Positive Energy and Divine Power (?)

Ijichi felt as though he had awakened.

Once he realized the higher-ups were nothing but paper tigers, impressive on the surface but not much more than that, certain things suddenly clicked into place, as though a blockage inside him had finally cleared.

His corporate-drone instincts remained, and he still held a certain respect for the higher-ups, but that was about it.

As a result, he had become much more relaxed.

Take the present situation, for instance. The higher-ups had clearly ordered them to return immediately to report and explain what had happened on the mission.

Yet when Aikawa Kaze wanted to make a detour home to pick something up, Ijichi offered to drive him there without hesitation.

"Is that all right? If they find out, won't you get into trouble, Mr. Ijichi?"

Aikawa Kaze knew what the higher-ups wanted, too. He had no intention of putting Ijichi in a difficult position, so he had really only meant to give him a heads-up.

Jujutsu High was out in the middle of nowhere, making even an ordinary outing inconvenient. Missions did not necessarily take him anywhere near home, either. He could not count on getting another one that happened to head in roughly the right direction like this.

His original plan had been to sneak off to his "home" to collect his things. Ijichi and Toge Inumaki would merely be innocent bystanders dragged into a headstrong Jujutsu Sorcerer's antics.

It was hardly the first time something like that had happened. The higher-ups should have been quite familiar with it by now.

That way, even if they returned late, all the anger would be directed at Aikawa Kaze. The other two might catch a little of the backlash, but they would not face much blame.

What he had not expected was for Ijichi to offer to drive him there after hearing him out.

"If we don't say anything, they won't necessarily find out," Ijichi said calmly. "And think about it. Even if they do, you'll be on my side, won't you, Kaze?"

"Of course!"

"Then there's no problem."

Ijichi turned the steering wheel and drove toward the address Aikawa Kaze had given him.

After witnessing Aikawa Kaze's practically world-shattering power firsthand, Ijichi felt that, apart from those two Special Grade Sorcerers, everyone else in Jujutsu Society combined probably could not withstand his blows.

In that case, what was there to fear?

Ijichi was actually fairly familiar with Satoru Gojo.

He had once been a student at Jujutsu High himself. In fact, becoming an Assistant Supervisor had been Satoru Gojo's suggestion.

Ijichi was grateful to Satoru Gojo. He truly was not suited to being a Jujutsu Sorcerer, and without Gojo's guidance, there was no telling how his life might have turned out.

Back at Jujutsu High, Ijichi had known with certainty that Satoru Gojo would help him.

But after becoming an Assistant Supervisor, being caught between Gojo and the higher-ups had put him in a painfully difficult position. And then there was Satoru Gojo's awful personality...

Ijichi closed his eyes. He really did not want to cozy up to Satoru Gojo or ask him for help!

With Aikawa Kaze, however, he felt no pressure at all.

Even though Kaze was still a child, he was already looking forward to seeing what Aikawa Kaze would become.

He was already this powerful. What would he be like once he reached adulthood?

Deep down, Ijichi hoped Aikawa Kaze would become even stronger than Satoru Gojo, the man universally acknowledged as the strongest.

Without realizing it, he voiced that thought aloud. Toge Inumaki, who was just as biased, expressed his agreement from inside the car.

"Salmon!"

"Wow, I didn't realize you two had so much faith in me."

"Salmon, salmon!"

"That's right! You're already so strong, Kaze. You'll definitely be even stronger in the future! Then we'll have even less to worry about!"

"I never knew you had this side to you, Ijichi! Hahaha!"

Aikawa Kaze had never expected the honest-looking, thoroughly overworked Ijichi to have such a "rebellious" side.

This Ijichi had long since stepped beyond the rigid impression of a background character, becoming a vivid, multifaceted, unique person.

The same went for Toge Inumaki.

He was no longer merely the quiet, dependable pretty boy in Kaze's memories. He was a companion Kaze could fool around with, a boy who struggled to strike up conversations with strangers, and a reliable friend who thought of protecting him in a crisis.

Aikawa Kaze smiled happily. He felt he had truly come to know "Toge Inumaki" and "Kiyotaka Ijichi," rather than merely feeling a connection to the one-dimensional "fictional characters" he had once known.

"How come you and Kaze got so close after just one trip, Toge?"

After returning to Jujutsu High, everyone who had finished their missions finally gathered again for physical combat training on the Athletic Field.

Panda immediately felt the difference.

Aikawa Kaze and Toge Inumaki's relationship had progressed in leaps and bounds. They had become even closer than Kaze and Panda were.

Before the mission, Panda had been the close friend who understood "rice ball language" best and gossiped with Toge. He had also been the fluffy creature Aikawa Kaze most loved admiring, to the point of wanting to hug him and nuzzle him endlessly.

