Getting acquainted

By the time the footsteps stopped at the door, Madara had already composed himself.

He crouched on the floor, stroking the dog's head intermittently with his right hand.

The dog seemed to have been badly frightened by its owner's death and the terrifying presence from earlier.

Now, under Madara's not particularly gentle but steady touch, its whimpers gradually quieted, and its body stopped trembling so violently.

He heard a sharp intake of breath from the doorway.

They're here.

Madara did not turn around immediately. He continued stroking the dog until he felt two gazes, full of uncertainty and wariness, fix firmly on his back.

Only then did he slowly stand up and turn around.

Two people stood in the doorway.

One was a tall girl with a ponytail, holding a long-handled naginata.

Though its tip was not pointed directly at him, she had already assumed a combat-ready stance, her eyes behind her glasses sharp as a hawk's.

He could barely sense any cursed energy flowing through her, but the air of a thoroughly honed taijutsu practitioner about her, along with the naginata in her hand, made it clear she was far from weak.

The other was a somewhat frail-looking, gentle black-haired boy with a long cloth bag on his back and an unsheathed katana already in his hand.

His expression held concern, but deep in his eyes was a wariness that could not be ignored.

More importantly, what a terrifying ocean of cursed energy lay within this boy-beneath its tranquil surface swirled currents of unfathomable depth.

Yuta Okkotsu.

"Um... are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Do you live here?" Yuta Okkotsu spoke first, his voice gentle as he tried to ease the tension.

His gaze quickly swept over Madara, then moved to the landlord's corpse on the floor behind him and the rapidly dissipating pool of cursed spirit "remains." His brow furrowed slightly.

"Hey, Yuta," Maki Zenin warned quietly, adjusting the angle of her naginata a little.

Her gaze scraped over Madara's face like a blade, trying to find any trace of pretense on the boy's excessively calm features.

At a bloody scene like this, faced with two armed strangers, he could still pet an animal so calmly?

This was absolutely not how an ordinary boy should react.

Madara's gaze passed calmly over the two before finally settling on Yuta Okkotsu's face.

He nodded, his tone flat and even.

"I live here, downstairs." He raised a hand and pointed beneath his feet.

"This is the landlord's room, but he's dead. A monster killed him."

"A monster? A cursed spirit?" Yuta Okkotsu pressed, taking half a step forward as though he wanted to get closer to check Madara's condition, but a look from Maki stopped him.

"Yeah, probably." Madara shrugged, his expression still largely unchanged. "I don't know exactly what that thing was called."

"Then where is that cursed spirit?" Maki Zenin stared into Madara's eyes, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

Her gaze swept once more toward the pool of filthy cursed residue that had almost entirely vanished.

The cursed spirit had been exorcised, but the process... had been too fast for them to believe.

Barely a minute had passed between their sensing the eruption and rushing upstairs.

"Killed it." Madara kept it brief, pointing at the last traces on the floor as they dissolved into black smoke.

"You killed it?" Maki's voice was thick with doubt.

A boy who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen had single-handedly exorcised a cursed spirit approaching Grade 1 in such a short time?

Aside from a little dust and blood on him, he wasn't even breathing hard?

This was far too unusual.

"Yeah." Madara's reply was still just one word.

Yuta Okkotsu's brow furrowed further.

He studied Madara, trying to find more clues.

"Um... where are your parents? Are they nearby? There are some things we might need to ask about, and we'll need to notify your family too." Yuta Okkotsu tried a different approach, softening his voice as much as possible.

If he was an underage jujutsu sorcerer, perhaps he had a family or a mentor?

His presence here might also have been a coincidence.

Madara fell silent for a few seconds.

"They're dead." His voice held no fluctuation, as though he were commenting on the nice weather.

The original identity's setup: an orphan, living alone, getting by on a small inheritance and part-time work.

Simple, clean, no troublesome family ties.

Thanks to the god for the "thoughtful" arrangements.

Yuta Okkotsu and Maki Zenin exchanged a glance in an instant.

That look held surprise and understanding.

"Give us a moment," Yuta Okkotsu said, offering Madara a slightly apologetic smile.

"We'll step outside to discuss this. We won't be long. Haha..." He tried to lighten the atmosphere, with limited success.

Madara nodded indifferently and crouched again, continuing to stroke the dog as it rubbed against his trouser leg and whimpered.

The two retreated into the dim hallway, where the faint scents of blood and cursed energy residue still lingered in the air.

"What do we do?" Maki lowered her voice, resting her naginata on the floor, her brow tightly furrowed.

"He doesn't really seem to act like a curse user... he's too composed..." She recalled the boy stroking the dog. Though stiff, the motion had indeed held a hint of reassurance.

Pure villains rarely bothered with such unnecessary gestures.

"And the cursed energy response from him is strange," Yuta Okkotsu added quietly, his expression serious.

"He says he lives here, and he's an orphan..." He paused.

"Maki-san, how much do you believe what he said about killing the cursed spirit?"

"I don't know."

Killing a cursed spirit approaching Grade 1 in one strike? Even with a Special Grade Cursed Tool, for a boy, that was a bit too...

"Should we call Gojo-sensei first?" Yuta Okkotsu suggested. "He should know how to handle something like this."

"Isn't Gojo-sensei away on business right now? Apparently he's dealing with a difficult assignment overseas." Maki checked the time.

"It should be fine to call and ask. He may be... well, but he's reliable when it matters." As Yuta Okkotsu spoke, he had already taken his phone from his pocket.

