A "Reconciliation" for the Tsundere Sisters

After spending a long time hanging around Kyoto Jujutsu High, Mizuki Makoto discovered that an artist's occupational obsession was basically terminal—and incurable.

Whenever he looked at Zenin Mai's face, identical to Maki's, his brain automatically switched into "model comparison" mode. Maki's lines were hard and cold, carrying a sharpness that seemed ready to sever everything; Mai, meanwhile, had a tongue as venomous as poison, yet beneath it hid a fragile dampness that had not quite dried.

As an artist determined to spread rumors about the entire world with his brush, Mizuki Makoto knew one truth well: forcibly twisted melons might not be sweet, but melons dipped in honey were absolutely divine.

"Mai, this is the latest limited-edition scented hand cream for this month, and that lace choker you secretly circled in magazines three times before."

Mizuki Makoto neatly arranged a pile of exquisite shopping bags on the studio table, pushed up his glasses, and smiled with the docility of an innocent country boy newly arrived in the city. It even gave people the illusion that holy light shone behind him.

"Y-You... where did you get these?" Mai had been wearing a cold expression, ready to refuse, but the instant she recognized the hand cream's logo, her gaze shook in the literal, physical sense.

For a Grade 3 Sorcerer who received no attention from the Zenin Clan and earned meager commissions at school because her cursed technique consumed too much energy, these refined yet expensive luxuries were the kind of obsession she normally had to stare at her bankbook and sigh over for half a month before buying.

"I helped Gojo-sensei draw some 'unpublishable' licensed merchandise and made a little extra money." Mizuki Makoto lied without changing expression, then pointed at the drawing stool beside him. "In return, could I ask you to wear this outfit and help me complete a manga experiment about a 'parallel world'?"

Five minutes later.

Zenin Mai emerged with a dark expression, awkwardly tugging at the somewhat tight Tokyo Jujutsu High combat uniform. Mizuki Makoto had gotten it through Panda, one of Maki's spare uniforms. Because Maki had spent years undergoing high-intensity training, her build was far more explosive, making the uniform look particularly "ill-intentioned" on the slender Mai—her waist was cinched into a delicate curve, while the fabric over her chest was stretched taut, giving off a sensuality that did not belong to a combatant.

"...Disgusting. Why do I have to wear that idiot's clothes?" Mai gritted her teeth, though her fingertips unconsciously stroked the new lace choker around her neck, the one Mizuki Makoto had given her.

"Perfect! That expression!"

The charcoal pencil in Mizuki Makoto's hand frantically scratched across the paper.

—I didn't just want to recreate Mai at this moment, overflowing with shame, on the page. I wanted to build a mirror image of a "parallel world" beside her!

The left panel showed "Maki" in Kyoto Jujutsu High's elegant skirt uniform, casually carrying a long staff over her shoulder while wolfing down a hamburger. The caption read: [Wouldn't she still become a delinquent even in a lady's outfit?]

The right panel showed "Mai" in Tokyo Jujutsu High's combat uniform, covering her face with both hands, eyes darting around as she practically steamed with embarrassment. In the background, Mizuki Makoto had even added her most genuine inner-monologue bubble: (Waaah, this is so embarrassing... Why do I have to wear that idiot's clothes... It feels like the perfume is about to get washed away by sweat...)

"Mizuki Makoto, are you done drawing yet?!"

Mai's patience finally reached its limit, and she strode over to his drawing board. The instant she saw the draft, her breathing stopped.

"...Y-You... you perverted rumor-mongering freak!!!"

Mai's face instantly flushed all the way to her ears. This drawing, which so precisely saw through her "inner weakness and longing for a refined life," broke through her defenses more thoroughly than any insult could have. She snatched the sheet away, then roughly gathered it and the luxury shopping bags into her arms before covering her face and fleeing in a panic.

(The ultimate tsundere reference material, successfully collected. And besides...)

