"Rule number one," she stated. "No deceiving people with that stupid charm of yours. I know exactly how you look at people when you want something, and I know it works. Dial it back. We're jujutsu sorcerers, not cheap con artists. If you need a technique, you figure it out the hard way. Don't go leading people on."
She felt him smile against her chest, a warm puff of breath seeping through the cotton of her oversized shirt.
"Rule number two," Maki went on, her grip in his hair tightening just a fraction for emphasis. "If you have to deal with other women—and I mean any women—you drop the 'I have a girlfriend' line in the first five minutes. Actually, scratch that. Tell them you have a future wife. I don't want anyone thinking too highly of themselves or getting it into their heads that they have a shot just because you smiled in their direction. You belong to me. Make sure they know it."
Ren let out a soft chuckle, burying his face a little deeper into the curve of her collarbone.
"I'm serious, Ren," she warned, though a faint blush was creeping back up her neck. "Which brings me to rule number three. Absolutely, strictly, no evil women. No crazy curse users, no sadistic weirdos, no one with a body count. If she looks like she collects eyeballs or enjoys torture, you don't talk to her. You hit her with everything you have. I am not dealing with some unhinged psycho stalking my boyfriend."
Ren finally shifted, pulling his head back just enough to look up at her. His eyes were crinkled with amusement, completely unfazed by her bossiness. In fact, he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying it.
"Understood," he whispered, his voice thick with a lazy, content affection. "No conning people, claim my terrifying future wife immediately, and punch all evil women. Did I get it all?"
"Don't get smart with me," Maki grumbled, reaching down to pinch his cheek. But she couldn't stop the fond, genuine smile from breaking through her tough exterior. She let her hand slide down to cup his jaw, her thumb brushing over his cheekbone. "Just... be careful out there, okay? I meant what I said. Don't go getting yourself killed."
"I won't," Ren promised softly, leaning up to press a kiss to the palm of her hand. "I have a future wife to get back to, after all."
...
Sunlight bled through the gap in the blinds, cutting a sharp white line across the floorboards. Ren stood by the window, a mug of black coffee cooling in his hand. He took a sip.
The dorm room was quiet. Maki had left a few hours ago, heading back to her own room to catch a few hours of sleep before Panda inevitably started loudly dragging everyone out of bed for morning drills.
Ren rolled his shoulders. A dull ache lingered in his arms, but the physical exhaustion from their midnight sparring match was already fading thanks to the Heavenly Restriction. He let out a slow breath, staring out at the empty training fields.
He set the mug down on the windowsill and picked up his phone from the desk. He tapped the screen.
Ren left his empty coffee cup on the windowsill. He grabbed his wooden practice sword and walked down to the dirt training field.
The morning air was crisp. Maki was already waiting in the middle of the field. Instead of her usual heavy school jacket, she wore a fitted black tank top and dark track pants.
It was a smart choice for a workout, but it left her left shoulder completely bare. jagged burn scars covered her skin, creeping over her collarbone and reaching down her back.
Heavy footsteps crunched on the gravel.
"Maki!" Panda called out as he jogged toward them. Toge Inumaki walked just behind him, with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets.
Maki didn't turn around. She just kept wrapping white tape around the handle of her wooden weapon. "You're late," she said.
"What do you mean late???"
"You've been goneeee for whole two week," Panda replied, stepping onto the dirt. "What's going on?"
Suddenly, Panda stopped and froze.
Toge pulled his high collar down a bit, his eyes narrowing in concern. "Kelp?"
Panda stared at Maki's scarred shoulder. Then, he looked over at Ren. Ren was wearing a normal grey t-shirt, but the neck was too low to hide the exact same burn marks covering his own neck and collarbone.
"What happened to you two?" Panda asked. He wasn't acting like his usual playful self anymore.
Maki finished taping her weapon. She spun it once and rested the bottom in the dirt.
"A curse mission," she said simply. "Things went wrong."
"Wrong?" Panda pointed a big furry finger at her shoulder, and then at Ren. "You two look like you were thrown into a giant fire together. What kind of curse was it?"
"A fire one," Ren joked with a straight face, resting his wooden sword on his shoulder.
"Obviously."
Toge frowned. "Takana." (Must have been a strong one.)
"It was a Grade 1," Maki lied, sticking strictly to the fake story their teacher, Gojo, had told them to use. "We got trapped. Shoko healed our insides, but the scars stayed. We're fine now."
Panda didn't believe her. He was too smart for that. He looked back and forth between Ren's neck and Maki's shoulder. The scars were too bad, too much alike, and Gojo had been acting weird and secretive for two weeks.
"A Grade 1 curse did that, and Gojo didn't hunt it down to teach it a lesson?" Panda asked.
"He tried," Ren said evenly. "It ran away."
Panda crossed his arms. "I don't believe you."
Maki clicked her tongue.
She raised her wooden weapon and pointed the tip right at Panda's chest.
"Are we going to stand around talking, or are we going to train?" Maki asked sharply.
Panda sighed and dropped his arms. "Fine. Be stubborn. But if Gojo is hiding something dangerous, you better tell us before it gets us all hurt."