Someone in the Multiverse, Transformed into Fu Hua at the Start Chapter 46

Unexpectedly, it was Fushiguro Megumi who spoke up.

Itadori paused for a moment, then realized what he meant—it was probably because Fushiguro had noticed his recent mental state... No, maybe it wasn't just Fushiguro; Shier had suddenly brought up going for a walk because of this too, right...

Although he seemed cold, Fushiguro Megumi was actually a very perceptive type, and Shier was even more so, always thinking things through thoroughly... The two of them had really helped him a lot.

Thinking of this, he smiled and nodded: "Sure, but before dessert, how about we grab lunch first?"

"Of course we have to eat first. Not just eat, we need to take a good walk too."

Nobara shot Itadori a glare—didn't he know that when a pretty girl said "eat dessert," it meant going shopping together on the side?

"Alright, I'll send a message to the upperclassmen and ask."

Itadori didn't mind; he was already used to Nobara's personality.

Just as they were about to set off, two figures blocked the path not far ahead.

"Todo Aoi-senpai?"

Because of how packed things had been, Amber had almost forgotten about this. Mainly, this plot point wasn't very important, and she had no memory of the timing, so she really hadn't expected him to show up now.

"Yo, Shier."

Todo Aoi nodded, a casual greeting.

"Are you that little girl Miwa was talking about?"

A girl with short black hair, also wearing a Jujutsu High uniform, looked her over with a mix of scrutiny and contempt: "You don't look like a jujutsu sorcerer at all."

"Who are you?"

Hearing this, Nobara's face instantly darkened. She'd actually had a decent first impression of this girl because her face looked familiar.

"Zenin-senpai's twin sister."

Fushiguro, the only one who knew the situation, explained: "Zenin-senpai, why are you here?"

"Huh? Maki-nee's sister?"

At that, Nobara's initial urge to teach the girl a lesson was doused with cold water. She had a lot of respect for Maki—not only was she cool and strong, but she'd also taught them everything she knew about physical combat.

"Honestly, Fushiguro, calling me that makes it hard to tell me apart from Maki, doesn't it?"

Zenin Mai smiled: "Just call me Mai."

"So, senpais, what are you here for?"

Fushiguro Megumi didn't agree or disagree, continuing to ask.

Todo Aoi stepped forward: "Just dropping by, and to get a measure of your caliber."

"But really, I see someone annoying."

Mai fixed her gaze on Itadori: "They call him a vessel, but in essence, he's a half-curse monster, right? I'm surprised you can stand being around him."

"Don't say boring stuff."

Todo frowned, then stepped forward again, tossing his jacket to the ground: "Forget that... What I care about is whether these two first-years can replace Okkotsu and bring enough passion to ignite my soul for my last Exchange Meeting stage!"

Chapter 33: The Awareness of the Strong

"Simply put, you want to fight, right?"

Itadori stepped forward too, his face carrying displeasure and anger.

He knew full well that his classmates didn't see him as some kind of monster, and he knew he couldn't change others' ingrained impressions, nor did he care about them—but what she said still pissed him off.

Because those words didn't just insult him; they also insulted the bond between him and the other three, tainting their feelings.

Most importantly... Shier was in the same situation as him. Even though her words were aimed directly at him, if Shier got hurt because of this, he wouldn't forgive it.

"If I beat this big guy, you take back what you said."

Itadori Yuji looked at Mai.

That actually made Mai show a surprised expression, and the smile on her lips became more genuine: "Fine. If you do, I'll take back my words and apologize to you."

"Don't think I'll accept an apology just because you give one, you."

Nobara's face still held hostility as she raised the hammer in her hand: "I'll beat you until you beg for mercy."

Itadori might have trouble hitting a girl, but she had no such restriction.

"With you? A first-year?"

Mai showed no sign of backing down, a revolver appearing in her hand as she shot a provocative look.

So it was going to come to a fight after all?

Amber was at a loss.

'If you don't want to watch them fight, just stop them.'

Seeing Amber's state, Black Amber said.

'Stop them...'

Amber was stunned for a moment.

"For you, stopping them would be a piece of cake—well, maybe not quite that easy, but none of them can beat you, so with a little effort you could manage it easily."

Black Amber naturally knew why the girl was stunned.

She had long understood Amber's personality thoroughly.

Though possessing power beyond others, she lacked the self-awareness of being a strong one, binding herself within rules, caring about others to an excessive degree—as long as it didn't involve her stance, the girl would rather suffer a loss herself than use that power to "negotiate."

"But... is it really good to stop Yuji and Nobara? They've both made up their minds to fight. If I interfere, wouldn't that be forcing my will on them?"

"Sigh..."

Black Amber's sigh seemed to expel all the air from her lungs.

"Wh-what's wrong?"

Amber, believing herself unlike Fu Hua, could still tell that Black Amber disapproved of her reasoning.

"Don't you not want them to fight here?"

Black Amber asked.

"That's right..."

"Then doesn't the fact that they're fighting mean they didn't consider your feelings?"

Black Amber pressed.

"Ah...? But I didn't say anything..."

Realizing this, Amber understood something.

"Exactly. You didn't even say anything, and here you are hesitating. You're so strong, yet you act like a coward."

