To everyone's surprise, Fushiguro Megumi was the one who spoke first.
Yuji froze for a moment, then understood what he meant. Fushiguro must have noticed the issues with his state of mind lately... No, perhaps it was not just Fushiguro. Maybe Shier had suddenly suggested they go out to relax because of this too...
Though he seemed aloof, Fushiguro Megumi was actually a very thoughtful person. And there was no need to even mention Shier—she always considered everything so thoroughly... The two of them had really helped him a lot.
Thinking of that, he smiled and nodded. "Sure. But before dessert, should we go get lunch first?"
"Of course we should eat first. And after that, we need to take a good walk around."
Nobara rolled her eyes at Yuji. Did he not understand that when a beautiful girl said she wanted dessert, she meant they were going shopping together?
"Alright. I'll message the upperclassmen and ask."
Yuji did not mind. He had long since gotten used to Nobara's personality.
Just as they were about to leave, two figures blocked the only path ahead.
"Todo Aoi-senpai?"
With how busy life had been lately, Amber had nearly forgotten about this. Mainly because this part of the plot was not particularly important and had no memorable timing attached to it, so she truly had not expected them to show up now.
"Yo, Shier."
Todo Aoi nodded in greeting.
"Are you the little girl Miwa mentioned?"
The short-haired girl in the Jujutsu High uniform looked Amber over with scrutiny and disdain. "You don't look like a Jujutsu Sorcerer at all."
"Who are you?"
Nobara's expression immediately darkened at those words. She had thought the girl looked somewhat familiar, and her first impression of her had actually been pretty good.
"She's Zenin-senpai's twin sister."
Fushiguro, the only one who knew what was going on, explained, "Zenin-senpai, why are you here?"
"Huh? Maki's sister?"
Nobara's urge to teach the girl a lesson was instantly doused with cold water. She respected Maki a great deal. Not only was she cool and strong, but she had also taught them everything she knew about hand-to-hand combat training.
"Honestly, Fushiguro, if you call me that, won't it make me impossible to distinguish from Maki?"
Zenin Mai smiled. "Just call me Maki."
"Then what are you seniors here for?"
Fushiguro Megumi did not say whether he agreed and simply continued asking.
Todo Aoi stepped forward. "We came to visit, and while we're at it, to see what you're made of."
"But it seems we've also run into someone unpleasant."
Maki turned her gaze toward Yuji. "They say you're a vessel, but aren't you essentially some half-cursed monster? I'm impressed you can stand being around him."
"Don't say pointless things."
Todo frowned, then took another two steps forward and flung his jacket onto the ground. "More importantly, what I care about is... whether these two first-years can replace Okkotsu and offer enough passion to ignite my soul on the stage of my final Exchange Meeting!"
The Self-Awareness of the Strong.
"So, in short, you just want to fight?"
Yuji stepped forward too, his face filled with displeasure and anger.
Of course, he knew his classmates did not see him as some monstrous threat. He also knew he could not change other people's preconceived notions, and he did not care about those notions either. But... what she had said still irritated him.
Because those words had not only insulted him, but also insulted the bond between him and the other three, tainting their feelings for one another.
Most importantly... Shier was in the same situation as him. Although Maki's words had been aimed directly at him, if Shier had been hurt by them, then he could not forgive her.
"If I defeat this big guy, you'll take back what you said."
Itadori Yuji looked at Maki.
That drew a surprised expression from Maki, and the smile on her lips became more genuine. "Sure. If you do, I'll take back what I said and apologize to all of you."
"Don't think I'll accept your apology, you bitch."
Nobara's face was still full of hostility as she raised the hammer in her hand. "I'll beat you until you beg for mercy."
Yuji could not exactly hit a girl, but she had no such restriction.
"You? A first-year?"
Maki had no intention of backing down. At some point, a revolver had appeared in her hand as she looked at Nobara provocatively.
Were they really going to fight after all?
Amber was at a loss.
If you don't want to watch them fight, then just stop them.
Seeing Amber's state, Black Amber spoke.
Stop them...
Amber blanked out for a moment.
For you, stopping them should be easy, right? Well, perhaps not effortless, but none of them can beat you. Even if it takes a little effort, you can still do it easily.
Black Amber naturally knew why the girl had gone silent.
She had long since come to understand Amber's personality very well.
Though she possessed strength beyond everyone else's, she lacked the self-awareness of someone strong. She bound herself with rules and cared so much about others that it went overboard. So long as it did not involve her principles, the girl would rather suffer a loss herself than use that strength to "negotiate."
But... is it really okay to stop Yuji and Nobara? They've both made up their minds to fight. If I interfere, wouldn't that be forcing a change in their will?
Ugh...
Black Amber's sigh was so heavy it seemed like it would drain her lungs.
W-What is it?
Amber did not think she was like Fu Hua, so she could still tell that Black Amber disagreed with what she had said.
Don't you want them to stop fighting here?
Black Amber asked.
I do...
Then if they go ahead and fight, doesn't that mean they didn't care about what you wanted?
Black Amber pressed.
Ah...? But I never said anything...
At that moment, Amber realized something.
Exactly. You didn't say anything, yet you're already standing here hesitating. You're clearly so strong, but you act like a coward.
Black Amber was frustrated by her lack of initiative.
