Confused by Kenjaku's words, Rime asked, "Why do you need to cool down?"
Kenjaku just smiled and said, "Why don't you come take a look for yourself."
Rime's instincts screamed that something was very wrong. She hastily took several steps back. "No — no, that's okay, I'll pass."
Kenjaku smiled and shook his head. "Oh, what a shame. Well, I'm sorry to say — even if you won't come look, I'd still like to keep watching for a while."
With that, he picked up his own skullcap and used it as a fan, waving it lazily over the exposed brain beneath, cooling it down — then parked himself with complete shamelessness on a rock beside the tunnel.
Rime stared, absolutely dumbstruck. "Um… please… take care of yourself…"
She was seriously beginning to wonder whether Mahiko had used some kind of soul-attack on Kenjaku to reduce him to this state. The safest move, Rime decided, was to back away and observe the situation from a comfortable distance.
—Meanwhile, at the idol event.
Itadori and Todo had actually made their way to the area around the main stage a while ago. They'd been there for quite some time already. Takata had performed a few spots ahead of Jogo's group, and of course Todo hadn't missed a single second of it. The only reason he was still here was that the event's closing segment featured all the idol groups competing together on the same stage.
Miwa and the others had been wandering around the idol venue with Todo and Itadori, killing time. Everyone had found at least one or two idols they liked along the way.
"Those 'Calamity Sisters~mo mo sisters'… all three of them are so cute," Itadori said, watching Jogo and Hanami singing and dancing up on stage, his voice full of genuine admiration. "But that white-haired one feels weirdly familiar. Like I've seen her somewhere before."
Nobara gave a smug little smile. "You're only seeing what's on the surface. You have absolutely no idea what they're like on the inside."
"Why would you even look at the inside?" Maki said from the side, eyes on her phone, sounding thoroughly uninterested. "Aren't all idols just ordinary people on the inside? Idols sell the exterior — that's the whole business. Looking at their inner selves… what's the point?"
"The inside?" Itadori looked at Nobara. "Why can you see their inside? What are they like on the inside?"
"That's not what I meant." Nobara pointed at the two older girls and one small figure on stage. "Fushiguro, look — they're people we know. We actually know them."
Megumi blinked, looked up, took a closer look — and sure enough, they were.
They'd even gone shopping together once.
"Though the blue-haired girl isn't with them anymore. There's a different blue-haired little kid instead."
"Wait, Nobara, you're actually friends with idols?" Itadori's eyes went wide with pure awe. "That's so cool!"
Nobara planted her hands on her hips and struck a proud pose.
"Those three idols really are impressive," Miwa said, watching the stage. "They're adorable, and one of them has her eyes covered and she's still dancing — that's incredible."
"All three of them are genuinely impressive," Todo said, arms folded across his chest, expression deadly serious as he weighed in on the performance. "But overall, they're still too green."
"You think so?" Miwa asked.
"So in the end, Takata is going to take the crown. That's inevitable."
"Uh."
The last sentence was really the only one that mattered, wasn't it.
"What?! No way! The Calamity Sisters~mo mo sisters are going to win this!"
Somewhere nearby, a voice pushed back against Todo.
It sounded like a Calamity Sisters fan: "Honestly, Takata's stage presence this time wasn't even that great, was it? What makes you so sure she's going to win?"
Todo let out a sharp huff. "Takata wasn't performing at her best because a lot of her stage props, equipment, and costumes ran into problems during transport."
"Give me a break — there are no excuses on stage," the Calamity Sisters fan shot back, not giving an inch. "The stage is a ruthless place. Results are all that matter. No amount of reasons changes that."
As she listened, Nobara suddenly froze — because that voice arguing with Todo sounded oddly, unmistakably familiar.
She turned toward it.
There, in the middle of the crowd, she spotted her: that blue-haired girl — the one who'd gone shopping with Jogo and Hanami before.
But.
Uhh…
The hand Nobara had half-raised to wave hello froze in midair.