Black Amber was frustrated at her lack of backbone.

But still she said: "Wouldn't saying it be the same as changing their minds?"

"Changing their minds would make them uncomfortable, but not changing them makes you uncomfortable. Between these two, what do you think they'd choose?"

"...They'd choose the first... but if they changed their minds for me, that would make me uncomfortable too."

"...That's not called discomfort. That's called... being overwhelmed by kindness. Simply put, because you don't have many friends, you're overly cautious with this friendship."

Black Amber never thought she'd have to play life coach; her head was about to smoke from the effort: "If they were just friendly to you, it'd be no different from a nurse or an online friend. But caring about you too much instead makes you flustered and uneasy."

"But there's really no need for that. The reason they treat you this way is because you're worth it. You don't have to treat their concern as something fragile. Just accept it confidently and generously."

As a Lahmu at heart, Black Amber never imagined she'd one day be responsible for handling a girl's emotional issues. Unfortunately, the Herrscher of Reason wasn't around now, and the other old fossil was purely a spectator-style parent—she'd jump in first if something went wrong, but if nothing happened, she'd probably just say "you'll understand later" and leave it at that.

Hearing these words, Amber knew the other self was right.

She was just too pathetic...

Seeing Amber showing signs of wavering, Black Amber didn't expect to instill the self-awareness of a strong person in one go—that was a more advanced lesson. Instead, she struck while the iron was hot: "Don't just wallow in self-pity. Don't you have other things to do?"

"Should I stop them?"

Looking at the two sides already fighting not far away, and Fushiguro Megumi standing beside her watching the show, Amber felt conflicted.

"Of course. Some things are hard to take the first step on, but once you do, you'll find it's not that difficult."

Black Amber said: "You don't want your two little followers to get hurt, do you?"

Though Amber felt that if they were determined to fight, there must be something more important than their bodies, she still nodded. Then, the Door of the Other Shore appeared in her hand.

Fushiguro looked at the girl beside him in surprise.

"Senior Fushiguro, I'll go stop everyone."

Amber said.

"Alright, then you hold off Itadori and the others. I'll handle Kugisaki."

Fushiguro Megumi had no objection. He nodded, summoned the Divine Dogs, and ran toward Nobara's side.

Amber appeared directly between Itadori and Todo. The scythe in her hand slashed down between them, its cursed energy carrying a wind pressure that easily made the two about to clash sense danger, their bodies instinctively dodging aside.

"The Exchange Meeting hasn't started yet. It's better not to have pointless fights now."

Amber looked left and right at the two she had driven apart.

"I... don't mind, since Sister Shier says so."

Itadori Yuji was still a bit dissatisfied with Maki's earlier words, but he knew this wasn't the place to fight. Besides, since the girl herself had said so, he had no intention of going against her wishes to stick up for her—it would be worse if she ended up dwelling on that remark.

"Impressive strength. You can't reach this level with just cursed energy reinforcement."

Todo Aoi looked at Amber in surprise: "I thought you relied on the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, but it seems you're a monster like Okkotsu yourself."

Unfortunately, he couldn't empathize with monsters. He only had a desire to challenge them, even if the other party was a girl.

But the other side was different.

Pulling his gaze back to Itadori, Todo's lips curled into a grin: "Since a Special Grade has stepped in, it seems our Soul Collision ends here for now... but in two days, the official Exchange Meeting begins. Then we can start 'cooking' to our hearts' content, my brother!"

"Huh?"

Itadori was baffled by the guy's inexplicable hype, but he didn't dislike the attitude: "Fine, but I'll win for sure then. And you guys will have to apologize to us!"

Chapter 34: The Exchange Meeting Plan

"Those two are seriously ridiculous!"

When they regrouped, Nobara's face was full of resentment—not just because her fight had been interrupted, but because she'd almost lost.

It wasn't that the opponents were too strong to handle. Although her technique was a backline type, the other side was even weaker, with inferior physical ability and not even an Innate Technique... though it was possible they just hadn't used one.

But there was an awkward problem: Nobara hadn't used her technique either. She'd left her nails behind to train in hand-to-hand combat, and even if she had them, she couldn't use such a lethal attack on a human.

And in a pure physical fight—one with a hammer, the other with a Revolver—Nobara could only say she'd fought with extreme frustration.

"Just wait until the Exchange Meeting—I'll make those two pay! Remember that!"

"More than them, isn't the important thing now shopping?"

Seeing Nobara still stewing over her earlier dissatisfaction, Yuji quickly tried to change the subject.

"Hmph, I suppose so."

Nobara knew she was overreacting. Stopped like that, she forced herself to swallow her anger, but still added: "When the time comes, you'd better beat those guys to a pulp for me. That's the only thing you're good for anyway."

"Don't make me sound like some delinquent... I'm just naturally gifted at sports. My other subjects aren't that bad..."

Yuji said helplessly.

While the two of them chatted, the pair following behind were also reviewing.

"You did well back there."

Fushiguro Megumi's face showed little expression, but his tone carried encouragement: "I thought... you might wait until they finished fighting before healing them."

"...Was that wrong?"

Amber wasn't sure what Fushiguro meant and worried that her first step forward had been a misstep.