Plans

The smoke and dust had yet to settle amid the ruins, and the air was thick with an indescribably sweet, bloody scent.

Kokichi Muta felt the damp earth between his toes. The sense of reality left him slightly dizzy. For sixteen years, he had never truly experienced this world. He turned to look at Shiyue Shuo, who was lowering his head and brushing dust from his clothes. The boy's figure looked somewhat thin beneath the sunlight, even carrying a sickly frailty.

"You... you didn't tell Satoru Gojo, did you?" Kokichi Muta's voice was still hoarse.

"Of course... not." Shiyue Shuo stopped what he was doing and looked up at the sky. "It isn't just my business. I didn't tell him about you either, though he may have already guessed that you're the traitor."

"I am a traitor, but they promised not to hurt anyone from Jujutsu High," Kokichi Muta hurriedly explained.

"That's why I said you're really naive, senpai." Shiyue Shuo gently shook his head. "Besides, even if I told Gojo-sensei, he probably wouldn't care. Before the strongest, so-called special grades are just slightly sturdier children."

He walked up to Kokichi Muta and lowered his voice. A faint lavender glow shimmered in his pitch-black eyes. "For now, senpai should think about how to deal with Jujutsu High's questioning."

Kokichi Muta fell silent. He looked at his smooth palm.

"What do you need me to do?"

Shiyue Shuo froze for a moment before replying, "Do what you want to do."

With that, he walked out of the ruins without looking back, leaving behind only a languid silhouette.

Kokichi Muta stood there for a long time. He looked down at the earth beneath his feet, then raised his head toward the curtain gradually dissipating at the horizon. Finally, he looked at Shiyue Shuo in the distance, stepping over broken rubble and walking straight ahead.

As though he had made up his mind, he climbed back into the battered Mechamaru amid the ruins. The grinding of metal joints let out a piercing screech, stirring his emotions without end.

The back mountain of Kyoto Jujutsu High was as peaceful as ever.

Although the Goodwill Event had ended, the higher-ups apparently had no intention of letting these students off so easily. Reports of cursed spirit sightings across the country were rapidly increasing, and an oppressive feeling quietly settled over everyone's heads.

Kasumi Miwa was drenched in sweat as she faced the wooden posts on the training ground. The wooden sword in her hands swung down again and again. Though it was only the most basic swordsmanship, every strike carried determination. At the Goodwill Event, not only had she been disarmed, but she had slept through the entire battle that followed. She had been of no use at all—though even if she had been awake, she would not have helped much.

She knew herself well. In this world crawling with monsters, an ordinary sorcerer like her could only keep training.

"Miwa."

A deep electronic voice sounded behind her. Kasumi Miwa stopped moving and turned around in surprise.

Mechamaru's dull shell stood quietly beneath the shade of a tree. Some scorched marks from overload still remained on the joints of its arms.

"Mechamaru! You're fixed?" Kasumi Miwa put down her wooden sword and hurried over, her voice full of sincere concern. "Kamo-senpai said you were seriously injured during the Goodwill Event."

Kokichi Muta hid in a basement hundreds of meters underground, watching the girl before him through the camera's sensors. He could clearly see the beads of sweat on her forehead and the slight flush on her cheeks from running.

I want to see her. That thought had never struck his reason with such madness before.

But he merely controlled Mechamaru and replied in that flat electronic voice, "Only the external armor was damaged. The core is fine. Miwa, you should rest too."

"I'm fine." Kasumi Miwa scratched her head sheepishly and took a slightly crudely made little charm from her pocket—a ridiculous-looking kitten. "I asked Mai-senpai to bring it back from outside yesterday. I thought it looked a lot like you. Keep it up, Mechamaru."

The charm hung from Mechamaru's cold metal knuckle. It looked a little ridiculous, yet it held an indescribable warmth. In the basement, Kokichi Muta clutched his chest tightly. This feeling of being alive was painful, but real.

Meanwhile, Shiyue Shuo lay sprawled in the shade on the school rooftop, idly playing with a dragonfly he had caught from who knew where.

"Shiyue! Slacking off here again!"

Mai Zenin's signature mocking voice rang out. She strode over on her long legs, her shadow falling directly across Shiyue Shuo's face. Today, she wore a neat tactical jacket, with her customized revolver tucked at her waist. Her eyes were filled with impatience.

"Senpai, you walk too loudly. You scared the dragonfly away." Shiyue Shuo did not even open his eyes, his tone lazy.

"Cut the crap. The principal wants to see you." Mai snorted and reached down to grab him by the collar. "I know you're useless, but since you vanished mysteriously during the Goodwill Event and came back unharmed, that old man suspects you've been in contact with outside forces. You'd better tell the truth. Don't drag Kyoto Jujutsu High down with you."

"The principal wants to see me?" Shiyue Shuo opened his eyes, looking completely unconcerned. "Mai-senpai, you care about me so much. Don't tell me you're afraid the principal will expel me?"

"Go die." Mai pulled out her revolver and pressed the barrel against his forehead. "Get your ass down there."

Shiyue Shuo raised both hands and stood up with a smile.

Principal Gakuganji's room was filled with the heavy scent of sandalwood. The old man had his eyes closed as he played the electronic keyboard before him. The music was harsh and carried a murderous air.

Shiyue Shuo stood in the middle of the room, looking timid and terrified. Mai stood guard outside; only he and the sinister principal were inside.

"Shiyue, I have read your file." Gakuganji stopped playing and opened his eyes.

So your eyes can open after all. Shiyue Shuo silently mocked him.

Gakuganji's cloudy eyes stared fixedly at him. "You came from an ordinary family. You were admitted because you possess a Heavenly Restriction: you can store cursed energy, then release it in a short burst as waves of flame. In such a chaotic situation during the Goodwill Event, we detected no cursed energy fluctuations from you. How did you survive being caught between two Grade 1 cursed spirits?"

"Principal, if I said it was luck, would you believe me?" Shiyue Shuo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "I passed out. When I woke up, they were already gone."

Gakuganji said nothing. He suddenly raised a hand, and a weak ripple of cursed energy shot straight at Shiyue Shuo's knee.

While that level of probing would have been enough to cripple an ordinary student, it genuinely hurt Shiyue Shuo now as well.

"Ow! Principal, you're trying to kill me!" Shiyue Shuo clutched his knee and rolled around on the floor. His scream was so loud that even Mai outside could not help peeking in.

Gakuganji frowned. In his perception, that strike had indeed hit flesh, with no sign of any defense. The boy before him still had sparse cursed energy and sluggish reactions.

"Leave." Gakuganji resumed playing the keyboard. "Do not let me find out that you are lying."

Shiyue Shuo scrambled out of the room. Only when he reached the end of the hallway did he brace himself against the wall and slowly straighten up.

"Hey, are you okay?" Mai walked over. Seeing him covered in dust, she unexpectedly did not mock him. Instead, she handed him a handkerchief.

Shiyue Shuo paused before putting on a frivolous expression. "Senpai, you really do love me. I'll never wash this handkerchief for the rest of my life."

"Get lost! Go get ready. There's another mission tomorrow." Mai turned her head away, but the tips of her ears were faintly red. "It's an abandoned factory in Kyoto's western suburbs. A Grade 1 cursed spirit is suspected to have appeared. Kamo and Miwa will be going too. Stay at the very back and behave yourself."

Shiyue Shuo watched Mai's retreating figure and casually tucked the faintly fragrant handkerchief into his pocket.

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