"Um…"
"Huh?? Nobara-nee-san!" Mahiko had been completely focused on the stage, but now she turned and locked eyes with Nobara — and a beat later, it clicked. Her voice instantly jumped two octaves, and she threw her arms wide open, already rushing over. "You're here too! I missed you so much!"
"Oh — good afternoon…" Nobara stared at Mahiko, mildly at a loss. "It's just… your… outfit…"
"Huh? My outfit?" Mahiko looked down at herself.
In her left hand she held a support banner that read "I LOVE YOU, JOGO-NEESAN." In her right hand, another banner: "HANAMI-NEESAN IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL." Perched on top of her head was an enormous lantern that declared "LIL' DAGON IS SO CUTE."
The front of her shirt featured a photo of Jogo looking scarlet-faced and flustered, as if she were scolding someone. A red ribbon tied around her head read "WE LOVE YOU, CALAMITY SISTERS~MO MO SISTERS." And clipped all along her belt was an entire arsenal of glowing lightsticks, fanned out like a peacock in full display.
Nobara asked very carefully, "What… exactly are you doing?"
"I'm cheering them on," Mahiko said, face perfectly straight, entirely sincere.
Nobara: "..."
I know you're cheering them on, you don't need to announce it.
But did your cheering kit really have to be this unhinged?!
Mahiko, utterly unbothered, bounced over to Nobara, turned around slightly, and displayed the full row of lightsticks strapped across her back.
"Nobara-nee-san, want to help me cheer?"
Nobara made a sound somewhere between "ugh" and "okay," deliberated for approximately two seconds, and then pulled one of the lightsticks from Mahiko's back and held it.
Itadori, curious, sidled over and grabbed one too.
Honestly, Mahiko being here was only half about being ridiculous.
The other half was genuine — she really, truly wanted to cheer Jogo and the others on.
In a way, Jogo and the rest were her own handiwork — she'd personally "trained" them into what they were. There was no way she'd let them get beaten by some run-of-the-mill pretty faces on this stage.
Well — and there was one more reason, if she was being honest.
The leads and wreckage that Mechamaru had said he'd deliver to the venue should have arrived by now. Mahiko had gone to check, but they apparently hadn't shown up yet — they were running late. Just like Todo had said: something had gone wrong during transport.
No big deal. She'd just enjoy herself a little longer. No rush.
Mahiko had already sent a small clone of herself to keep watch on that end. The moment the delivery vehicle entered the area, she could head over immediately.
She glanced around — and spotted Miwa.
Her eyes lit up. She bounced over to Miwa in a cheerful little trot, spun around, and showed off the lightsticks on her back.
"Hey, nee-san — would you cheer with me?"
Faced with such an adorable request, Miwa couldn't exactly say no, and reached out to take one.
But the moment she saw Mahiko's face up close, a prickling unease crept up her spine.
She looked a little too much like that awful blue-haired Cursed Spirit who had treated Miwa so terribly before.
Urgh — a shudder ran through her involuntarily.
But… looking more carefully, though the two had similar builds and the same shade of blue hair, their facial features were quite different.
And their auras were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum.
That Cursed Spirit had smiled cutely while being a devil through and through. But the girl in front of her was pure, bright, and full of life — you could practically call her an angel. They were like two entirely different species of creature.
So an instant later, Miwa felt a pang of guilt.
The very idea that she'd compared this girl to that horrible Cursed Spirit — even for a second — felt like a genuine insult to her.
So Miwa smiled with a small, apologetic warmth, carefully pulled a lightstick from Mahiko's back, and even gave Mahiko a gentle pat on the head. "Of course — I'll cheer with you."
And just like that, Mahiko bounced her way through the whole Jujutsu High crowd, distributing lightsticks to everyone.
Jujutsu sorcerers in the audience, cheering on Cursed Spirits performing as idols on stage.
You probably wouldn't see a sight like this once in a thousand years.
