Jujutsu High

Nine in the morning, Miyagi Prefectural General Hospital.

Mashiro pushed open the glass door, and the smell of disinfectant hit her.

She headed straight for the nurses' station. The nurse on the night shift was about to hand over her duties and gave her a professional smile as she approached.

"Hello, how can I-"

"I'm here to collect Mr. Itadori's ashes," Mashiro said. "They were left here last night. Yuji Itadori's grandfather."

The nurse looked down and checked the logbook. "Yes, we have them. Itadori said he would pick them up today. Are you...?"

"His older sister."

The nurse asked no further questions. She turned and took an urn wrapped in white cloth from a storage cabinet.

The cloth had been carefully wrapped, every corner tucked in. Itadori had probably wrapped it himself yesterday.

Mashiro took it and cradled it in one arm. It was lighter than she had expected. Then she carefully placed it in her bag.

The sunlight was a little dazzling when she left the hospital.

She took out her phone and opened LINE.

The pink tiger avatar sat quietly at the top of her chat list. The last message was Itadori letting her know he had arrived safely at Jujutsu High the night before.

"Mashiro": Leaving for Tokyo soon.

She then headed to the station, bought a ticket, and sat quietly in her seat.

Soon, the train pulled out, and Sendai's streets began rushing backward.

A week. She had spent less than a week in Sendai, but a lot had happened.

Mashiro leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes to rest, her fingers unconsciously tapping a soft rhythm on her sword bag.

The train passed through a tunnel, and the light outside the window dimmed before brightening again.

Her phone vibrated.

"Yuji": Mashiro, you're coming to Tokyo? What time do you get here? I'll come pick you up!

"Mashiro": No need. Wait at Jujutsu High.

"Yuji": Then I'll send you the address! Actually, I still haven't really figured out where this place is. Gojo drove me here last night, and I fell asleep on the way...

"Mashiro": I have the address. I'll contact you when I arrive.

"Yuji": Okay! (•̀ω•́)✧

The train arrived at Tokyo Station close to noon.

Mashiro transferred to the subway, then to a bus. It took over an hour before she finally stood outside the main entrance of Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High School.

Stone steps stretched upward, towering old trees lining both sides. A wooden plaque bearing the school's name hung at the entrance, its lettering neat and formal.

Mashiro tilted her head up to look at the faint outlines of buildings at the top of the steps. The surroundings were better than she had imagined. At least there were plenty of trees, and the air was clean.

It was just very remote. The nearest convenience store was probably a twenty-minute walk away.

She took out her phone and sent a message.

Less than a minute later, hurried footsteps sounded from the top of the stone steps.

Itadori appeared at the top, his pink hair even more conspicuous in the sunlight.

"Mashiro!"

He bounded down the steps and rushed up to her, stopping with a smile on his face, a little out of breath.

Then his gaze fell on the white cloth bundle in her arms, and his smile faltered.

"...Is that...?"

"Your grandfather's ashes." Mashiro handed him the urn. "You left them at the nurses' station yesterday and forgot about them."

Itadori took it with both hands, his fingers gently stroking the white cloth.

Yesterday, he had carried this urn out of the hospital. That evening, he had left it at the nurses' station, then gone away and never returned.

"Thank you," he said, his eyes dimming a little.

"Let's go inside first."

Itadori pulled himself together and nodded. Holding the urn, he led the way, his steps much slower than when he had come down.

Mashiro followed behind him, surveying their surroundings.

Jujutsu High was larger than she had imagined. The school gates stood at the top of the stone steps, and beyond them lay an approach lined with tall Japanese cedars. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the branches.

At the end of the approach stood several traditional Japanese buildings with gray roof tiles, white walls, and winding wooden corridors. Pine trees and a dry garden adorned the courtyard.

The construction was quite tasteful, and it was well maintained. Just what she would expect from a long-established jujutsu institution.

Itadori led her into the residential area and pointed to a building on the left. "The dorms are over here. Fushiguro and I live on the first floor, and Kugisaki lives on the second. I slept pretty well last night. The bedding's nice and soft."

Mashiro glanced in that direction. The exterior had been renovated in recent years, the windows had aluminum frames, and the outdoor air-conditioning units were neatly lined up along one wall.

Two ginkgo trees stood in front of the building, their shade covering most of the entrance.

It really was better than she had expected.

Itadori's room was at the end of the first-floor hallway. He opened the door to let Mashiro have a look.

It was a six-tatami Japanese-style room, complete with a built-in closet, a desk, and its own air conditioner. The south-facing window let in plenty of light.

It was far better than an ordinary school dorm.

That was Mashiro's assessment.

"It's pretty nice," she said.

"Right?" Itadori carefully placed the urn in the alcove and pressed his palms together in prayer before turning back to her. "Kugisaki complained last night that it looked like a haunted house, but I think the building's just a little old. It's actually pretty comfortable."

Mashiro said nothing.

They left the dorm building and were about to head toward the main building when someone rounded the corner of the corridor.

White hair, a black blindfold, a uniform hanging loosely on his body, and a lollipop in his hand.

Satoru Gojo stopped when he saw them.

"Oh, you're here." His tone was as breezy as if he had run into a neighbor outside his house. "I was wondering this morning whether you'd come. Looks like you're pretty good at keeping your word, Kujou."

"I said tomorrow, so I meant tomorrow."

Satoru Gojo nodded and put the lollipop in his mouth, freeing a hand to point at Itadori. "Yuji, head to the principal's office first. Principal Yaga wants to see you about your enrollment."

"Oh, sure." Itadori scratched his head and ran toward the principal's office. His footsteps echoed a few times along the wooden corridor, then faded.

The corridor fell quiet, leaving only Satoru Gojo and Mashiro.

With the lollipop in his mouth, Satoru Gojo leaned against a corridor pillar and tilted his head at her.

"What are you planning to do next?" he asked. "Go back to Sendai?"

"Move to Tokyo."

"Oh?" Satoru Gojo pulled the lollipop out of his mouth and teased her. "Because Itadori's here?"

"Yes."

Satoru Gojo pulled the lollipop out of his mouth and traced a circle in the air with it. "Since you care so much about Itadori, why not move straight into Jujutsu High? I can arrange a dorm room for you. There are still empty rooms on the girls' side, and Kugisaki must be pretty bored living there alone."

Mashiro glanced at him.

The dorms were certainly decent. Everyone had their own room and air conditioner, with all the essentials provided. They were several notches above an ordinary high school's.

But a dorm was still a dorm.

There was a shared washroom at the end of the hallway, bathing meant going to the public bath, the cafeteria served meals at set times, and there might even be a curfew.

Everyone around her would be from Jujutsu High. Her every move would be under someone else's eyes, making anything she wanted to do a hassle.

Mashiro's cute little face remained expressionless, and her answer was blunt. "The living conditions are too poor. I wouldn't be comfortable here."

"Poor?" Satoru Gojo's tone was exaggeratedly accusatory. "You just said Itadori's room was pretty nice."

"Compared with an ordinary school." Mashiro's expression did not change. "I have standards for where I live."

Satoru Gojo stared at her for two seconds, then laughed.

She had casually tossed out a lie that fell apart at the slightest poke. She really was giving him the brush-off.

"So basically, you don't want to live in a dorm. Afraid of being kept on a leash?"

"It would make everything inconvenient, and I'm not used to living with so many people." Mashiro stopped pretending, too. "Besides, your cafeteria's food probably wouldn't suit my tastes."

"How do you know when you haven't even tried it?"

"Intuition."

Satoru Gojo shook his head with a smile and put the lollipop back in his mouth. "Well, since you won't be staying at Jujutsu High, keep in touch with Yuji. We'll also need to hire you for missions from time to time."

"I will."