Women fighting

Jujutsu High.

Araki Itsuki quickly explained Todo's IQ and mental state to Megumi Fushiguro and Yuji Itadori.

"530,000?!!"

That absurdly high IQ left Fushiguro's head buzzing, while Yuji Itadori finally understood why Todo considered him his best friend.

He patted Todo on the back and said heartily, "Looks like we really do hit it off."

Araki Itsuki clapped his hands. "All right, Todo, let's call it a day."

"I'll let Yuji Itadori spar with you properly another time."

Yuji Itadori bumped his fists together with a grin. Todo's hand-to-hand skills and technique were impressive, but he was no slouch himself.

As Todo recovered his strength, excitement sparkled in his eyes. Meeting someone as strong as Araki Itsuki and finding his lifelong best friend on the same day was more than he could have hoped for.

"Looks like this Goodwill Event will be a lot of fun."

Araki Itsuki gave a bored yawn. "Then you'd better work hard. I don't want to steamroll everyone without finding a single decent opponent."

Todo nodded, about to say something else, when he suddenly remembered his 180-centimeter-tall idol. He hurriedly told everyone about Takada-chan's farewell handshake event.

Then he invited Yuji Itadori. "Itadori, come with me!"

"Huh? I have to go too?"

Todo gave an awkward smile. "I get a little lost outside Kyoto. If I take the wrong train and don't make it to the venue on time, who knows what I might do?"

"I was going to have Mai take me, but now that my best friend is here, of course I have to do this with you!"

With that, Todo grabbed Yuji Itadori and hurried off.

"Where's Kugisaki?"

"Not sure. Mai probably stopped her."

Araki Itsuki's eyes lit up. He motioned for Fushiguro to follow and rushed eagerly farther into the school grounds.

"What's the hurry? Where are you going?"

"To watch women fight, obviously!"

Fushiguro covered his face and sighed helplessly.

An unserious teacher like Satoru Gojo, Ryomen Sukuna acting solely on his whims, and Araki Itsuki doing whatever he pleased-why did all these powerful people behave so strangely?

Only the dependable upperclassman Yuta Okkotsu was normal.

By the time Araki Itsuki arrived, Kugisaki and Mai were already tearing into each other. He quickly dragged the resigned Fushiguro aside and hid, eagerly listening to the gossip.

"I thought you looked alike at first, but now that I've had a closer look, you really don't. Maki's a hundred times prettier than you!"

"Are you not getting enough sleep? Your pores are huge!"

The disgust on Kugisaki's face instantly made Mai's blood boil.

"Looks like I'll have to teach you how to speak to people!"

The two women promptly tangled together and started brawling.

The longer Araki Itsuki watched, the more puzzled he became. He turned to Fushiguro and asked curiously, "Why aren't they pulling each other's hair?"

The question nearly broke Fushiguro. "Dude, use some common sense. They're jujutsu sorcerers. If they pulled hair, they'd both be bald by now."

"Oh, right."

Just then, a voice came from behind them.

"Fushiguro, why are you here?"

Araki Itsuki quickly turned around, then relaxed when he saw the pudgy Panda and the cute Inumaki.

"No reason. The air's nice here."

Seeing the blood on Fushiguro's forehead, Panda hurriedly asked, "You already ran into Todo? That guy's out of control. Couldn't he wait until the Goodwill Event?"

"He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Fushiguro shook his head. Araki Itsuki had beaten Todo even worse, and he still had tricks he hadn't used. They could settle things at the Goodwill Event.

Since this was their first time meeting Araki Itsuki, Fushiguro introduced him. "Araki Itsuki, a first-year."

"These two are second-years. While you were away, they invited us to join the Goodwill Event. We figured it would help us get stronger, so we agreed."

"Panda."

The expressive Panda looked surprised at Araki Itsuki's name. "The Araki Itsuki who exorcised a special grade cursed spirit right after enrolling?"

Araki Itsuki chuckled and shook Panda's hand. "This is my first time shaking hands with a panda."

The poor guy had rotten luck, too. During the Culling Game, Hajime Kashimo, who later became an ally, nearly killed him. His brother "Gorilla" and sister "Rhino" both lost their cores, leaving only his head.

Although his body was repaired afterward, he shrank drastically, reverting to a juvenile form.

"Inumaki."

He was a gentle boy with short white hair. He deliberately wore the collar of his Jujutsu High uniform high to hide the cursed markings around his mouth and on his tongue, and to muffle his voice so he wouldn't hurt others.

Although his inability to communicate normally made him easy to misunderstand, he was cheerful at heart and the most considerate of them all.

