Outside the street entrance, Ijichi waited anxiously beside the car.
Worried sick because the three had been gone so long, he kept watching the shopping street's exit. When he saw them return, his tightly clenched heart finally relaxed a little.
He had just run through every worst-case scenario, because he knew Satoru Gojo really would go crazy if anything happened to them. Everything would fall apart then.
Ijichi hurried over to meet them.
"Something unexpected happened just now. Someone seems to have interfered with the Curtain. I already tried dispelling it, but I still couldn't get it to lift. I'm so glad to see you all come out safely."
"Yeah, yeah, let's get in first. We'll explain the details in the car." Akutagawa Shang opened the door and sat in the back seat. He thought they had better get back to Jujutsu High as soon as possible.
The others got in after him. Ijichi stepped on the accelerator, and the car finally pulled slowly away from the shopping street.
"Mr. Ijichi, there are a few things about this mission we think we need to report to you."
"Go ahead."
"When we finished dealing with the curse assigned to us and tried to leave, we discovered that the Curtain hadn't lifted. And at that moment, a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit outside the mission's scope appeared out of thin air inside the area. I suspect someone deliberately planted it there."
"A Grade 1 Cursed Spirit? None of you were hurt, were you?" Ijichi's voice abruptly rose, clearly startled, but his tone soon steadied.
"All right, I understand. Once we get back, I'll immediately report this to Mr. Gojo and Principal Yaga. Jujutsu High will definitely investigate this thoroughly, so please rest assured."
Ijichi was furious. Deliberately targeting Jujutsu High students and planting a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit out of thin air without being detected-this was no ordinary curse user. They had to crack down hard.
"Please be especially careful lately, everyone. I'm afraid the culprit might launch a second attack. It would be best not to leave Jujutsu High alone."
Akutagawa Shang nodded and leaned against the seat back. He knew who had planted the cursed spirit, and he believed Satoru Gojo should be able to guess who it was once he heard the news.
"I don't know what that guy was after, but it looks like his plan fell through. Yuta blew the head clean off the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit he sent." Akutagawa Shang spoke up, easing the somewhat solemn atmosphere in the car.
"The Sister School Goodwill Event is in a few days. We'll be counting on you to do the heavy lifting, Yuta." He patted Yuta Okkotsu's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'll do my best." Yuta Okkotsu responded with a shy smile, like a student who had received praise from his teacher.
The car traveled smoothly down the road toward Jujutsu High.
By the time they returned to Jujutsu High, it was already dark.
Yuta Okkotsu had just been about to go back to his room and lie down when Akutagawa Shang hooked an arm around his neck. He had barely gotten out of the car and, before he could react, he was already being dragged toward Akutagawa Shang's dorm room.
"Come on, come on. The mission's over. Let's reward ourselves with a good meal." Akutagawa Shang's other hand wasn't idle either. He grabbed Toge Inumaki, who hadn't had time to escape. "My room. We're having hot pot."
"Huh? Where did you get a pot, senpai?" Yuta Okkotsu asked.
"Uh, I borrowed it from the cafeteria a few days ago." Akutagawa Shang felt a little guilty.
"Huh? Panda-senpai said a pot went missing from the cafeteria a few days ago. Mmph..." Akutagawa Shang hurriedly covered Yuta Okkotsu's mouth.
"Hey, how can you call something a jujutsu sorcerer does stealing? I'll return it in a couple of days."
Early the next morning.
Akutagawa Shang was woken by sunlight shining through a gap in the curtains.
He got up and groggily checked his phone. The time on the screen plainly read nine o'clock.
He scratched his head.
"Oh no... I got a little carried away eating last night and accidentally overslept."
But surprisingly, Maki really didn't come yank my covers off this morning. Why do I feel a little disappointed for some reason?
The hot pot had been such a good time that the three had kept eating late into the night. Their bodies and minds, tense all day, had completely relaxed. No wonder he had slept until nine.
Akutagawa Shang stretched and walked toward the bathroom with a yawn to wash up. After getting dressed, he left his room, still a little groggy.
As usual, he bought two iced drinks and headed toward the classroom building.
Just as he reached the vicinity of the classroom building, Akutagawa Shang spotted a green-haired girl some distance away, bent over in front of a vending machine as if buying something. From behind, she looked like Maki.
"That's Maki for you. Already here this early."
Akutagawa Shang looked at the green-haired girl's back in the distance, then at the chilled drinks in his hands. A bold idea suddenly popped into his head.
A wicked smile slowly curled his lips, and he crept quietly toward the green-haired girl from behind.
"Huh? When did Maki cut her hair short? Oh well, no big deal."
Though a little puzzled, he didn't stop what he was doing. He pressed the icy metal can straight against the girl's slender, fair nape.
"Hiss-! Ah-!"
The sudden icy sensation made the green-haired girl in front of him stiffen sharply. Her back arched at once, and her whole body shuddered violently.
"Heh heh heh. How's that? Up so early-feeling any more awake now?"
Akutagawa Shang wore a sly grin at the success of his plan, but he soon stopped smiling.
"Hey, Akutagawa Shang, what are you doing here?"
Maki's voice suddenly came from behind him.
He turned and saw Maki walking slowly toward them with a long blade over her shoulder, accompanied by Inumaki, Panda, and Yuta Okkotsu.
Akutagawa Shang froze for a moment before realizing something.
"Wait, that's not right!"
If the one coming up behind me is Maki, then who's the person in front of me?
In the instant he stood dazed, the green-haired girl in front of him suddenly whipped her head around and slapped him right across the face.
Looking at the face before him, filled with embarrassment and anger, Akutagawa Shang could clearly tell from her expression that she was a completely different person, even though her features and eyes were exactly like Maki's.
The person before him wasn't Maki Zenin, but Mai Zenin from Kyoto Jujutsu High.
"Y-you've got something wrong with you! Is this how you people at Tokyo Jujutsu High treat guests?"
Mai's entire face instantly turned scarlet. She started hissing straight at Akutagawa Shang, her eyes red as though she were about to cry.
Akutagawa Shang stepped back, waving his hands incessantly as he apologized.
"Wait, sorry, I mistook you for someone else... Ow-!"
Before Akutagawa Shang could finish, a sharp pain shot through his ear. Maki had grabbed it firmly with one hand and given it a tug, pulling him off balance.
"I'm asking you, what did you just do to my little sister?"
Akutagawa Shang grimaced in pain and hurriedly raised both hands in surrender, explaining over and over.
"I swear it was a misunderstanding! I really mistook her for someone else. Hey, go easy... Ow, ow, ow!"
"You call this a misunderstanding?" Maki tightened her grip a little more, and Akutagawa Shang let out a short scream.
"Doing that to a strange girl's neck first thing in the morning? How did I never notice you were this good at fooling around? Hurry up and apologize."
Akutagawa Shang had no defense now. If he had known, he would never have acted on that sudden whim.
"Sorry, sorry."
Mai stood beside them and watched quietly. The flush on her face had mostly faded. She took a deep breath, and when she raised her head again, her face had returned to that half-smiling expression she wore when looking at trash.
"Heh, no need to apologize. But is this what you people at Tokyo Jujutsu High normally train in? Looks like your students don't amount to much either."
She spoke with a sneer. She wasn't looking at Akutagawa Shang; those words were directed at Maki.
Maki released Akutagawa Shang's ear and stepped half a pace forward, shielding him with her body as she met Mai's sharp gaze.
"Hmph. I'll deal with you later."
The two sisters faced off less than three meters apart. Their clashing gazes were like countless blades crossing in midair, and the invisible pressure even reached the spectators beside them.
"So scary," Yuta Okkotsu said fearfully.
"I'm starting to think we shouldn't have come here today." Panda wiped the cold sweat from his head.
"Salmon." Toge Inumaki nodded.
"Big sister, you haven't changed at all after all these years. Still so violent." Mai covered her mouth and chuckled, looking utterly obnoxious.
"Neither have you. Still no improvement. Are you here for the Goodwill Event, or to make snide remarks?" Maki's expression didn't change in the slightest at Mai's mockery. She merely answered slowly.
"Tch. Then we'll see what you're made of at the Goodwill Event. Don't go secretly shedding little pearls when you lose." Seeing that her verbal attacks were getting her nowhere, Mai's sneer stiffened. She clicked her tongue, turned, and left.
"Let's go." Maki also turned and headed toward the meeting point for the two schools.
Before you continue