November 2017.
The weather had grown colder, their breath condensing into faint white mist in the air. Yuta Okkotsu and the others walked along Jujutsu High's stone-paved path with scarves wrapped around their necks, their pace unhurried. Now and then, a few dead leaves drifted down from the branches overhead, settling on their shoulders before slipping off.
Yuta Okkotsu suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky. There was nothing in that gray-white expanse-no clouds, no birds, only an empty stretch of gray with no end in sight.
"What's wrong, Yuta?" Panda tilted his head toward him, concern showing on his furry face.
"Nothing." Yuta Okkotsu's gaze lingered on the gray sky, his voice so soft he seemed to be talking to himself. "I just suddenly got a bad feeling..."
Maki curled her lip.
"You've probably spent so much time with Rika that your sense for cursed energy's gotten dull." Her tone was dismissive, but she, too, paused in her stride.
"Salmon." Toge Inumaki pulled his collar higher and offered a brief agreement.
They lingered for a moment as the wind brushed their scarves, sending the tassels fluttering. Then they continued on, their footsteps gradually fading along the stone path until their figures disappeared around the corner of the classroom building.
Behind a second-floor window, four people were gathered, their gazes passing through the clear glass to the empty path outside.
Satoru Gojo leaned against the window frame. White bandages wrapped from his forehead around the back of his head, covering his eyes but doing nothing to hide his slightly tense jaw. Masamichi Yaga stood beside him, his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze heavy and distant.
Behind them, Yuki Tsukumo and Kashimo sat facing each other at a low table. Black and white stones lay scattered in an