But Amber still returned to the same point. But wouldn't saying it mean changing what they want?
Changing their minds might make them unhappy, but not changing them makes you unhappy. Between those two, which do you think they would choose?
...The first one... But if they change their minds for me, I feel a little uncomfortable too...
...That's not discomfort. That's... being overwhelmed by favor. Sigh. Simply put, because you don't have many friends, you treat this friendship too cautiously.
Black Amber had not expected to become a life coach. Amber was practically making smoke rise from her head. If people are merely nice to you, they're no different from nurses or online friends. But when they care about you too much, you get overwhelmed and don't know how to handle it.
But there's no need for that at all. They treat you this way because you deserve it. You don't need to think of their concern as something you have to handle with extreme care. Just accept it confidently and openly.
As someone whose true nature was Lahmu, Black Amber had never imagined that one day she would be responsible for dealing with a girl's emotional problems. Yet Herrscher of Reason was not here, while the other old fossil only raised children by watching from the sidelines. If something happened, she would be the first to charge in and take the burden, but if nothing happened, she would probably just say, "You'll understand when you're older," and leave it at that.
Hearing those words, Amber knew that her other self was right.
She was being far too pathetic...
Seeing that Amber was beginning to waver, Black Amber did not expect to instill the even more advanced lesson of a strong person's self-awareness in one go. Instead, she struck while the iron was hot. Don't just stand there blaming yourself. Isn't there something else you should be doing?
I should stop them?
Looking at the two sides already fighting in the distance, as well as Fushiguro Megumi standing beside her and watching the show, Amber felt conflicted.
Of course. Some things are hard to take the first step toward, but once you do, you'll find they weren't that difficult after all.
Black Amber said, You don't want your two little followers getting hurt, do you?
Although Amber felt that if the two of them wanted to fight, then there must be something more important to them 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.
"Megumi-senpai, I'm going to stop everyone."
Amber said.
"Alright. Then stop Yuji and Todo. Leave Nobara's side to me."
Fushiguro Megumi had no objection. After nodding, he summoned the Divine Dogs and ran toward Nobara.
Amber, meanwhile, appeared directly between Yuji and Todo. The scythe in her hand slashed down between them, and the Cursed Energy carrying powerful wind pressure made the two men, who had been about to grapple, sense danger with ease. Their bodies instinctively moved aside.
"The Exchange Meeting hasn't begun yet. It would be better not to have a pointless fight right now."
Having driven them apart, Amber looked from one to the other.
"I... don't really mind. Since little Shier says so."
Itadori Yuji was still displeased by what Maki had said, but he knew this was not the place to fight. Besides, since the girl herself had said so, he naturally had no intention of standing up for her against her wishes. It would be bad if he only made her dwell on those words instead.
"That's some impressive strength. Cursed Energy reinforcement alone cannot reach that level."
Todo Aoi looked at Amber in surprise. "I thought you relied on a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, but it seems you yourself are a monster like Okkotsu."
Unfortunately, he had no way of empathizing with monsters. All he felt toward monsters was the desire to challenge them, especially when the other party was a girl.
But the other side was different.
Todo Aoi withdrew his gaze and focused on Yuji again, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Since the special grade has stepped in, it seems the Soul Collision between us can only end here for now... But the official Exchange Meeting begins in two days. When that time comes, let us begin cooking to our hearts' content! My Brother!"
"Huh?"
Yuji was a little bewildered by this man's inexplicable enthusiasm, though he did not dislike his personality. "Fine, but I'll definitely win when the time comes. You all have to apologize to us then!"
Liao Chan's Plan.
"Those two were seriously ridiculous!"
After regrouping, Nobara's face was full of resentment. It was not only because her fight had been interrupted, but also because she had nearly lost.
It was not as though her opponent had been impossibly strong. Though Nobara's Innate Technique was more suited to the back line, her opponent was even weaker. Her physical ability was inferior to Nobara's, and she did not even have an Innate Technique... Though perhaps she simply had not used it.
However, there was one awkward problem: Nobara had not used her technique either. She had not brought out any nails because she was training her hand-to-hand skills, and even if she had nails, she could not use such highly lethal attacks on a human.
And in a pure hand-to-hand fight, one person had a hammer while the other had a revolver... All that could be said was that Nobara had fought in an extremely stifled manner.
"At the Exchange Meeting, I'm definitely going to show those two what's what! Just you wait!"
"Isn't the more important thing our shopping trip?"
Seeing that Nobara was still upset about what had happened, Yuji hurriedly tried to redirect her attention.
"Hmph, true."
Nobara knew she had overreacted. With Yuji stopping her like that, she forcibly swallowed her anger, though she still added, "When the time comes, you'd better beat those guys up properly. After all, that's your only good point."
"Don't make me sound like some delinquent... I'm just talented at sports. I'm not that bad in other subjects..."
Yuji said helplessly.
While the two of them talked, the two following behind them were also reviewing what had just happened.
"You did well just now."
Fushiguro Megumi's face remained expressionless, but his tone carried encouragement. "I originally thought... you would wait until after they finished fighting before helping them heal."
"...Would that have been bad?"
Amber could not tell what Fushiguro Megumi meant and thought that she might have taken her first step in the wrong direction.
Before you continue