But after the mission...

Aikawa Kaze and Toge Inumaki seemed to share an unspoken understanding. Kaze had even made Toge a "translator for outsiders." Their closeness left even Panda feeling left out.

"What are you, a kindergartner sulking because his other two friends became better friends?"

Maki smacked Panda on the head and spoke irritably.

"You've got some nerve getting distracted while sparring with me!"

"But, but, I really can't stop thinking about it!"

Panda covered the lump on his forehead, utterly dejected.

"Toge is one thing. He's always been gentle and considerate, and he likes talking to people. Cursed Speech just makes it difficult for him. But Kaze... Maki, you have no idea how hard he is to get close to!"

After the "secret" incident at the Amusement Park, Aikawa Kaze had sincerely told Panda he trusted him. Panda had thought they were already good friends.

But after seeing Kaze's rapport with Toge, and the expression on his face when they played games on the NS together, Panda felt he had lost.

He had clearly been the first participant in Gojo Sensei's "High School Boys' Intimate Secrets Affection UP UP Operation." Who would have thought Toge, the second to join, would overtake him...

How had he managed it?

If someone asked Kaze that question, he would probably answer that he liked Panda's body-his fluffiness-but still understood little about his soul.

After all, he had only spent a single day alone with Panda, and most of that day had gone into figuring out how to get Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto to stir up trouble together.

By contrast, Aikawa Kaze had spent three days eating and staying with Toge Inumaki. They had also weathered the seafood cursed spirit attack together, so naturally their bond had grown stronger.

"Are you an idiot?! How can you say something that sappy with a straight face?!"

Maki punched Panda away without hesitation.

"If you want to be friends with someone, just go hang out with them! Stop grossing me out!"

A panda went flying and hit the ground with a bang that sounded downright painful.

"Is Panda... really okay?"

Yuta Okkotsu was sparring with Aikawa Kaze on the other side of the Athletic Field. At the sound, he could not help looking over.

"Come to think of it, who did Panda say he wanted to be friends with? I don't think we met anyone new while we were out."

"I don't know what's going on with Panda, but-"

Aikawa Kaze narrowed his eyes. Taking advantage of Yuta Okkotsu's distraction, he darted in, tripped him, and knocked him on the head with his sword hilt.

Clang!

"Getting distracted while sparring with me? Who do you think you're dealing with?!"

"Sorry..."

Panda and Yuta Okkotsu, both defeated because they had gotten distracted, tacitly left the field and yielded center stage to Aikawa Kaze and Maki Zenin.

"Fighting you really is the most fun!"

"Sparring with you helps me a lot, Maki."

Even as they spoke, Maki Zenin's naginata had already collided with Aikawa Kaze's sword, and they began trading blows with a flurry of metallic clashes.

Both radiated intensity, their gazes sharp and their attacks ruthless, without the slightest restraint. An uninformed observer might have thought they shared some deep personal grudge.

But anyone who knew them understood that this was merely their usual practice.

"That's Aikawa Kaze for you, the guy who said, 'As long as training doesn't kill you, train like it will.' He really doesn't hold back!"

"Don't let Maki hear you say that, Panda!" Yuta Okkotsu poked Panda's waist. "You'll be in for it. She never wants her opponents to go easy on her."

"Ah, I just think Kaze's weapon gives him an unfair advantage... Maki's naginata probably won't last more than a few blows."

Panda sighed as he watched their intense exchange.

Yuta Okkotsu saw nothing wrong with their approach to training. When he practiced, he could not bring himself to attack Maki's vital points.

But he did not think there was anything wrong with the two of them being able to do so.

"There's not much they can do about that. Kaze's right, after all: 'More sweat in training, less blood in battle!'"

"I know, I know! And 'Your enemy won't go easy on you because your weapon is worse,' too. What I mean is, if they get carried away, we might be the ones who suffer."

"Huh?"

"Look! Maki knows her naginata won't hold up, so she's brought out Playful Cloud. Now Kaze's Jewel Sword is in trouble."

"Really?"

"Of course! Playful Cloud is a Special Grade Cursed Tool!" Panda asked Yuta Okkotsu quietly, looking worried, "Yuta, I heard Kaze also has King Arthur's Caliburn. Is that true? Will he bring it out against Playful Cloud?"

"I'm not really sure, but..." Watching the two fight, Yuta Okkotsu exclaimed, "I never expected the Jewel Sword to hold its own against Playful Cloud. Is it a Special Grade Cursed Tool, too?"

Everyone had known the Jewel Sword was impressive, but its slightly tacky name, combined with Aikawa Kaze's casual attitude toward it, had kept them from imagining it was special grade as well.

