Chapter 71

"See you guys later!" Yuji waved off his teammates as he left the school's indoor gym. 

Megumi gave him a questioning look, but Yuji brushed it aside with a smile. He spun around and began to jog off, the sweat glistening on his skin beginning to dry as he picked up speed. The evening breeze ruffled his hair and cooled him down. 

He was still going to need a shower after this, but that could wait. He turned a corner and continued his steady pace, a pace that would have left most people gasping for breath within minutes if they had tried to follow along. 

Even Yuji might not have been able to maintain this pace a few months ago, but he was a completely different person now. Physically, Mai had put him through the paces, forcing him to push his limits more than anyone ever had. Hand-to-hand sparring every day with the monstrous "Not a Zenin, call me a Zenin and I will rip your spine out and beat you to death with it" girl had been enough to sharpen his skills. 

The older girl had taken a great interest in him, especially since the incident a couple of months ago, and she had made sure he would never be desperate enough to hand over his body to Sukuna again. Intense combat training was followed by body tempering to increase his resilience. But that was just the physical side. Unlike Maki, his strength wasn't all he had going for him. 

He had also refined his cursed energy and learned how to use it better. Even his Divergent Fist, while still a solid weapon in his arsenal, was no longer the defective technique it used to be. Instead, it was something he deliberately chose to apply or not. All it had taken was mentioning it in passing to his other teacher. Speaking of other teachers... 

Yuji rounded the last bend and put on a burst of speed as he ran down the straight courtyard until he reached the red torii gates that marked the entrance to the school. He didn't bother with the long, torturous stairs. Instead, he jumped. 

His calves bunched up, then released, propelling him like a well-timed arrow over the torii gates and stairs until he landed in a crouch exactly where he had aimed, his stance low and arms wide to maintain balance. 

A second later, the sound of applause rang out as his spectator cheered with a whoop. 

"Wonderful! You finally nailed it! That was a 10/10 jump - perfect arc, poise, and a graceful landing. You did it, Yuji-kun!" 

Yuji straightened up and turned to face the woman who was still clapping. His face flushed red as she ended her applause with a thumbs-up. 

"Thanks a lot, K," he greeted with a smile and a bashful rub at the back of his head. "Hope I'm not late." 

K sat down and tapped the spot beside her on the bench. This was the same place they had met a while back - the waiting area for buses. Yuji took quick steps and dropped into the seat beside her. 

"Not by much, but I understand you've been training. Have you managed to refine your Divergent Fist?" 

Yuji nodded rapidly. K was his second teacher. He had been slow to trust the older woman, but something about her familiarity tugged at him. Whether he liked it or not, his guard had loosened around her until he had slipped up and mentioned cursed energy. 

His eyes had widened, and he had scrambled to retract his statement, only to be even more surprised when she had gone along with the topic, explaining what had confused him with ease - breaking it down in a way that not even Gojo Satoru could. 

Seeing his surprise, she had laughed it off with a simple explanation. 

K was a former student of Jujutsu High. That was why she knew so much about cursed energy, even down to the school's location. Apparently, she had come to visit a couple of people when he had run into her. 

Since then, she had been helping him out. Her mastery of cursed energy surpassed anyone he had met except Gojo Satoru, and Gojo often had difficulty explaining the world from his perspective. That made K all the more valuable to Yuji. 

"Yeah, it was tough, but I even managed to surprise Maki-chan during one of our spars. Not that it helped me win, but it was still enough to rattle her. One of these days, I'm gonna win." 

K smiled at his optimism, then asked, "Maki-chan? That's the ex-Zenin child with the Gates, correct? Has she told you more about how she uses them?" 

Yuji faced the road as he thought about the question. Maki had explained it a couple of times. She had never been shy about it, especially since she believed that, with his inhuman body, it shouldn't be impossible for him to learn. Unfortunately, Maki was an even worse teacher than Satoru when it came to explaining things. 

"Yeah, I think the first gate is in the head… or was it the spine? I can't remember. She couldn't explain it very well. She said that if I was really interested, I should ask Jiki." 

Yuji was too distracted. Otherwise, he might have noticed the frown on the older woman's face. 

"Although that in itself would be difficult, considering Jiki has been so busy… searching for someone, I guess." 

This time, he turned at just the right moment and caught the flash of worry on K's face. 

"Is something wrong?" he asked, concerned, but the look was already gone as quickly as it had come. 

"Oh, it's nothing. When is the Goodwill Competition again?" she asked as she stood up. Yuji followed suit, stretching a little. 

"In a couple of days. Why?" 

K smiled at him before continuing. "Well, I want you to meet my other student soon. I think you two would match well and get along. He's been wanting to see you for a while now." 

"Really? That would be nice. What's his name?" 

K gave a bright smile before replying. 

"Mahito." 

...

Jiki sat down and ate his meal. His eyes were focused on the plate of food before him, but his vast perception was spread throughout the room. His ears picked up muffled whispers alongside chuckles and giggles. 

