Join Jujutsu High

A cold wind swept through the empty streets, sending a few fallen leaves spinning in the puddles.

Feng appeared beneath a dim yellow streetlight. His steps were heavy, his leather shoes making sluggish splashing sounds in the standing water.

His once-neat uniform jacket had been shredded beyond recognition. Dark red blood still seeped from the horrific wound piercing his left shoulder, trickling down his arm and dripping onto the asphalt.

His right hand hung at his side, an utterly lifeless, ashen gray. Wisps of murky black cursed residue clung to its skin, twisting slightly as he walked.

Yet as he slowly moved forward, the moisture drifting through the air seemed drawn by some invisible force. Strand by strand, it gathered around his battered body, gradually steadying his breathing.

Inside a small Pocket Park two blocks from Satozakura High School, the atmosphere was terribly oppressive.

Yuji Itadori paced anxiously beside a flower bed.

A little dust clung to his short pink hair, and his amber eyes remained fixed on the direction of the school.

Just over ten minutes earlier, two immense forces of cursed energy had collided there, sending chills down his spine.

Even from two blocks away, he could feel the crushing pressure, as though the air itself were being torn apart.

Several times, he had clenched his fists and tried to rush back, only for reason to hold him firmly in place.

He couldn't go back and get in the way. Besides, there was someone behind him who needed protection.

On the bench, Junpei Yoshino curled up like a frightened hedgehog.

He clutched his head in both hands, his thin shoulders still trembling uncontrollably.

Everything that had happened tonight had completely shattered his understanding of the world-the "Mr. Mahito" who had seemingly understood him and given him power had turned out to be a monster who treated human lives as worthless, while the young man who had suddenly appeared and saved him had displayed terrifying power beyond anything he could imagine.

Just then, faint, uneven footsteps came from around the street corner.

Yuji Itadori instantly tensed. He spun around, bending his knees slightly and raising both fists into a fighting stance.

Cursed energy flickered around his fists, and his gaze grew sharp and wary.

Only when the streetlight fully illuminated that familiar figure did Itadori's taut shoulders suddenly sag.

"Feng!"

Itadori cried out and rushed toward Feng beneath the streetlight without hesitation.

But when he drew close enough to see the young man's condition, he stopped abruptly.

Itadori sucked in a sharp breath. His amber eyes trembled at the sight of that ashen right hand and the bloody hole in Feng's left shoulder.

Instinctively, he reached out to support him. But when he saw the black cursed residue coiling around that right hand, he forced himself to stop, afraid that a careless touch might hurt Feng further.

"You... your injuries..."

Itadori's voice tightened. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and quickly looked Feng over.

"The enemy's cursed energy fluctuations disappeared just now. That guy called Mahito... did you exorcise him?"

Itadori's brows drew tightly together. His eyes held both worry and a trace of barely contained self-reproach.

He knew perfectly well how dangerous that special grade cursed spirit was. If the man before him hadn't suddenly intervened, he might already have been facing the worst possible outcome.

At the sound of Itadori's voice, Junpei Yoshino stiffly raised his head from the bench.

When he saw Feng, who had displayed such overwhelming power in the School Building, standing there covered in horrifying wounds, Junpei's lips moved a few times.

He gripped his trouser legs tightly, his eyes filled with guilt, lingering fear, and an indescribable shock, yet for a long while, he couldn't force out a single word.

The faint scent of blood hung in the air.

Itadori stood half a meter in front of Feng without recklessly approaching. He simply watched him with clear, steady eyes, waiting for his answer while remaining alert to any danger that might appear around them.

The dim yellow streetlight stretched the young man's shadow far across the puddles.

"Sorry, I wasn't able to exorcise him. But he won't be able to do much for a while."

Feng's voice sounded a little hoarse in the night wind.

He stood still, the horrific bloody hole in his left shoulder shifting slightly as he spoke. Dark red blood slid down the soaked fabric and fell into the puddle at his feet with a soft plink.

At those apologetic words, the corner of Yuji Itadori's eye twitched sharply. He shook his head hard, his amber eyes brimming with frustration and pain.

"What are you talking about?! You don't need to apologize for that! Coming back alive matters more than anything!"

Itadori clenched his fists so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his palms.

He knew all too well how dangerous that special grade cursed spirit with the stitched face was. He didn't even dare imagine what kind of brutal fight to the death Feng had endured to battle this far inside that monster's domain.

Itadori's mind raced. Mahito's escape posed an enormous threat, and once that cursed technique capable of freely reshaping souls recovered, it would undoubtedly bring an even greater disaster. But right now, the most urgent thing was keeping the man in front of him alive.

Feng offered no further explanation. His gaze passed over Itadori and settled on the trembling boy on the bench.

"Don't worry. It's understandable to make a few mistakes when you first gain power. Besides, you didn't actually do anything..."

Those calm words struck like a sledgehammer, instantly shattering the defenses Junpei Yoshino had struggled to hold together.

Junpei's thin body jolted. He bit down hard on his pale lower lip and slowly raised his head.

His eyes, half hidden behind his bangs, were bloodshot.

The pain of being bullied, the despair of being deceived by Mahito, the lingering terror of almost hurting others... at the words "you didn't actually do anything," all those tangled emotions finally burst through.

"I... I almost... I almost..."

Junpei's voice shook violently, and his eyes instantly reddened.

Large tears slid from the corners of his eyes and splashed onto his mud-covered shoes.

He gripped his trouser legs tightly, as though that were the only way to find something to hold on to in this crumbling reality.

Feng turned his gaze back to Itadori.

"The Goodwill Event starts in a few days. Why not have your friend join Jujutsu High?"

With a soft chuckle, a hint of casual ease appeared on Feng's face, pale from blood loss.

His ashen right hand hung quietly at his side, the black cursed residue coiling over its surface writhing eerily beneath the light.

At the suggestion, Yuji Itadori's gloom-clouded eyes suddenly lit up.

"That's right!"

Itadori abruptly turned toward Junpei on the bench, his voice filled with undisguised excitement and hope.

"Junpei, come to Jujutsu High! There are lots of really strong people there, and teachers you can count on!

"There's this white-haired guy with a blindfold who's usually pretty flaky, but he can definitely teach you how to use that power properly!"

Won't he get beaten to death...? Remembering that hellish training, Feng was at a loss for words, but kept the thought to himself.

Junpei froze. Disbelief filled his tear-streaked face, his lips slightly parted.

He had gone from an outcast abandoned by the world to a half-baked curse user who had nearly made a terrible mistake. Now, these two people, battered yet still dazzling, were reaching out to him.

"Can... can someone like me really go?"

Junpei murmured, his voice so faint it seemed it might shatter at a touch.

Itadori didn't answer Junpei immediately. He nodded firmly, then quickly returned his attention to the young man.

Reason overcame emotion, and he keenly noticed that the ominous black aura around Feng's right hand was spreading.

"Whatever happens, we need to contact Mr. Ijichi right now and get you to Dr. Ieiri!"

As he spoke, Itadori carefully stepped forward.

Deliberately avoiding Feng's right hand and its ominous cursed residue, he used his broad, warm hands to steady Feng at the uninjured left side of his waist and his uninjured forearm, trying to take some of his weight.

"Feng, hang in there. I'll get you back."