Naturally so. Though the Jewel Sword was only a three-star card in a certain FGO, it was something known as "the pinnacle of Mystic Codes"!

"Hey, didn't I tell you to learn how to use more weapons?" Maki Zenin narrowed her eyes and said flatly, "Why are you still using that sword?"

"Are you doing this on purpose? You know perfectly well how rare weapons of this caliber are. If I switched to something weaker, you'd probably snap it on the spot."

"Then why weren't you using this at the start?!"

"Force of habit..."

"So you really weren't listening!"

Maki glared at Aikawa Kaze. She had reminded him entirely out of goodwill.

After all, Jujutsu Sorcerers could make use of cursed tools, but they could not become completely dependent on one particular tool. That would leave them less room for error and make things more dangerous instead.

"All right, my mistake."

Aikawa Kaze put away the Jewel Sword, took out blue Black Keys, and gave himself a shield.

"Dominus Lapidis: Stele Shield!"

Golden energy covered his entire body and enveloped his weapon, making the "fragile" Black Keys harder to break.

Last time, he had truly made contact with a certain Lord of Geo, which also proved the potential of his "talent."

However, that lord had no intention of entering into a contract with him.

Although his "overwhelming hatred of seafood" had served as the catalyst for borrowing some of the other's power, what came afterward...

The Geo Archon Morax placed the utmost importance on contracts. He would never casually enter into one without understanding the exact circumstances and terms.

That was part of his divine office, and also how things normally worked.

Thinking of it that way, Emiya, who had agreed to contract with him back then, and the King of Knights, who had been willing to lend him a hand, really were wonderfully kind people!

Still, the Lord of Geo had been very pleased with his desire to slaughter every seafood monster and had given him a Geo Vision.

Although a certain Electro Archon had said that the distribution of Visions had nothing to do with the Seven, that did not mean they could not give one out when they wanted to.

Thus, after Aikawa Kaze received his Geo Vision, he could draw upon Geo power.

He could not call down meteors yet, but he could manage basic applications such as protecting his body and strengthening his weapons.

As for the shield's strength... it could not compare with Zhongli's, but it was still pretty good.

Calling out that voice line was purely a habit. The reassuring feeling it brought even lifted his fighting spirit a little.

"This is my new ability. Be careful, Maki. I'm serious!"

"Huh? How is this any different from strengthening your body and weapons with cursed energy?"

Maki Zenin examined him carefully several times, but still found no clues. Through her glasses, she could only see some kind of energy wrapped around his body and weapon.

Wasn't that just like ordinary cursed energy reinforcement?

At most, ordinary cursed energy reinforcement was not visibly noticeable, while Aikawa Kaze's version was flashy and rather pretty.

"Well, in terms of its effects alone, it might indeed be the same as cursed energy reinforcement, but... its nature is different."

"Hmph, I don't care what tricks you're pulling! Whatever it does, I'll find out by hitting it!"

"We certainly can test it."

Aikawa Kaze smiled, blinked, and clashed with Maki once more.

With a teeth-grating creak, the low-grade cursed tool, Black Keys, actually blocked Playful Cloud's attack!

"How is that possible?!"

Maki was utterly astonished.

The gap between grades was absolute.

Just like the difference between Jujutsu Sorcerer grades, even a single grade meant a world of difference in strength. Cursed tools were no exception.

But how could she explain what was happening before her?

"That light around you has a stronger reinforcement effect? No, that doesn't seem right..."

Maki was certain that simple cursed energy reinforcement could not raise something beyond its grade. If it could, wouldn't that mean Satoru Gojo could reinforce a low-grade cursed tool into a Special Grade Cursed Tool?

Yet even Satoru Gojo could not do that.

Maki frowned in thought, testing the Black Keys with another attack while feeling out the subtle differences in the impact.

Her Heavenly Restriction was incomplete. Her cursed energy was so low it was almost nonexistent, but in exchange, her body had been greatly enhanced.

"It's weakening it!" Maki suddenly realized something, astonishment filling her eyes. "That golden light is weakening Playful Cloud's own cursed energy!"

"Bingo! Correct!"

"Is that your special ability?"

"No, this is positive energy. It's something you've never encountered, but you can use it, too."

Although he had not managed to enter into a contract with the Geo Archon, there was no denying how much the god had helped him.

Previously, his claims about positive energy had still been somewhat nebulous. There had been indirect evidence, but without a concrete, direct example to prove it, his argument had seemed rather thin.

Now, the kind Geo Archon had supplied the most important piece of the puzzle.

Geo energy was not negative energy. It belonged to the power of "Genshin," and in this world, it naturally manifested as positive energy.

"This power of mine is positive energy bestowed on me by a kind God! Calling it divine power would be pretty accurate, too!"