He looked at the backup print of the sketch he had made in advance and revealed a deeply sinister smile. Then he took out his phone, snapped a picture of Mai's retreating figure, and opened the chat labeled [Asura Princess].

[Mizuki Makoto]: "Maki-chan, look. It's a uniform you've already worn to rags, but on Mai, it gives off a kind of 'bashful charm' you'll never have in your entire life. Also, Mai-chan accepted the lace choker I gave her and even hugged this drawing back to her dorm to keep. Kyoto's air is so sweet, and Mai-chan is much gentler than you. See you~️"

The moment he sent it, another burst of rapid vibrations shattered all his peace. It was a death warrant from Okkotsu Yuta, far away in Tokyo.

[Inner Disciple Gray Yuta]: "Makoto-kun, I hope this message finds you well—if you're still alive. Gojo-sensei returned to Jujutsu High today and found the Gender-Swap Jujutsu High collection you left under the sofa. Since he's recently been helping Mr. Geto look after two troublesome girls and can only sleep three hours a day, the good news is that he doesn't have time to come to Kyoto himself."

[Inner Disciple Gray Yuta]: "The bad news is that he just smiled and photocopied that stack of drafts, then sent them to every senior official at Jujutsu Headquarters. Apparently, some of the old men have already fainted from rage, so you might be in a little trouble. He also mailed you a task list to clear out three Grade 1—Special Grade cursed spirits in Kyoto. Makoto, take care. His smile is very 'pleasant' right now."

Tokyo Jujutsu High, training field.

A thick killing intent, vicious enough to make even passing dogs get kicked twice, erupted from Zenin Maki at its center.

"...That bastard." Maki's voice was low, like a blade being sharpened. She suddenly turned around, her blazing gaze locking onto the giant creature nearby. "Panda, answer me. Why did the spare uniform I left in the dorm laundry room end up in Kyoto?!"

Panda, pinned down by that killing intent, stiffly turned his head. His thick paws nervously poked at each other while his eyes wandered. "Um... before Mizuki left, he told me that if I helped him with this, then when he went abroad to sketch next year, he'd bring back a gentle, elegant female panda well-versed in foreign customs for me... I-I was doing this for the prosperity of the panda race!"

The training field fell into deathly silence.

"...Huh?"

The vein on Maki's forehead instantly began twitching beyond its limit, and she could not help roaring, "You cursed corpse! What the hell does the prosperity of the panda race have to do with you?! You aren't even a biological panda in the first place!!"

"But dreams are still important..." Panda shrank his neck miserably.

"...Heh." Maki slammed the cursed tool [Dragon Bone] into the ground, and the sound of the paving stones cracking resembled Mizuki Makoto's ribs wailing in unison.

"Gojo Satoru, that 'first-generation scumbag,' provides the soil for perversion. Mizuki Makoto, the 'second generation,' produces the perverted content. Then there's you, the lust-addled 'accomplice'... All of you bastards, go die!!!"

Kyoto Jujutsu High, rear mountain training grounds.

Mizuki Makoto hid behind Todo Aoi's broad, wall-like back and skillfully pressed the power button on his phone. Mai's screams in the distance, together with the murderous intent drifting over from Tokyo, made him shiver involuntarily.

"Brother, you looked rather evil just now." Todo Aoi turned his head suspiciously.

"No, Brother Todo, I was trembling for art." He spouted nonsense without changing expression while working Echo Mimicry even harder. "Those were my wings celebrating my talent. So please, Brother! For the coming 'catastrophe,' I'll leave the matter of Simple Domain to you!"

"As expected of my Brother!! You've already set your hunting target on Special Grade cursed spirits capable of deploying domains! Since you possess such resolve, prepare yourself to remember this secret teaching passed down to me, Todo Aoi, by Professor Yuki Tsukumo—with your body!"

Feeling Todo's heavy punch, powerful enough to overturn the ground itself, I closed my eyes and sent one final grudge toward the "first-generation scumbag" far away in Tokyo.

(Gojo-sensei, I'll accept this title of 'second generation.')

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