

Of course, both of them had heard of Shen Yuanyi—not only from Panda occasionally talking about him, but also because of his relationship with Gojo-sensei.

Remembering something Gojo-sensei had once said, Maki silently complained, He's an adopted son, right? He absolutely has to be an adopted son! That annoyingly punchable look really is kind of similar...

"Still, he seems a little better than that blindfolded idiot." Watching Shen Yuanyi remove his sunglasses and politely bow in greeting, Maki silently reached another conclusion.

"Salmon!"

Inumaki Toge returned the greeting politely. Panda then continued introducing them to Shen Yuanyi. "This is Maki. She doesn't like people calling her by her family name, and she's really strong in hand-to-hand combat."

"Inumaki Toge! Because he's a Cursed Speech User, he can't speak like ordinary people, so he usually says words related to rice balls."

There was no need to say much about Panda among them—he and Shen Yuanyi had known each other for a long time. Though Inumaki Toge could not speak freely, he was easy to get along with. Maki looked cold and somewhat unapproachable, but she was unexpectedly rather friendly as well.

After they chatted for a while, they heard the wooden door slide open. Gojo Satoru, his eyes covered by white hair, walked in with both hands in his pockets.

A few minutes late, Gojo Satoru did not seem embarrassed in the slightest. As soon as he entered, he smiled and clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"So, have you all gotten acquainted?"

Panda and Inumaki Toge were the first to respond to Gojo Satoru. Maki, meanwhile, had black lines practically written across her face. She had already seen Gojo Satoru's unreliability several times. Her impression of the strongest jujutsu sorcerer she had heard so much about had completely collapsed and been rebuilt after getting to know him up close.

As for Shen Yuanyi, he had long since gotten used to it. In everyday matters, Gojo Satoru was unbelievably scatterbrained—or perhaps simply did whatever he wanted. He came across as unreliable and... punchable.

"Well then, Maki is from the Zenin Family, Panda has been taught by Principal Yaga, Inumaki Toge has his family's inheritance, and Genichi started learning early too. I won't go over the basics again. To give you all the best possible start-of-school gift, I'll find two missions suited to you. Wait for my good news."

"How about it? Surprised? Let's see... Maki and Genichi will be one team, while Panda and Inumaki Toge will be another. Spend the next few days getting familiar with each other."

"Huh?" Maki's face nearly darkened completely. It was not that she was unwilling to exorcise Cursed Spirits, but was this not far too casual and sudden? What kind of bastard made students go on missions right after school started?

Panda scratched the back of his head. "Ah... that suddenly? And why am I not teamed up with Genichi?"

"Salmon."

Gojo Satoru raised one finger in explanation. "Because Maki and Panda are both close-combat types. Teams need balanced 'class' distribution!"

"This isn't a video game, Gojo-sensei," Panda drawled.

Shen Yuanyi had no objections. No matter how recklessly Gojo Satoru acted, he would not find it strange. What he looked forward to now was the upcoming real combat. The Cursed Technique and hand-to-hand skills he had practiced for so long had never had much chance to be used, so this opportunity to test them in battle was naturally welcome.

"All right, all right, let's start training! Your teacher is free today, so I can guide you."

At the Training Ground, the four of them warmed up. Maki stood opposite Shen Yuanyi with a Wooden Staff in hand. Looking at the Wooden Sword he held, she asked, "According to Gojo-sensei, you're not good at hand-to-hand combat?"

Shen Yuanyi spun his sword in several flourishes and scratched his head at her words. "I wouldn't put it that way. My Cursed Technique is acceleration, and I'm decent enough at simply using Cursed Energy to strengthen my body. It's just that I haven't learned enough actual moves. You get it, right? You can't learn much practicing with Gojo-sensei. He's too strong."

Maki casually swung her long staff, producing explosive whistles through the air. "Then let's fight first and talk later."

"No problem! Please go easy on me." Shen Yuanyi flashed a brilliant smile.

Their sparring began quickly. After only a few exchanges, Maki could not help complaining inwardly. How was this merely decent? That strength, that speed... Though neither of them had gone all out, Shen Yuanyi had still thoroughly surprised her.

Her physical strength greatly surpassed ordinary people due to her special circumstances. Still, Shen Yuanyi had not been wrong—he truly was not very skilled with moves or fighting opponents close to his own level. His defense and counterattacks under pressure, however, were quite good.

But... this guy was also good at long-range attacks, wasn't he?

After the sparring ended, Shen Yuanyi also gained a clear understanding of Maki's combat ability. No film or television show could compare to experiencing it firsthand at close range. Her fierce attacks came like a raging storm, leaving people unable to catch their breath.

