Something to Do

Although Madara had pulled up the information on this "hot-blooded idiot" from his memory the instant he heard Aoi Todo's name.

When that question actually hit him in the face, Madara still felt an inexplicable sense of absurdity well up inside him.

He fell silent for two seconds, then turned his head slightly, sending a pleading look toward Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki behind him.

Is there something wrong with this guy's head?

Megumi Fushiguro caught the look and shook his head expressionlessly, helplessness written all over his face.

Nobara Kugisaki shrugged, looking just as helpless.

At that moment of delicate deadlock, familiar footsteps and voices came from the other end of the hallway.

"Oh, Madara did get here already." Panda's furry head poked around the corner first.

He surveyed the hallway, his round eyes passing over the injured Aoi Todo before turning to Madara, who stood there calmly, and nodded as if he understood.

"And from the looks of it... seems like he punched Todo, too?"

Toge Inumaki followed behind Panda, tugged down his collar, and offered a brief comment: "Salmon."

Maki Zenin was the last to emerge.

With a training staff resting on her shoulder, she swept her gaze around the hallway, first settling on Madara and nodding.

Then she almost immediately locked onto the short-haired girl standing a short distance away.

The corners of Maki's mouth slowly curved into a provocative smile.

"Yo, Mai," she said, deliberately drawing out her words.

"Long time no see~ What's wrong? Why the sour face~?"

Mai Zenin stiffened.

She turned to look at Maki, undisguised disgust and mockery appearing on the face that bore a strong resemblance to Maki's.

"Don't act like we're close, okay?" Mai's voice was cold, every word seeming to have been dredged out of an ice cellar.

"I don't want people thinking I'm like you-a good-for-nothing."

She spoke those final words slowly, stressing each one.

The smile on Maki's face did not change at all, but a cold gleam flashed through the eyes behind her glasses.

She lowered the staff from her shoulder, its tip touching the floor with a soft tap.

"As if you've got any ability yourself." Maki's tone remained languid, but the barbs in her words grew sharper.

"All you do is pour cursed energy into those little toys and play make-believe shooting games-and that makes you a fucking 'jujutsu sorcerer'?"

She raised her staff, pointing its tip at Mai from a distance with a gesture as casual as if she were pointing at a stray cat by the road.

Mai's expression darkened completely.

She tightened her grip on the gun at her waist, her knuckles turning slightly white, but forced a contemptuous smile onto her face.

"Oh my, that's still better than someone who doesn't even have cursed energy, isn't it?" Mai tilted her head slightly, her tone sickeningly sweet, though venom practically dripped from her words.

"Your neck will hurt if you're always looking up at the truly strong. So you need to look down on the weak once in a while, too~ Like you, for instance?"

The tension in the air was thick enough to explode.

Meanwhile, over by Madara and Aoi Todo-

Aoi Todo seemed entirely unconcerned with the verbal sparring between Maki and Mai.

He suddenly looked up, glanced at the daylight coming through the hallway windows, and let out an "Ah."

"Is it that late already?" Todo muttered, a trace of... urgency flashing through his big, round eyes?

Madara raised an eyebrow, looking at him somewhat speechlessly.

"Hey," Madara said, a hint of helplessness in his voice, "what can you tell just by looking at the sun?"

Aoi Todo snapped out of it, looked at Madara, and grinned, his smile still dazzlingly bright.

"Sorry, Madara Uchiha." Todo sounded straightforward, even a little apologetic.

"I've got something important to do in Tokyo. Next time we meet-I'll be looking forward to your answer!"

He waved casually, turned, and headed toward the other end of the hallway, his steps so quick it was as if he were rushing to a life-or-death appointment.

Passing the jacket he had casually tossed onto the floor earlier, Todo bent down, picked it up, shook off the dust, and slung it over his shoulder with a flourish.

"Ah, here's my jacket." He spoke to himself, then continued striding toward the exit.

"Hey!" Mai Zenin's voice rang out behind him, filled with obvious displeasure and disbelief.

"You're leaving already? We haven't even settled who won!"