As a Special Grade Sorcerer, Satoru Gojo's whereabouts were unpredictable, but there was still a way to reach him in an emergency.

Meanwhile, Maki took out her own phone. "I'll contact Mr. Ijichi and have him arrange for people from Window to handle the scene and... the landlord's remains."

She glanced behind her and added, "And the confidentiality and compensation arrangements afterward."

The two walked to opposite ends of the hallway and began their calls.

Madara's hearing was far sharper than an ordinary person's.

The pair's hushed conversation outside drifted intermittently into his ears.

He continued stroking the dog's head, his thoughts racing.

Satoru Gojo... so he really is an important figure at this point in time.

Being taken to Jujutsu High would suit me perfectly.

Jujutsu High can provide a relatively stable environment and... opportunities to meet the characters in the story.

As for being suspected? That's inevitable.

An underage jujutsu sorcerer of unknown origins suddenly appearing with the ability to exorcise Grade 1 Cursed Spirits-there's no way Jujutsu High wouldn't investigate.

But as long as I don't reveal too much and present myself as a "naturally gifted, unaffiliated jujutsu sorcerer," I should be able to get by.

If that really doesn't work... I'll have no choice but to become their enemy.

Madara's eyes darkened slightly.

It was not as though he had no fallback options. For now, fitting into Jujutsu High was the most convenient choice.

He lowered his head toward the dog at his feet. It looked up at him with wet eyes, then toward the landlord, letting out low whimpers.

"What about the dog?" Madara suddenly raised his voice a little and called toward the door.

Outside, Maki seemed to have just finished her call. She paused, then answered through the door, her voice back to its usual briskness.

"Window's people will handle the follow-up, including finding a reliable adoption agency or family. They'll find it a good owner."

"...Is that so." Madara's response betrayed no emotion.

He gave the dog's head one last rub and stood up.

Okkotsu's call had connected. The background was somewhat noisy, seemingly mixed with wind and distant rumbling.

"Hello, hello~ What is it, Yuta~ Miss your teacher?" Satoru Gojo's cheerful, slightly punchable voice came through.

Even over the phone, it was easy to imagine how he looked at that moment, a playful smile on his lips.

"Gojo-sensei!" Yuta Okkotsu hurried to explain the situation.

He gave as concise and clear a report as he could.

"...That's the situation. Um, are you listening, Sensei?" Okkotsu finished.

Besides Satoru Gojo's breathing, he seemed to hear other sounds on the line, something like... heavy impacts and faint screams?

"Ah... yes, I'm listening, I'm listening~ How interesting!" Satoru Gojo's voice remained relaxed.

"A cursed spirit approaching Grade 1, taken out instantly by some boy who appeared out of nowhere? Hmm..."

A clear roar suddenly came from the background. "You brat!! You dare make a phone call in the middle of a fight?!"

Then came Satoru Gojo's amused reply, seemingly a little farther from the microphone. "Oh, sorry, sorry. My student has something urgent~ Just wait a tiny moment~"

Then the sounds of fighting and explosions grew clearer.

"Aah!"

"Urgh!"

"All of you, attack!!"

Yuta Okkotsu: "..."

The other end remained noisy for a while, but soon Satoru Gojo's voice became clear again, and the background quieted considerably.

"All right, all right, that's settled. Back to business, Yuta."

His tone grew a little more serious, but only a little. "Take him to Jujutsu High first. As for the specific arrangements... hmm, I can't come back just yet.

"But be careful. Keep him under wraps for now. At least until I get back, don't let those old guard... ahem, don't let the higher-ups find out.

"Go straight to Principal Yaga and explain the situation clearly. He'll know what to do."

"Ah, okay! Sensei, is there... something happening on your end?" Yuta Okkotsu could not help asking.

"Oh, nothing~" Satoru Gojo's voice grew cheerful again.

"Just a bunch of clueless small fry. I've already cleaned them up. That's all, bye~ Remember to wait for the souvenirs I'm bringing back~"

The call ended.

Yuta Okkotsu lowered his phone and looked at Maki, who had finished her own call and walked over.

Since he had put the call on speaker, both Madara inside the room and Maki in the hallway had heard their conversation clearly.

Maki pushed up her glasses, her face expressionless. "So we're taking him back to Jujutsu High. Gojo-sensei is the same as ever. Even overseas, he doesn't settle down."

"Yeah." Yuta Okkotsu nodded with a somewhat helpless smile.

"But we still need to ask what he wants." He looked toward Madara.

Madara stood in the doorway, his face still largely expressionless. He glanced at Yuta Okkotsu, then at Maki Zenin, and spoke calmly.

"I have no objections."

Yuta Okkotsu froze for a moment, clearly not expecting him to agree so readily. "R-really? Haha... well, that's good. Please come with us. There are some procedures and details we'll need to explain once we get to the school."

Madara nodded and walked out of the room. The dog ran after him, circling his feet twice and whimpering.

Madara looked down at it without saying anything more.

As Maki watched Madara's calm profile, the thread of doubt in her heart had not entirely disappeared, but this was the best way to handle things for now.

She put away her naginata but did not lower her guard.

"Let's go. Window's people will be here soon," she told Okkotsu, then headed toward the stairs first.

Yuta Okkotsu gestured for Madara to go ahead.

Madara stepped forward and followed.

The black curtain still shrouded the sky, but his gaze had already turned farther afield, toward Jujutsu High, hidden away in some corner of Tokyo.