Her Origins (False)

The evening before the Goodwill Event.

The ground at Jujutsu High's training field was still damp after being hosed down, reflecting the faint glow of the setting sun.

Maki Zenin and Panda were running through their final coordination drills with Toge Inumaki, the clack of wooden swords echoing across the open field.

Mashiro sat on the stone steps beside the training field, the Feather Wings covering her eyes tinted pale gold by the sunset.

Satoru Gojo had said he would return to Jujutsu High that afternoon and head to the underground training room first.

Mashiro hadn't gone there to wait. She stayed by the training field to watch the practice; he would come find her once he finished checking on Itadori.

About an hour later, she sensed a familiar, enormous source of cursed energy appear underground.

Another half hour passed before Satoru Gojo sauntered over from the corridor, holding a mango slushie with cream clinging to its straw.

"Yuji's doing pretty well. He actually pulled off Black Flash." He sat on the stone step beside her, resting his long legs on the step below. "Not one of you told me. Trying to surprise me, huh?"

Mashiro's lips curved slightly. "Pretty good, right?"

"Very good. Using Black Flash improved his control over cursed energy, too. Yuji looks all cheerful on the surface, but he's still got some anger bottled up inside."

"Mm. He's growing fast. Faster than I expected," Mashiro said with a nod.

Satoru Gojo tilted his head to look at her. His sunglasses slipped a little down his nose, revealing those unmistakable eyes.

His gaze lingered on her two pairs of Feather Wings for several seconds, the Six Eyes shining beneath his sunglasses.

"I tried picturing them when Megumi told me, but they're prettier than I imagined." He pushed his sunglasses back up, his tone as flippant as ever. "You told them it was a side effect of a Cursed Technique?"

Mashiro propped her chin on one hand. "I told them Mahito's Cursed Technique caused it, so they wouldn't worry."

"If they're causing any problems, you can have Shoko take a look." Satoru Gojo turned back toward her. "But they seem to have enhanced your perception, too. There's cursed energy flowing through them."

"Mm, I know." Mashiro sighed softly. "Mahito used the Reverse Technique of Idle Transfiguration to forcibly draw out the traits of my soul."

"The traits of your soul?" A thoughtful look entered Satoru Gojo's eyes. "A normal soul wouldn't have traits like these."

Mashiro glanced at him. Satoru Gojo hadn't asked at first because of Itadori, and he hadn't dug deeper afterward because he trusted her, at least to some extent.

Well, then I'll tell you a little, too. Half truth, half lie-you can figure it out yourself.

"A normal soul wouldn't have traits like these." Mashiro paused, then told him the backstory she had prepared.

It was a little unfair to the Kujo family's reputation, but she had no other choice.

"My soul is a combination of a human and a shikigami."

"A human and a shikigami?" Satoru Gojo froze, staring at her in surprise.

Then he thought back for a moment, and his expression darkened. "There really were records of related research before the Kujo family's decline. So that means..."

There really were? Then I can stop feeling guilty.

"The Kujo family's experimental subject. Their last hope after they ran out of options." Mashiro nodded. "Though they still couldn't save the family in the end. I was the only one left."

"When were you combined with a shikigami?" Satoru Gojo asked after a moment of silence.

Mashiro thought it over. "Probably the second after I came into this world."

Satoru Gojo fell silent. Mashiro glanced at him and could sense the anger burning inside him.

That hadn't been what Mashiro wanted. She sighed, took out a candy Kugisaki had pressed on her, and tossed it into Satoru Gojo's lap.

"I'm very grateful to the Kujo family. Without them, I wouldn't have my identity." Mashiro took out another candy and put it in her own mouth.

"Your goal from now on should be making sure children in other families don't have to go through what I just described."

Satoru Gojo picked up the candy in his lap and looked at it. Then he smiled and popped it into his mouth. "Yeah. That's what I'll do."

The two fell silent for a while, quietly sucking on their candy.

"Satoru Gojo." After a long moment, Mashiro spoke, her tone deadly serious. "There's a strong chance something will happen at tomorrow's Goodwill Event."

Satoru Gojo didn't respond immediately. He crunched up his candy and swallowed before asking, "Why do you say that?"

"The timing of Mahito's attack last night wasn't a coincidence." Mashiro raised a hand, holding up one finger. "After Junpei was brought into Jujutsu High, he lost his target. Then he waited until I left Jujutsu High to show himself. It was a planned ambush."

She wagged her finger and continued, "Jogo dared to intercept us alone before, which means they understand the threat Satoru Gojo-that is, you-poses. Yet they still attacked."

"Clearly, they're gathering intelligence. Mahito figured out the nature of my soul, Jogo tested your domain, and Hanami got a look at all our Cursed Techniques that time. They came away with some information after every encounter."

Mashiro lowered her hand and looked at Satoru Gojo.

"The Goodwill Event is publicly scheduled. Students and teachers from both Kyoto Jujutsu High and Tokyo Jujutsu High will all be there, and the volume of people coming and going will create brief gaps in Jujutsu High's barrier. The Higher-Ups will be focused on the competition between the students. If I were them, I'd choose that moment to strike."

After hearing her out, Satoru Gojo stayed silent for a moment and finished the nearly melted slushie he had set beside him.

"How strong a chance are we talking?" he asked indistinctly, his mouth still full of slushie.

"Seventy or eighty percent."

"That's pretty high."

"They have no reason to pass up this opportunity," Mashiro said with a nod.

Not far away, the five first- and second-year students were deep in their intensive training, waves of cursed energy rippling toward them from time to time.

Satoru Gojo stood up, threw the empty cup into the trash, and sat back down.

This time, he sat a little closer and lowered his voice. At this distance, the people on the training field couldn't hear them.

"How do you think they'll attack?"

"First, they'll need a barrier that stops the two of us from getting in." Mashiro held out both hands and traced a frame in the air. "With both you and me inside Jujutsu High, any frontal assault would be pointless. But they can't stop both of us at once, so they can only block one."

Satoru Gojo said without hesitation, "That'd be me, then."

"You're the biggest variable. They'll definitely find a way to keep you outside, whether with a barrier or a Cursed Technique. As long as they can stop you from entering the Goodwill Event grounds, they'll have enough time to spend on the students." Mashiro paused. "As for me, they could also consider using a second barrier to stop me."

"So, two curtains? One for me, and one for you."