Aoi Todo did not look back, merely raising a hand and waving behind him.

"I'm not some guy with nothing to do." His voice came from the end of the hallway, growing more distant.

"I've got something huge coming up-"

As he spoke, he reached the exit, suddenly stopped, and rummaged in the pocket of his uniform trousers, then-

Pulled out a ticket printed with a photo of a cute idol.

Aoi Todo turned around, held the ticket high, and wore an expression of almost fanatical excitement.

"-I'm going to Takada-chan's Solo Handshake Event!!!"

He roared those words louder and more earnestly than anything he had said before, his voice more... filled with heartfelt joy.

The hallway fell deathly silent.

Madara, Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki, Maki Zenin, and the others...

Everyone wore the exact same blank expression, as though they had seen something indescribable.

A few seconds later, several of them spoke in disbelief almost simultaneously.

"Huh?"

Madara rubbed his temples and muttered, "Does Kyoto Jujutsu High... have anyone normal?"

Mai Zenin's face instantly flushed red. She whipped her head around and shrieked in the direction Aoi Todo had gone.

"Don't lump me in with that idiot!!"

But Aoi Todo could no longer hear her-or rather, he did not care at all.

"Shut up!!" Todo's roar came from the distance, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

"If you make me miss Takada-chan's handshake event... there's no telling what I'll do!!"

As his words faded, his footsteps vanished entirely as well.

Mai stood where she was, trembling with anger.

She stamped her foot hard, but still gritted her teeth, turned, and chased after Todo.

"Y-you always just do whatever you want!!" she cursed as she chased him, never slowing her steps.

Before leaving, however, Mai still remembered to look back and throw the Tokyo Jujutsu High group a provocative smile.

"Just you wait," she said softly, though every word reached them clearly. "This Goodwill Event won't be so easy~"

Nobara Kugisaki bristled instantly.

"Hah!?" She waved her fists in the direction Mai had left. "Why are you acting like you've won!? Just you wait till I get my hands on you!! I'll smash that ugly face of yours!!"

Maki sighed, raised the staff in her hand, and gave Kugisaki a moderate tap on the head.

"Shut up, idiot." Maki's voice was calm, but carried unquestionable authority.

"There's nothing to gain from fighting here. If you've got that much energy, save it for the Goodwill Event-"

She paused, her lips curving into a cold smile.

"-And beat them into the ground."

Kugisaki held her head and gave a disgruntled huff, but said nothing more.

Only then did Megumi Fushiguro breathe a sigh of relief.

He moved his still slightly numb arm, looked at Madara, and nodded earnestly.

"Thank you, Madara-senpai." His voice was sincere. "It's a good thing you got here in time."

Madara smiled gently, looking like a completely different person from when he had calmly sent Todo flying with a punch.

"It's nothing," Madara said lightly. "It's what a senpai should do."

He paused, then clapped his hands, a smile returning to his face.

"All right, all right~ Now that you've finished resting and watching the show-"

Madara's gaze swept over Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki, his smile deepening.

"-Let's get back to training."

Megumi Fushiguro: "..."

Nobara Kugisaki: "..."

Their expressions froze instantly, then visibly crumpled.

"Huh??" There was a hint of despair in Megumi Fushiguro's voice.

"Are you serious?!" Nobara Kugisaki wailed outright.

Maki walked over with the staff on her shoulder, wearing the same spine-chilling smile as Madara.

"What?" Maki tilted her head, her tone terrifyingly "gentle." "You didn't think you could take it easy just because there's still time before the Goodwill Event, did you?"

She twirled the staff in her hand, pointing its tip toward the Training Ground.

Finally, Maki looked at Madara and raised an eyebrow.

"Madara, don't just stand around either. Come be their sparring partner."

Madara nodded, accepting the arrangement quite naturally. "Sure."

"Noooo-!!!"

Nobara Kugisaki's wail echoed throughout the hallway.

In the distance, Mai Zenin, who had already reached the school gates, seemed to faintly hear that scream.

"What was that?"