It was a sweltering summer day. I came back to Tokyo Jujutsu High for the first time in a while.
To watch the exchange event.
"Welcome~"
The moment I arrived at the room I'd been guided to through the old-fashioned corridor, Gojo, who was already seated inside, waved at me.
It was a moderately spacious room.
The people sitting across the chairs looked exactly like they had in the manga.
"Hello."
"We're about to start. Just take any seat."
"Okay."
Gojo. Geto. Yaga.
I exchanged greetings with the people from Tokyo Jujutsu High and took a seat.
Minamoto-no-Raiko and Ushi-gozen, who were on duty this month, stood behind me.
At this point, everyone seemed pretty comfortable even around Servants.
Slide.
After I sat and waited a moment, the people from Kyoto Jujutsu High opened the door and came in.
The cute-looking woman in shrine maiden robes was Iori Utahime.
Along with Gakuganji, carrying his guitar, that made two.
"You've arrived?"
The instant Gakuganji saw me, he hurriedly bowed his head.
Having an old man act like that toward me was honestly a little burdensome.
"You must have had a hard trip coming all this way."
I quickly stood and bowed politely in return.
Iori, standing beside Gakuganji, did the same.
At this rate, it almost felt like some kind of formal family meeting.
The whole thing was a little awkward.
"I'm Iori Utahime, here as the supervising teacher."
"I'm Kadoc."
After the introductions, Iori politely offered a handshake.
Of course I accepted.
In the original story, she had a large burn scar across her face...
But now her skin was completely clear.
That was thanks to the magical medicine a Servant had made and Geto had delivered.
So while we hadn't met face-to-face before, there was already a connection there.
That was why Iori showed both fear and goodwill—along with a trace of respect.
"This is our first time meeting in person, right?"
"Thank you so much for sending the medicine. Thanks to that, the wound healed."
"That's good to hear. The Servants who made it will be glad it helped."
We shared a pleasant conversation and sat down.
It was technically a competitive event, but the atmosphere wasn't bad at all.
Or maybe not?
As we talked, I could catch bits of resignation here and there.
Even at a glance, Kyoto was at a severe disadvantage in raw strength.
The odds of them winning were low.
Megumi was stationed here, and he was far stronger than he had been in the original story.
And Okkotsu was here too, even though at this point he should have been overseas getting worked to the bone.
Yuji hadn't changed that much compared to this point in canon, so fine, set him aside.
But the presence of Maki and Mai was also a massive wall.
"Oh my. Am I a little late?"
Just as only one seat remained empty, the owner of that seat slid the door open and stepped inside.
Her braided hair hung down in front in a bizarre style.
She was a woman with considerable height—and an even more considerable chest.
'Come to think of it, this is my first time seeing her too.'
Her name was Mei Mei.
She'd never been a character I liked much to begin with, thanks to how obsessed she was with money.
"It's fine. What about the relay crows?"
Gojo rose slightly from his seat and asked.
It looked like he wasn't getting deeply involved, but was helping as staff instead.
Mei Mei smiled and nodded.
"I placed them all where they need to be. Don't worry."
"Okay. Since we have guests, I'll explain the rules real quick before we start."
While Mei Mei took her seat, Gojo gave a brief explanation.
Cursed Spirits had been released across the field.
The rules were simple: whichever side exorcised more of them would win.
"Tokyo crushed it last year, and there's a good chance the same thing happens this year. Still, you never know with a match, so let's watch and see."
Gojo flashed a grin and sat back down.
Soon, several televisions hanging in front of us lit up with different feeds.
In the forest, Maki, Mai, and Okkotsu loosened up.
Only those three second-years were participating.
The first-years were Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara, making six in total.
Kyoto also had six participants.
"Mm... what do we do?"
Okkotsu asked hesitantly.
Behind his back, the now-mature Rika floated an inch above the ground.
Unlike last year, her hair was swept back.
There was something decadent and mature about her now, a presence that made her growth unmistakable.
"The exchange event is a stepping stone for growth, right? It's also a stepping stone for reputation. So we should help them stand out as much as possible."
Maki said that while idly rolling the shaft of her spear in her hand.
There was no way she could pull out the Soul-Liberation Blade against students.
Mai was holding a pink pistol, but she wasn't using live rounds either.
Rubber bullets.
"Yeah. But we still have to win, right? Otherwise Geto-sensei..."
"Suguru? Does he hate business trips that much?"
"Obviously he does."
Mai let out a sigh and cut into the conversation.
She understood Geto's feelings all too well.
"Anyway. Todo feels like he'll go after Yuta, but also maybe not. Like we discussed beforehand, let's make sure he crashes into Itadori instead."
"Hm? I kind of thought Todo was aiming for me. Am I wrong...?"
Okkotsu asked, stumbling over the words.
Considering Todo's personality, it was a perfectly valid read.
Mai thought it over, then nodded.
It made sense.
"Then just avoid him when you can. Honestly, dealing with him would be a pain, right?"
"Ahaha..."
Okkotsu gave an awkward smile and let the end of the sentence trail off.
He probably felt bad openly agreeing.
"Yuta. Is there anyone annoying you? Want me to get rid of them?"
Rika, floating behind him, wrapped her arms around Okkotsu's neck as she asked.
Her tone was soft, but there was something damp and chilling underneath it.
The Cursed Energy rising off her in slow coils. The voice itself.
If someone unfamiliar with Rika had seen her, they would have been terrified on the spot.
"Rika-chan. No."
Okkotsu shook his head firmly.
At that, the Cursed Energy billowing from Rika's body settled in an instant.
