The morning sunlight filled the living room, clearing away the tension of the night before. Ren relaxed comfortably on the low green sofa, a warm mug of coffee resting in his hands.
He watched quietly as Maki paced the length of the hardwood floor. She was already back in her dark Jujutsu High uniform, the high collar zipped all the way up.
Her smartphone was gripped so tightly in her hand that Ren half-expected the plastic casing to shatter under her strength.
She stopped pacing, staring down at the glowing screen with a look of profound disgust. She took a deep, steadying breath, her thumb hovering over the keypad.
"Problem, boss?" Ren asked gently, taking a sip of his coffee.
"I don't have his number," Maki muttered, her eyes narrowing into a fierce glare directed entirely at her phone.
Ren raised an eyebrow. "You don't have your own teacher's phone number?"
"I deleted it," she stated flatly, crossing her arms defensively. "He's an idiot. The last time I kept his contact saved, he texted me fifty-two pictures of premium dessert crepes from a shop in Harajuku while I was actively bleeding out on a mission. I have absolutely zero patience for his goofy nonsense."
Ren let out a soft chuckle, hiding his smile behind his mug. "So, how exactly are we getting me this untouchable school protection if you can't even call the guy?"
"I'm handling it," Maki grumbled. She aggressively tapped the screen, bringing up her contacts list. "I have to call someone else to get it. If I ask Fushiguro, he'll just get suspicious and brood about it. Which leaves exactly one other option."
She tapped a name and lifted the phone to her ear. Ren knew exactly who was on the other end of that line. The sheer absurdity of his girlfriend having to call a giant, talking cursed corpse for technical support was almost too much to process.
The line rang twice before a deep, calm voice echoed faintly from the speaker. "Maki? It's early. Did the repair guy in Shinjuku fix your staff already?"
"Shut up, Panda," Maki commanded, skipping the pleasantries entirely. "Read me Satoru's personal cell number. Now."
"You deleted his number again?" Panda sighed, the sound loud enough for Ren to hear across the room. "I told you last time, he just gets more annoying when you pretend he doesn't exist. Wait, why do you need Satoru right now? Are you in trouble?"
"I am not in trouble, and it's none of your business," she snapped, a faint, betraying pink dusting her cheeks. She shot a quick glance at Ren, who offered a supportive, handsome smile. "Just read the damn numbers before I turn you into a rug."
Panda dutifully rattled off the digits. Maki typed them into her dialer with aggressive, stabbing motions.
"Thanks. And tell Toge to stay out of the vending machines today," Maki added before instantly hanging up.
She let out another long, heavy exhale. This was it. The moment the protective civilian bubble she had kept Ren in for sixteen months officially popped.
She hit the call button and pressed the phone to her ear.
The line barely rang once before the call connected.
"Maaaaki-chan!" a bright, obnoxiously cheerful voice sang through the receiver. The volume was so loud Ren could hear it clearly from the sofa. "What a wonderful morning surprise! To what do I owe the pleasure? Finally realized you miss your favorite, most handsome sensei?"
Maki's eye twitched. "Satoru. I need you to meet me at the campus gates in exactly one hour. And you need to clear your schedule for the morning."
"Oho? So demanding!" Gojo laughed, the sound utterly carefree. "And why would I do that? I have a very important meeting with a limited-edition strawberry parfait in twenty minutes."
Maki swallowed hard. She looked over at Ren, her combat-hardened exterior faltering just a fraction as she prepared to drop the lie they had scrambled to put together the night before.
"Because I'm bringing someone with me," Maki said, her voice dropping into a serious, deadpan register. "A... civilian. He accidentally stumbled into a cursed anomaly last night and survived. I need you to look at him."
The line went completely silent. The cheerful, goofy aura radiating from the phone vanished in a split second.
"A civilian survived an anomaly," Gojo repeated, his voice suddenly stripped of all its playful pitch. "I'll be at the gates in forty-five minutes. Don't be late."
The call ended.
Maki slowly lowered the phone, looking at Ren with a mixture of absolute dread and fierce determination. She walked over to her heavy weapons case resting on the floor and slung it securely across her back.
"Alright, idiot," she said, her voice firming up as she reached out to grab his hand. "Time to go to magic school. Remember the plan: keep your mouth shut, let me do the talking, and whatever you do... don't let him intimidate you."
...
The train ride out to the mountains surrounding Tokyo Jujutsu High was agonizingly quiet. Ren sat next to Maki, watching the urban sprawl bleed into dense, ancient forests. She sat rigidly beside him, her heavy weapons case resting securely between her knees.
Ren kept his posture relaxed, playing the part of the slightly nervous but clueless civilian perfectly, but internally, his mind was racing.
He had safely stashed the Wraith's Fang in his System's Dimensional Inventory last night. Without it, he was completely blind to cursed energy, which was exactly what he needed to be to sell this lie to the Six Eyes.
They arrived at the massive, imposing wooden torii gates that marked the entrance to the hidden campus. And then, they waited.
And waited.
"I'm going to actually murder him," Maki hissed, her voice vibrating with lethal intent.
They had been standing at the gates for exactly two hours. The crisp mountain air was supposed to be refreshing, but right now, it was just biting.
Maki was pacing a trench into the dirt path, her boots crunching aggressively against the gravel.
"Forty-five minutes," she mocked, aggressively adjusting her wire-rimmed glasses. "He said forty-five minutes. It has been one hundred and twenty. If he doesn't show up in the next sixty seconds."
"Take it easy, boss," Ren said, leaning casually against one of the massive wooden pillars. "Maybe he actually got caught up with some... jujutsu anomaly stuff?"
"No," Maki snapped, glaring down the empty mountain path. "He is absolutely just buying souvenirs."
"Maaaki-chan! So sorry!"