The next day, early morning, Zenin Family.
As one of the Big Three Families of Jujutsu Society, the Zenin Family's mornings began earlier than those of ordinary people.
Before the sky had fully brightened, Maki walked out of her room with a yawn.
Her hair was sticking up in every direction, and her whole body carried the irritation of someone who had not fully woken up.
Clearly, she had not slept well last night.
Jie Jian's words, "Okkotsu Iori," had spun through her mind all night. Every time she closed her eyes, Yuta Okkotsu's face flashed through her mind uncontrollably.
Then she would abruptly open her eyes, curse "psycho" at the ceiling, roll over, and try to fall asleep again.
This repeated until the sky began to lighten.
Maki walked into the bathroom and bent down to wash her face when a voice suddenly came from her mouth.
"Hey, Mom, you're awake? How did you sleep?"
Maki froze mid-motion.
She straightened up at once and quickly looked around. Only after confirming there was not a single person nearby did she lower her voice and shout through gritted teeth:
"Don't call me Mom! I still don't believe your nonsense!"
Jie Jian sighed regretfully.
"Fine, fine. Then we'll each address the other however we want from now on. You call me Jie Jian, and I'll call you Maki."
Maki took a deep breath and pressed the towel to her face. The icy sensation calmed her slightly.
"...That's more like it."
She casually wiped her face twice, slung the towel over her shoulder, and headed for the dojo.
Since she was awake, she could not skip her morning training.
It was a habit she had learned from a man when she was very young.
Every day around four in the morning, she would