First contact

"I'll make sure he lives," the old man repeated softly, then gave a bitter smile. "I've lived a whole lifetime without making many right choices. Especially when it came to Jin and Kaori..."

His gaze settled on Mashiro's face, his sharp eyes softening considerably. "You... aren't an ordinary person, are you? You can see those things?"

Mashiro understood what he meant. Rather than answer directly, she raised her right hand, gathered a trace of cursed energy at her fingertips, and gently swept them through the air, leaving a fleeting glimmer.

"I'm a descendant of Kujo, a jujutsu family," Mashiro said with a smile. "Though I'm the only one left now."

Wasuke Itadori's eyes widened slightly as he watched the trail left by Mashiro's cursed energy. As though he had finally confirmed something, he slowly nodded.

"Jujutsu... I see." His voice was quiet, tinged with relief. "I'll tell Yuji he can trust you and come to you if anything happens. But please promise me one thing."

"Please, go ahead."

"Don't tell him everything." The old man looked out the window, toward the school. "Don't tell him the truth about Jin and Kaori. At least, not yet. That boy... has already lost enough."

Mashiro fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "I promise."

The old man breathed a sigh of relief, his body relaxing slightly as he leaned against his pillow. Then he changed the subject. "How old are you?"

Huh? Why the sudden question about my age?

What's that supposed to mean? Did he figure it out?

Mashiro blinked and touched the silver hair hanging beside her temple, then said with some hesitation, "Uh, twenty on my ID."

"And in reality?"

He really was suspicious about my age! Did he think everything I just said was some kid's delusions?

"...Twelve." Mashiro turned her head away, a little embarrassed, and murmured the answer with a faint blush.

Watching her flustered expression, so unlike her earlier calm composure, Wasuke Itadori's lips slowly curved upward before he burst out laughing. "About right, about right. Just about the age I thought."

Once his laughter subsided, he grew serious, propped himself up, and bowed his head slightly to Mashiro. "Then, about Yuji... sorry for the trouble."

Mashiro met his eyes and nodded solemnly.

Just then, Wasuke Itadori heard familiar footsteps outside the ward, followed by a boy's energetic voice.

"Grandpa! I brought your favorite red bean buns-"

The ward door slid open with a clatter, and Yuji Itadori, the athletic prodigy, appeared with a convenience store bag in hand and a brilliant smile on his face.

Once he saw the scene inside, his smile froze. His gaze darted between his grandfather on the bed and the unfamiliar silver-haired girl beside it.

What's that thing over her head? Cosplay?

The air in the room froze. Wasuke Itadori and Mashiro both looked at him.

The exhaustion vanished from the old man's face, replaced by his usual faintly impatient expression. "Oh, you're here."

Mashiro calmly stood, turned toward Yuji Itadori, and gave him a slight nod, studying him closely.

The mighty Emperor Yuji, in the flesh! He's so tall. Will I still get any taller?

She had to tilt her head back to see Yuji Itadori's face.

This was the first time she had seen this world's protagonist from so close.

His overflowing vitality, his eyes without a trace of darkness, and the immense potential hidden within his body, which even he had yet to realize.

Everything matched the image in her memories, yet felt subtly different.

"Grandpa, who's this...?" Yuji Itadori blinked, looking at Mashiro in confusion as he did his best to ignore the Dharma Wheel above her head.

Wasuke Itadori coughed, gave Mashiro a meaningful look, then told his grandson, "This is Miss Kujo, the granddaughter of an old friend of mine. She happened to be in Sendai and came to visit."

Mashiro nodded and went along with his story, giving Yuji Itadori a polite smile. "Hello, Itadori. My name is Kujo Mashiro. Sorry for intruding."

"Oh, not at all!" Yuji Itadori immediately waved his hands, flashing his signature cheerful grin. "I'm Yuji Itadori! Thank you for coming to see my grandpa!"

His gaze lingered on Mashiro's face for a moment, curious about her unusual hair and eye colors, but he soon realized it was impolite and quietly looked away.

He came inside, set the bag on the cabinet, then stood awkwardly beside the bed, looking from his grandfather to Mashiro.

"Um... did I come at a bad time? Were you two talking?"

"Nothing important. Just chatting," Wasuke Itadori said, looking at Mashiro with a barely perceptible meaning in his eyes. "You were just about to leave, weren't you, Miss Kujo?"

"Yes, I'll let you rest." Taking the hint, Mashiro picked up her backpack. She walked to the door, then stopped and looked back.

Her gaze passed over Wasuke Itadori before finally settling on Yuji Itadori.

The boy was watching her retreating figure curiously, his eyes utterly clear and innocent.

"Itadori," she said slowly.

"Yes?" Thinking she had caught him sneaking a look, Yuji Itadori immediately straightened up.

Mashiro took a note from her pocket with a phone number written on it and handed it to Yuji Itadori.

"This is my contact information. I'll be in Sendai for a while. If..." She paused, deciding to put it more gently after all. "If anything happens to you or anyone around you, you can contact me. I'll do my best to help."

Yuji Itadori froze. He accepted the note, looked at the neat handwriting, then looked up at Mashiro's calm face, seemingly unable to understand why a little girl he had only just met would say something like that.

Although he didn't understand, he still nodded, carefully folded the note, and put it in his pocket before taking out his phone. "Oh, oh! Okay, thank you! Um, little Kujo, do you have LINE? Let's add each other! You can come to me if you need anything, too!"

Hearing him call her "little Kujo" so naturally, Mashiro's mouth twitched. She opened it to speak, but ultimately gave up and silently took out her own phone. "...Okay."

Oh, right, LINE exists! I completely forgot!

All my exchanges with Hiromi Higuruma and Kento Nanami were through business cards. That's not my fault, right? I'm really not some old fossil!

Watching Mashiro take this rare blow without being able to protest, Wasuke Itadori couldn't hide his smile. Still, he put on a stern face and scolded Yuji Itadori. "Idiot! She's your senior! Listen to her properly! Tell her if anything happens!"

Young Itadori snapped to attention again. "Yes!" Then he scratched his head and gave an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, Miss Kujo. I thought you were a little kid."

These two! Why do they keep bringing that up? Just you wait, Yuji!

Mashiro felt that staying any longer would only keep raising her blood pressure. She didn't respond to him, merely giving the old man on the bed one final nod. "Mr. Itadori, please take care."

"Yeah," Wasuke Itadori answered, his eyes filled with conflicting emotions.

Mashiro lingered no longer. She turned, left the ward, and gently closed the door behind her.