His nose caught the scent of lilacs and jasmine - fragrances preferred by women - overwhelming the natural aroma of grilled meat, warm rice, and spicy vegetables. The owners of the scent were close. 

Jiki felt like a spectacle. Nearly everyone in the small restaurant was staring at him, but he didn't turn to acknowledge them. He knew his mistake. Even without his Sharingan, which he had turned off in a rare moment of disguise, he already had unusual looks. 

He shouldn't have bothered trying to blend in. His white hair, which had begun to grow long again, along with his traditional black-on-black haori and kimono, made him an anomaly in an otherwise regular Japanese restaurant. An exotic anomaly. 

The giggling increased, the jasmine scent intensified, and the sudden clack of footwear against the ground told him that one of the girls had gathered the courage to approach him. 

Luckily for him, that was the exact moment the door to the restaurant opened, letting in the cool evening breeze - and something far more dangerous. 

Maki. 

The amber-eyed girl stalked into the restaurant like a beast on the prowl, dressed in the same blue-black uniform she always wore. Her eyes scanned the room, and Jiki was halfway certain she took a sniff of the air. She was like a wolf on the hunt. And her prey was clear the moment her eyes narrowed on him. 

Behind her was the more subdued form of Emi. She had ditched the kimono for a regular Jujutsu High uniform. The moment she spotted Jiki, she smiled and waved, then followed Maki, who was already making a beeline toward him. 

Maki glanced behind him, and a single glare was enough to break the spine of the girl who had been walking up to him. She dropped into the seat opposite him, tilting the completely wrapped and hidden form of her blade further behind her. 

"Yo." 

Jiki glanced up from his food and met her gaze with a soft smile - just as Emi moved to sit as well. 

"Hello to you as well, Maki. And you too, Emi." 

Emi's smile was bolder than he expected from the usually taciturn girl. "It's nice to see you again. I was worried you were going to run off without speaking to us again." 

Before Jiki could reply with a well-rehearsed line to soothe and deflect, Maki cut in. 

"You started eating without us." 

Jiki shrugged and sat up straight, picking up a napkin to wipe his face in case of any spills. "Apologies, but you promised to be here by 5:30 p.m." He gave a pointed look at the nearby clock. "It's 6:45. I grew ravenous."

Emi blushed in response and spoke up before Maki could. "It's my fault. I spent so long trying out different clothes because I didn't want to wear Tengen's, but none of them felt natural like they used to. So I had to decide on the school wear." 

They both ignored Maki's grumble of, "I told you to wear that from the beginning." 

Jiki waved it off with a smile. "It is fine." 

Emi immediately flagged down a server, and the duo made their orders. As the server was about to walk off, Jiki called the woman back. "Wait a minute, get us a plate of tuna mayo onigiri." 

The woman gave a perfunctory smile, wrote it down, and walked off. 

"You've grown a stomach since we last ate together," Maki noted, but Jiki waved it off with a smile again. 

"How are the preparations for the Goodwill Event?" 

Maki shrugged before she began to speak. "Considering it's tomorrow, I've given the brats the day off. They should be resting now. Todo came around a few days ago, caused a mess looking for you and Yuta." 

"Oh?" Jiki replied with amusement. 

Maki sent him a weak glare that slid off his half-smile with no purchase before she continued. "Then he tried to pick a fight with the brats." 

Emi continued from where Maki stopped with a smile. "Then Yuji punched him hard enough that he felt it." 

Jiki let out a chuckle in response. The pink-haired kid was growing fast if he was standing up to Todo, but Jiki was not delusional enough to think the first-year had any chance against Aoi Todo in a fight. "How did that end?" 

Maki sniffed and folded her arms. "I had to step in." 

Jiki hid a smile at the response, but Emi was not so kind - she let out a low chuckle that Maki ignored. He didn't blame the other girl. Maki hid it well, but they knew how much she would've enjoyed standing up to Todo. 

The third-year Kyoto student had not cared about Maki in their previous clash. He had beaten her until Yuta stepped up. Maki had not forgotten, but that was Maki without the gates. He was curious to see how a second fight would go. If Maki truly had control of the Fourth Gate, then she was basically half a step into special grade. The Sixth Gate would solidify her position as a special grade. Jiki refused to think about the Seventh or even the dreaded Eighth. 

"Fortunately, somehow the brief scramble made Yuji and Todo... friends?" Emi continued, a confused frown on her face, while Maki laughed in response. "Two horrible twins. They fit each other perfectly." 

For all his swagger and character, Jiki noticed a cloud over Maki, and it didn't take him long to figure it out. If Todo and the rest of the Kyoto students were present… "How is Mai?" 

Maki froze, but before she could formulate a response, the door to the restaurant opened once again, and this time Jiki let out a brighter smile as dull purple eyes scanned the room methodically, like a trained operative, before stopping on them and brightening. 