Later, he helped Itadori enter the Shibuya subway, only to get caught in Ryomen Sukuna's domain and lose his left arm.

"Hi, nice to meet you."

"Salmon~"

Worried that Araki Itsuki might misunderstand, Panda quickly explained, "Inumaki is a cursed speech user. To avoid accidentally cursing anyone, he only speaks using rice ball ingredients."

Araki Itsuki smiled kindly. "I don't mind."

A hint of warmth appeared in Inumaki's eyes.

But after shaking hands, Araki Itsuki suddenly felt that something was off.

"Wait a second!"

He looked at Fushiguro, Panda, and Inumaki beside him, then at Mai, Maki, and Kugisaki in the distance.

Rubbing his chin, Araki Itsuki finally realized what was wrong.

Panda was beaten into a wreck, Inumaki and Todo each lost an arm, and Fushiguro became the vessel for an incarnation that used his body to kill his sister's body.

Kugisaki's fate was unknown, Mai died outright, and Maki suffered burns all over her body. Although she gained the power of a Heavenly Restriction, it came at the cost of her sister's life.

So out of all these people around me, not a single one gets a happy ending?!

Fushiguro asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Araki Itsuki shook his head and said no more.

With Panda and the others' arrival, Maki also stopped the fight between Kugisaki and her sister.

"Mai, what are you trying to do to Kugisaki?"

"Oh, you're so weak I didn't even notice you."

The two faced off, neither willing to back down.

"Aren't you a bottom-feeder too? All you can do is pour cursed energy into objects. You don't have a damn cursed technique, do you?"

Mai immediately fired back. "Still better than someone without any cursed energy. My neck gets sore looking up at people all day. It's nice to look down on you once in a while."

Kugisaki bristled beside them. "You two bottom-feeders can stop trading insults. It's embarrassing!"

Then she glared viciously at Mai. "You put a hole in the tracksuit I just bought! Leave your uniform behind. I'll use it as my summer uniform!"

Mai sneered, refusing to give an inch. "With those stubby little legs? I doubt you could wear it!"

"I'll kill you!"

Araki Itsuki, Panda, and the others listened with relish.

"Women really do deal true damage when they argue.

"Those fake-sweet girls are better. All they do is fuss over you."

Maki noticed the commotion on their side and waved them over.

"Over here."

Once Araki Itsuki and the others came over, Mai was surprised to find Todo missing.

"Where's Todo?"

"He already left. He took Itadori to the farewell handshake event."

At Araki Itsuki's answer, Mai stormed toward the exit. "I've had enough!!!"

"That selfish jerk!"

The Iron Lady Kugisaki wanted another round with her, but the bespectacled Maki stopped her.

She studied the handsome boy with the smiling lips, who seemed to treat life like a game. "Araki Itsuki, the first-year?"

"Hi, Maki."

Araki Itsuki waved, then looked curiously at the glasses on Maki's face.

Maki explained openly, "These? These glasses help me fight. I can't see cursed spirits without them."

Kugisaki hesitated. "Maki, so what she said just now was true?"

"Yeah. I really don't have cursed energy."

"Then why become a jujutsu sorcerer...?"

Maki smiled frankly. "Out of spite. They've always looked down on me. If I become a great jujutsu sorcerer, I wonder what faces those people in my family will make."

"I can't wait."

Then she asked curiously, "Kugisaki, what grade of jujutsu sorcerer are you?"

"Grade 3."

"What about you, Araki?"

Under everyone's curious gazes, Araki Itsuki's grin was harder to keep down than an AK's recoil. He could already picture them cheering in surprise like his little fanboys.

Stand back!

Time to show off!

But when he reached into his right pocket, he found nothing.

"One moment."

His smile stayed fixed, but Araki Itsuki's hands moved faster and faster, searching every pocket on his body.

Seeing this, Fushiguro reminded him, "Um... did Itadori forget to give it back before he left?"

"ITADORI!!!!!!"

His anguished roar echoed through the empty grounds of Jujutsu High, startling countless birds from the woods.

Meanwhile.

Todo had safely reached the venue.

"Here we go, Takada-chan!"

"Wow~"

Takada-chan's smile instantly won Todo over, leaving him with a lovestruck grin.

In the end, a staff member had to push the reluctant Todo away to let the next fan enter.

Thoroughly satisfied yet still reluctant to leave, Todo had barely reached the door when he saw his best friend leaning against the wall, pale-faced and trembling.

He was still holding a Student ID.

"Todo, save me!"