Afterward, Shen Yuanyi humbly sought Maki's advice, and Maki's impression of the modest Shen Yuanyi improved greatly. Panda and Inumaki Toge, on the other hand, did not have much to do. Because of the latter's unusual fighting style, they could not truly spar.

The two—or rather, the one person and one Panda—only familiarized themselves with each other a little. No one knew how Panda understood Inumaki Toge's "rice ball language," but at the very least, they seemed to be communicating quite well.

Then came Gojo Satoru's personal "guidance." In Shen Yuanyi's view, however, he simply wanted to play again. This time, at least, Shen Yuanyi was not the only one being used as a "toy," so he happily pretended not to notice.

As Shen Yuanyi expected, Gojo Satoru used the excuse of instruction to have them all attack him together. Then he effortlessly dodged and blocked every attack. His occasional counterattacks did not seriously injure anyone, but they were the kind that left people grinding their teeth in frustration.

Even Maki, who became more fired up as the fight went on, could not turn the tide. Panda had wanted to slack off for a bit, but after receiving Gojo Satoru's special "attention," he had no choice but to get serious. Of course... it did not do much good.

If Inumaki Toge forcibly used his Cursed Speech Technique on Gojo Satoru, not only would it have little effect, it might even cause backlash and injure him. Thus, he was the only one who could openly "slack off."

Shen Yuanyi, meanwhile, held the bow called "Annihilation," using long-range attacks to cover Maki and the others while familiarizing himself with this new fighting style.

In actual use, Shen Yuanyi found Annihilation quite good. Whenever he poured Cursed Energy into it, blue Cursed Energy formed into a bowstring. Once he sent even more Cursed Energy into it, a glowing dark-blue arrow appeared nocked on the string.

Its attack power was also quite good, basically depending on the intensity of the Cursed Energy supplied by the user. Naturally, it had an upper limit.

After Gojo Satoru dodged those Cursed Energy arrows, they exploded upon hitting the ground with quite a commotion. Shen Yuanyi had nearly accidentally hurt Maki and Panda with the first few arrows, so afterward he could only control his Cursed Energy and limit his output as much as possible.

When Maki and the others finally withdrew from the fight, Shen Yuanyi also had no choice but to put aside his long-range methods and once again receive instruction from his "beloved" Gojo-sensei at close range.

After beating up every one of his students, the refreshed Gojo Satoru stretched his limbs. Then he flashed his white teeth and waved at the scattered group. "Today's instruction was very meaningful. Your teacher is leaving first, so practice freely."

"He's finally~ gone!"

"Salmon!"

Panda and Inumaki Toge lay flat on their backs on the ground, chiming in one after the other. Maki, beside them, had recovered quickly. Now, she felt that her combination with Shen Yuanyi really was quite good.

She could fight at close range while Shen Yuanyi supported her from afar, independently controlling the power of his arrows. The stronger Cursed Energy arrows left huge craters where they struck, and Shen Yuanyi was not merely capable of long-range combat—his close combat ability could not be underestimated either.

Unfortunately, most Cursed Spirits did not have much intelligence. But if they encountered the kind of Cursed Spirit that understood tactics, then the moment it tried to close in and deal with Shen Yuanyi, the ranged attacker, it would receive a huge surprise.

Shen Yuanyi felt a little uneasy as he watched Maki's expression. Then he coughed lightly. "I'm going back to get some cold drinks. Do you want anything?"

Panda instantly sprang to his feet. "Cola, as cold as possible. Thanks!"

"Bonito flakes!"

Panda immediately translated, "He probably wants room-temperature water. Inumaki Toge needs to protect his throat."

Inumaki Toge nodded to indicate Panda was right. When Maki saw Shen Yuanyi looking at her, she said, "Mm... green tea. Anything is fine."

Shen Yuanyi returned to the dorm, took out everyone's requested drinks from the portable refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, and headed back to the Training Ground.

The four drank to dispel their earlier exhaustion while chatting. After fighting side by side and getting to know each other a little, they had become even more familiar.

Panda was the sort who could grin wickedly together with Shen Yuanyi and scheme about how to prank others. Inumaki Toge was usually quiet, but he was also the sort who could immediately join Panda and Shen Yuanyi.

Maki would not "go along with their nonsense," but she enjoyed watching the excitement as long as it did not involve her. She was also someone who trusted and cared deeply about her companions.

On top of that, she was incredible at fighting and gave people an overwhelming sense of security! Panda had said that. At the time, Shen Yuanyi watched Panda try to wiggle his brows with his tiny eyes and, for some reason, felt his hands itch...