The owner quickly made his way to them, footsteps silent. Maki and Emi turned to see who Jiki was smiling at, but the moment they turned, the figure spun into their blind spot before taking the seat beside him. 

Maki and Emi turned back to face him and looked straight at Toge with wide eyes. 

"Kelp," Toge said with a wave at the wide-eyed duo. 

At that same moment, the server appeared with their food and dropped the plate of tuna mayo onigiri in front of Toge before spreading out the dishes for the two girls. 

Jiki immediately used his hands to block his ears as he sensed it coming, but no amount of reinforcement or hiding could block out the shout of two teenage girls. 

"Toge!" 

They scrambled to jump over the table to hug their teammate, and Jiki watched it all with a smile, ignoring the incessant buzzing of the phone in his pocket. 

Instead, his attention was drawn to Toge, his movements, his use of the girls' blind spot to bypass them and appear in front of them. Yet more than that, it was the dull eyes, killer eyes. Toge had changed under Fushiguro's tutelage, Jiki noted. A loss of innocence, but they had all changed. 

He refocused on the conversation. Panda may be dead, and Yuta too far away, yet they were together in a way. And Jiki had honestly missed the people he had grown close to. 

Once again, he ignored the incessant buzzing of his phone as he rejoined the conversation. 

...

Jiki was in a car once more, and for the first time in a while, the smile that was plastered on his face was a hard one to remove. Not even his mask of apathy could wipe it off. He rested his head on the window and watched everything go past him. 

Other cars sped past. Then there were the brightly colored buildings that tried their damnedest to draw attention by blinding the pedestrians. He relaxed further into his seat, a glow still around him. He had forgotten what it was like to be among friends. 

To be among people with no ulterior motives, no hidden agenda. He had forgotten what it was like to be with his friends. And while he would never admit it up front, he blamed Geto for this loss - this loss of his friend's innocence. Because that was where it all started. 

The Night Parade of a Thousand Demons. 

That was where everything truly changed, and the one who had pioneered that change took the easy way out - dying before he could see the result of his work. 

The only consolation was that he managed to save Yuta, yet it was a life for a life. For while he had not purposely killed Panda, he had led to the situation that resulted in Panda's death. 

There was a sudden vibration in his pocket, accompanied by a sound. His phone was ringing once more. He brought it out and picked up without even bothering to check the caller ID. That was how out of character the reunion had made him. 

"Hello?" he asked, his voice warm and a smile still plastered on his face. 

"Jiki, where have you been? We've been trying to reach you for hours." 

The rushed voice of Utahime came through clearly, dampening his enthusiasm the slightest - yet not enough to lose his smile. 

"Apologies, but I was indisposed. How can I help you?" 

There was a brief pause on the line as Utahime seemingly tried her best to piece the words together. It took her long seconds, during which Jiki simply rested his head against the glass, watching everything pass in no hurry. When Utahime finally spoke, the words wiped the soft smile from his lips. 

"We've found Kenjaku." 

His grip flexed automatically, muscles spasming tight as his fingers moved to crush the phone in his hand. But he took control before his baser instincts could do more than crack the phone casing. 

There was silence on the other end of the line, like the other woman could anticipate him. 

Jiki let out a single steadying breath, and with that breath, he released the joy, the euphoria, the happiness that had filled him for the past few hours. 

He straightened up, the city passing by having lost its light. 

When he replied, his voice was a thing of ice. 

"Are you certain?" 

There was a bit of a scramble on the other end before a reply came through, but this time it wasn't Utahime who spoke. 

"Yes, we are," the aged voice of the head miko replied. 

He didn't bother wondering why the shrine maidens had somehow managed to get the location before his people. 

"I'm on my way."

The line went dead. Jiki placed the phone back in his pocket, his grip still tight. His pulse had steadied, but beneath the surface, something ugly churned. Kenjaku. 

The name sat heavy in his mind, stirring something darker than anger. He had expected this moment - anticipated it, even. But now that it was here... He exhaled slowly, his breath fogging against the window. 

The car remained silent, the city outside a blur of light, brick and steel. He let his gaze drift over the skyline, past the towering buildings that reached for the heavens. They looked so solid, so unmoving, yet Jiki knew better. Everything could fall. 

Kenjaku would fall. Millenia of experience or not.

And he would be the one to bring him down. 

He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the ghost of a memory brush against his mind. Aiko splashed him with water as she bathed him. Panda mock sparring with him in his gorilla form. He forced back the torrent. Now was not the time for memories. 

A shift in the air pulled his attention. The driver hadn't spoken since picking him up, but now, the older man glanced at him through the rearview mirror. 

"Where to, sir?" 

Jiki straightened, his voice smooth, composed. "Ise shrine." 

The driver gave a silent nod, and the car veered onto the expressway. 

Jiki rolled his shoulders, the faint tension still coiled within him. His fingers tapped against his thigh, slow, measured.

His phone buzzed again, but this time he ignored it. Whoever it was could wait. Everything else could wait.