"Mm. I'm joking."
Rika smiled with her eyes, trying to make it clear she was kidding.
From the outside, it did not look like a joke.
"Then for now, avoid jumping into the front line too much. Just cover whichever side ends up short-handed. We still need to win, so exorcise some Cursed Spirits too."
Scratching her head, Maki brought the discussion to a close.
It was a somewhat deflating conclusion, but also exactly the right one.
Mai and Okkotsu nodded without complaint.
No one objected.
And while they were moving into position—
Itadori and Todo had already started moving and were crashing into each other.
While the others were still dawdling, the first-years and Kyoto's side had pushed forward aggressively.
The result was a head-on collision in the center.
Itadori faced Todo.
Megumi faced Muta Kokichi's puppet, Mechamaru.
Nobara was up against the third-year Nishimiya, who rode around on a broom.
The unfamiliar Kyoto second-year boy had taken the slot Mai should originally have filled.
And the third-year, Kamo.
That left the second-year Miwa Kasumi for them to cover as well.
Maki understood that and tore through the forest like a madwoman.
Her speed was so overwhelming her form was nearly impossible to track.
The flow of the air across every surface.
Presence and scent.
Her superhuman sense of smell and sharpened senses caught all of it and guided her with perfect accuracy.
Without a single inch of error.
'I should cover Nobara first.'
Just as expected, the unfamiliar second-year and Kamo were both targeting Nobara at once.
Their plan was simple: reduce their numbers first.
Megumi was already operating at the level of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Kamo knew that well, which was why he intended to shave off the weaker point first.
It was the correct tactic.
A smart one.
It even accounted for Todo, who would gladly smash his own allies aside if they got in his way.
But while the judgment itself had been swift and sound, there was one error in it.
They had underestimated Nobara's stubbornness.
She didn't go down in one blow, so the fight dragged on.
And because it dragged on, it gave Maki the opening she needed to arrive.
"Maki!"
The instant Maki appeared in front of Nobara, her eyes went wide.
A slim but tightly toned waist.
A narrow back, delicate-looking yet powerfully developed, seemed unbelievably dependable.
"Good job holding out on your own. I was late because I was thinking things through."
Without even turning around, Maki swung the spear shaft first.
"Guh?!"
One strike.
Kamo barely managed to evade, but the second-year sorcerer took the shaft head-on and was launched into the air.
Boom. A moment later, the airborne second-year traced an arc and slammed into the ground.
He was completely out of the match.
"Maki...!"
Flustered, Kamo pulled a blood pack from his pocket.
His technique was Blood Manipulation.
It was a technique that controlled blood, but he had difficulty using his own.
Unlike the Cursed Womb: Death Painting brothers, he couldn't generate blood with Cursed Energy either.
Boom!
Just as Kamo began pouring Cursed Energy into the blood pack, an explosive crash rang out in the distance.
Itadori and Todo.
The sound of two men colliding in a straight-up brawl.
'So this year's no good either.'
Even while activating his technique, Kamo sensed defeat.
He needed to distinguish himself here if he wanted his voice to carry, and he had intended to fight desperately for that.
But that would have been the old story.
Now, the Kamo clan was the weakest of the three great families.
Even the current clan head was hanging by a thread.
Meanwhile, Kamo Noritoshi had unexpectedly gained influence.
Because he was at least somewhat acquainted with Kadoc.
And because Kadoc viewed him favorably.
Without meaning to, Kamo had ended up with Kadoc as a kind of backing.
Thanks to that, he had been able to do what he wanted.
Why his mother had given him the name Noritoshi.
What she had felt when she did.
He had been able to meet that truth directly and understand it for himself.
Even so.
Even after understanding all of it, he had still chosen to keep walking the path of a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
'I can't lose without even trying, not like last year.'
The blood pack Kamo threw burst open, splitting into several streaks that cut through the air.
Blood Manipulation, [Crimson Binding].
A technique that restrained the opponent with blood.
Its target was, of course, Maki.
The distance was close enough that the odds of binding her were fairly high.
"Oh?"
But Maki moved in a flash and appeared behind Kamo.
Cleanly. Swiftly.
"Tch...!"
Just before Maki could bring the spear shaft down on him, Kamo reacted with a sharp grimace.
Fast movement. Fast reflexes.
He was slower than Maki, but still fast enough to respond to her attack.
Blood Manipulation, [Flowing Red Scale].
By manipulating the flow of his blood, he boosted his physical performance—in simple terms, doping.
Using that enhancement, Kamo reacted.
And blocked Maki's spear shaft.
"Ghk—!"
The problem was that the moment he blocked it, his entire body screamed.
He had taken the impact head-on, which meant he had to absorb all of the force and inertia himself.
Crack!
The sound of Kamo's muscles twisting and tendons straining rang out.
Maki felt it through the impact in her hands.
She drove more weight and force into her planted foot, then pressed harder.
Thud!
The ground boomed, and that vibration and force traveled straight up the shaft.
"Nngh...!"
Kamo's face twisted violently.
Power against power.
In the contest of brute force, the effort to push the other back, he was losing.
Even with the enhancement. Even with Cursed Energy.
Ordinarily, something without Cursed Energy could never overpower a sorcerer.
But Maki was different.
Physical Heavenly Restriction. A superhuman body.
The time, intensity, and method she had devoted to forging that body were on an entirely different level.
Maki's spear shaft traced a curve upward.
Then it came down, crushing him as if to pin him into the earth.
"Kuhak!"
In the end, Kamo cried out in pain and dropped to one knee.
There had never really been any other possible outcome.