If Kenjaku ever saw it, he might actually laugh himself to death.
"Oh, all the idols are coming on stage together," Itadori said, blinking.
The final segment had all the idols who had performed on the main stage divided into competing factions for a head-to-head showdown — covering all kinds of categories. Fan cheering counted as one of them.
That was precisely why Mahiko had wanted to rope the whole Jujutsu High crew into cheering — more bodies, more power.
Finally, Mahiko trotted over to Todo. She held out a lightstick.
Todo stood there immovable as a mountain, arms folded, looking down at her from above — and did not reach out. He let out a low huff. "You and I are on opposing sides. I don't make a habit of cheering for my enemies."
Mahiko paused — then huffed right back. "Is that so. So you're still clinging to that hopeless delusion?"
"The one clinging to hopeless delusions isn't me — it's you," Todo said coolly. "What makes you think that just because Takata is off her game today, the Calamity Sisters~mo mo sisters can actually surpass her?"
The people around them — all from Jujutsu High — exchanged baffled looks, because they were realizing that Todo was genuinely, earnestly arguing with this blue-haired girl.
Todo's expression sharpened. "Takata being weaker than usual doesn't mean you've gotten stronger! Do I need to remind you? The Calamity Sisters~mo mo sisters are the challengers here!"
"Why? You're actually asking me why I think that?" Mahiko turned to face him fully, spread her arms wide, and gave him the most matter-of-fact look imaginable. "The reason is simple — because it's three against one!"
"Completely irrelevant!" Todo swept one large hand through the air dismissively. "Newcomers in name and in fact! A stage like this demands experience and seasoned performers — raw rookies have no business being here."
"Oh, please!" Mahiko planted her hands on her hips and held her ground without flinching. "Let me tell you something — your whole aesthetic is outdated! The new-era idols that people actually love are exactly like the Calamity Sisters~mo mo sisters!"
Everyone nearby flinched.
They all knew what Todo was like — an absolute force of nature, with a… particularly colorful mental landscape. A provocation like that from the girl might genuinely set him off.
And sure enough — the moment Todo heard those words, his eyes snapped wide open.
He was clearly, genuinely angry.
But Mahiko couldn't have cared less whether he was angry or not.
She stood her ground, hands on hips, baring her teeth at him, not giving an inch.
The tension crackling between them was thick — so thick it felt like it was about to detonate.
The audience members who'd been watching the stage had turned to look over here instead, half convinced they were witnessing an actual fight break out.
"Come on, don't get serious with a little girl…" Miwa muttered from behind them, wincing.
But then — the next second —
"And for our final group — the Calamity Sisters~mo mo sisters, together with Takata — all four performing together!!"
Everyone from Jujutsu High froze.
Todo and Mahiko both froze.
The two of them looked at each other.
Time stopped for a full, solid second.
Then —
Slap!
Mahiko's hand and Todo's hand clasped together in a firm, decisive grip.
They gazed at each other with profound, heartfelt intensity — the kind of look you'd give a long-lost family member after years of separation — and in that instant, an impossibly powerful, impossibly mysterious mutual understanding passed between them.
"I'm sorry, big brother — I've just suddenly realized that Takata is actually an extraordinarily talented idol!"
"You're absolutely right, little sister — and I've just suddenly realized that the Calamity Sisters~mo mo sisters are a group of genuinely promising newcomers!"
"Great minds really do think alike, my brother!"
"Then let us fight together for our shared idols, my sister!"
The hostility between them vanished without a trace, replaced instantly by matching grins brimming with competitive fire.
Every single person around them stared in complete and utter speechlessness.
[Author's note: This chapter is ~3,500 characters, with ¾ of the update still to come.
I feel like Todo, Itadori, and Mahiko could form one legendary trio of absolute chaos.
I've been writing the idol arc for quite a few chapters now — I'll see if I can push through today and finish this whole segment.
py!]
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👻🔥Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Arknights Endfield: Picked Up a Gugugaga
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone