"So you're into that sort of thing? Sorry, a teacher shouldn't interfere in a student's private life. Maki, did you hear that? What do you think? When an adorable student asks for extra training, how could his teacher refuse?" Satoru Gojo said with a chuckle.
"Hurry up and give me back my shoe!!!" Maki gritted her teeth, her face flushed as she glared at Akutagawa Shang.
Only then did Akutagawa Shang realize that Maki was wearing only a sock on her right foot. Somehow, when she had kicked him flying earlier, he had accidentally pulled her shoe off, and now he was holding it firmly in his hand.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Akutagawa Shang hurriedly returned the shoe to Maki and, displaying the spirit of a true craftsman, bowed deeply to her.
Akutagawa Shang had only just raised his head when he saw Maki, her shoe back on, walking toward him step by step with her staff in hand and a friendly smile on her face.
"You want me to hit you, right? Fine, you got it."
"Holy shit Σ(°ロ°)-wait-don't-I was joking!" Akutagawa Shang's expression changed drastically as he watched her raise her staff.
"Well, I took you seriously. Don't run. Stand still and take your beating."
"Noooo ε∏^∏ε."
The staff came down, and Akutagawa Shang once again scrambled away, with Maki hot on his heels. The two began their second round of chasing around the field.
Panda pulled Inumaki along as he cheered from the sidelines, holding up his phone.
"Go, Akutagawa!! I believe you can outrun Maki!"
"Shut up, Panda!"
Satoru Gojo stood at the edge of the field with his arms folded, watching the farce unfold with a smile. "This is youth! It's good to be young." The lively scene before him seemed to awaken certain long-buried memories. He, too, had once experienced moments like these, together with his former best friend.
Seemingly tired of chasing him, or perhaps deciding to let Akutagawa Shang off, Maki stopped and lay straight down on the grass. Akutagawa Shang collapsed beside her, panting heavily.
"Phew, I'll let you off today. You won't get off this easily next time."
"So I should thank you? Thank you, Boss Maki, for letting me off today."
"Hmph, at least you know what's good for you."
Akutagawa rolled his eyes, but he no longer had the energy to argue. Time passed quickly, and the sun was about to set. The evening sunlight fell over the buildings that symbolized human civilization, bathing the entire field in red.
Exercise truly was the best way to liven things up. After all that commotion, Akutagawa Shang had clearly grown much closer to everyone at Jujutsu High. At least striking up a conversation no longer felt awkward, which was undoubtedly wonderful news for someone with social anxiety.
At the edge of the field, Panda and Inumaki walked toward them, their heads lowered as though they were whispering about something.
Satoru Gojo teleported over from the other side of the field and stopped beside the two of them. "That's it for today's training. It looks like Maki's special training was very effective. Akutagawa-kun can already sense cursed energy, and it looks like he can use it proficiently too. That's quick progress. Good work. Is there anything else you'd like to ask, Akutagawa-kun?"
"A question? Actually, I do have one."
Akutagawa raised his head and stared at Satoru Gojo for a while. "Gojo-sensei, what's that layer of blue light around you?"
He hadn't paid much attention earlier, but now that he had a moment to spare, he realized that after awakening his cursed energy, he seemed able to see things he hadn't been able to see before. It was like a blurry lens covered in grime had been wiped clean, bringing everything into focus.
In Akutagawa's eyes, Satoru Gojo's entire body was now radiating blue light.
"Blue? You can see my cursed energy?" Satoru Gojo paused in surprise.
"Yeah, I think so. It's so blue it's almost black."
"That's my cursed energy." Satoru Gojo sounded rather pleased. "Your perception is on the right track. Take a look at the others."
Akutagawa turned to look at Inumaki and the others.
Sure enough, Panda and Inumaki also had light around them, but theirs was different from Satoru Gojo's. The light around Satoru Gojo was frighteningly dense. Just one look at him standing there was enough to tell that he was terrifyingly strong. The light around Panda and the others, however, was very faint.
Then he turned toward Maki and froze.
"Stop looking. I'm different from you. I'm someone without cursed energy." Maki lowered her head, and the flush from her earlier exertion faded from her face.
"Not everyone is as lucky as you. An unlucky person like me, without any cursed energy, can't even see cursed spirits. I can only fight properly when I'm wearing these tacky glasses."
Akutagawa stared at Maki. She really was different from everyone else. There was no color around her. Before him was a blank space, which at first glance looked like someone had cut a piece out of the middle of a painting. But when he looked closely, that wasn't actually the case. Deep within that blank space, he saw an extremely tiny glimmer, so small that even he had to concentrate to detect its existence. It was too small, like a coin that had fallen to the bottom of a lake. An ordinary jujutsu sorcerer would never notice it.
"No, you have cursed energy too. And those glasses aren't tacky at all. You look really good in them."
"What are you talking about, you idiot?" Maki turned her head away, avoiding Akutagawa Shang's gaze.
Akutagawa Shang couldn't see Maki's expression, but he could hear a slight tremor in her voice.
Watching them from the side, Panda pulled Inumaki over and whispered in his ear, "Oh, did Maki's ears just turn red?"
Seeing that Maki had no intention of replying, Akutagawa Shang simply shut his mouth too.
"Any other questions?"
"I don't think so, for now."
"Good. Since Akutagawa-kun has no more questions, let's call it a day. Everyone, go back and get some rest. Get ready, because tomorrow we have a practical jujutsu lesson."
"What? There's more?"
"Of course. Tomorrow's practical lesson will be split into two groups. Panda and Inumaki will be one group. As for you, Akutagawa-kun, you'll be paired with Maki."
"Who wants to be paired with this idiot?" With that, Maki rose from the grass and walked off without looking back.
Akutagawa Shang also sat up, watching her figure disappear into the darkness.
"Good luck, Akutagawa-kun."
"Salmon."
Seeing this, Panda came over and patted him on the shoulder, then left with Inumaki.
"Since everyone's gone, you should hurry back and get some rest too, Akutagawa-kun. Tomorrow's practical lesson will be much more interesting than today's." Satoru Gojo waved.
"Are you sure it'll only be interesting? Based on what I've learned about you today, I doubt it'll be that simple." Akutagawa Shang kept having an ominous feeling.
"Hehe." Satoru Gojo merely gave him a smile and left him to make of it what he would.
"What do you mean, 'hehe'?"
"Oh, right." Satoru Gojo rummaged in his pocket, took something out, and tossed it to Akutagawa Shang.
Akutagawa Shang caught it and looked. It was actually a phone.
"Your phone probably doesn't work in this world, right? Consider this one a welcome gift from a teacher to his student. All our contact details are already saved in it. Just send a message if you need anything."
"Thanks."
Akutagawa Shang took the phone, got up, and headed toward the dorms.
Suddenly, he felt the phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and saw that Maki had actually sent him a message.
"Don't be late tomorrow morning, or I won't wait for you."
Looking at the message, Akutagawa Shang laughed.
"Heh, you say you don't want to, but your body's honest."
Before you continue