On the training grounds of Kyoto Jujutsu High.
A Gravity Field enveloped a section of the grounds.
Aoi Todo stood there.
Motionless.
He was crying.
Tears slid down his cheeks, falling faster than usual under the Gravity Field's influence and striking the dirt beneath his feet.
But his expression was not one of sadness.
It was a violent mix of resentment, anger, shock, and something bordering on self-flagellation.
It was as if an immense war was raging deep inside him.
"Damn it..."
"I, Aoi Todo... actually... lost so easily to that first-year, Yuta Okkotsu..."
The little theater in his head was running wild at thousands of frames per second.
"Aoi Todo."
A chibi figure who looked exactly like him, wearing the same Jujutsu High uniform, appeared in the center of his mind.
He held a Pointer and tapped it against the ground twice.
"What are you doing? What are you standing here for? Did you come to train or space out?"
Another chibi figure popped up behind him.
Wearing a workout tank top, with a headband bearing the word "Effort" tied around his arm, he waved his fists.
"Hey, Todo!"
"Are you really going to accept this?"
"Getting crushed by a first-year junior!"
"Where's your pride? Your self-respect? What about that Cursed Technique you're so proud of, Boogie Woogie?"
The first figure jabbed his Pointer into the ground, his voice rising twice as loud.
"No! Todo!"
"You can't just admit defeat! That's not who you are!"
"You're a man who pushes himself to his limits to get stronger!"
"Have you forgotten how you got where you are, one step at a time?!"
The second figure rushed to the center of the scene.
He braced his hands on his knees and leaned forward, his nose almost pressing against Todo's chibi face.