Qian headed up the walkway to her front door, shouldering the baggage she was carrying on her back. She took out her phone, opening the camera to reverse the lens view so she could scrutinize her appearance. The originally wounded half of her face was no longer bruised, though disheveled strands of her dark hair fell out of her bun and brushed against her lashes. Her once brutalized arm and leg… she rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and jeans… previously veiny and covered with blotchiness, now appeared untouched.
Ieiri-sensei is amazing… She turned her chin, checking again for any sign of injury, and saw not a single scratch nor blemish on her skin. She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful she won't have to undergo a concerned interrogation by her brother.
Her mind drifted back to recent events, in particular one silver-haired man. She passively recalled her previous conversation with the other students, her heart slowly plummeting in her chest. She knew her feelings. And nothing good will come of it. She sighed dejectedly. She gazed towards the camera, taking in her bland, unappealing appearance. Biting her lip, she tugged at a lock of her hair miserably- it was not shiny nor luscious, just plain brown, almost black in color. She took off her glasses, which- she also noted miserably- was boring with onyx-plated frames. She raised her eyes; though owlishly wide, they were almost comical due to their size on her round-shaped visage.
With another disappointed sigh, she glanced at her legs. Even though they were longer than average, she wasn't really tall because of it; if anything, their awkward length only made her chest and torso appear diminutive. She never felt secure about her appearance, hence why she always wore long, bulky clothing.
She shook her head and smacked her cheeks, trying to cease her negativity. But the Jujutsu sorcerer appeared in her mind once more. While she's had crushes before, they've never ended well. She always fell for guys out of her league, who never returned nor considered her feelings. This was just going to end the same way and-
She groaned and slammed her forehead onto the door, forcing herself to put any further thoughts aside. She took a deep breath to compose herself before opening the door. "I-I'm home, Nii-san!"
Her brother's face popped out of the living room entrance. "Qian! Welcome home! I thought your trip would take a bit longer."
She shook her head as she gingerly put down all the luggage, sitting on the steps to take off her shoes. "N-No, we were able to finish things quickly! W-Well…" She faltered. "M-more like we didn't get to finish but we did what we could, and so we came back to determine our next plan."
"Well, that sucks that you didn't finish but I'm glad you're back!" Zeng raised the mug in his hands. "I made some hot cocoa, do you want some?"
Her eyes sparkled with glee. "Y-Yes please!"
He laughed and headed into the kitchen, his sister closely following. "So…how did it go?" He asked, taking a mug out of the cupboard. "What happened?"
Qian sighed. "I-It was crazy. So the people who went missing were all in unfortunate circumstances, a-and a cursed user- oh, someone who could use cursed techniques but for evil-" She rushed to explain, though it seemed unwarranted since her brother gave her a knowing look. "S–She was kidnapping them. I-I'm not sure how, but she is able to grow these plant-like cursed spirits from them."
Zeng's eyes widened in shock as he poured the chocolate drink into the mug. "You're kidding! So then what, you guys took her down?"
"A-Almost…unfortunately, she got away." Qian sighed, gratefully accepting the drink and taking a sip.
"Really? Wasn't that Gojo guy there? The so-called 'strongest sorcerer ever'?" He joked, wiggling his fingers in air-quotes.
"H-He was but…he got caught in this…weird ball of vines." Qian replied, holding one of her hands up to make a circular gesture. They walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch. She brought her knees to her chest as she took another sip. "H-He couldn't break out of it in time because it absorbed his cursed energy, so by the time he broke free, some random other person came and got her away."
"Oh…? Hm, that's crazy." Zeng looked away. He was suddenly silent, wordlessly staring at the blank TV screen in front of them.
Qian peered up at her brother. "W-What is it?"
Zeng snapped his gaze back towards her, forcing a smile on his face. "Ah nothing! Just thinking that we should finish watching that episode of 'Crash Landing onto You' that we started before you left. What do you think?"
Qian nodded her head enthusiastically. "Y-Yes!"
He turned on the TV and scrolled to Netflix. After half an hour passed, he heard some light breathing and looked over to see his sister asleep on the cushions. He smiled softly, gently prying the mug from her fingers and draping a blanket over her form. He suddenly felt his phone buzz in his pocket and pulled it out, glancing at the screen.
Status report.
Zeng flickered his eyes towards his sister, who unconsciously snuggled into the pillow. His thumb raked across the screen.
Satoru Gojo's hands are full.
Good.
And I believe I found a way we could weaken him.
Moments later, a single line of text appeared.
Report to headquarters tomorrow with details.
The man turned off his screen and set the phone back in his pocket. He regarded the girl and rubbed her back in affection, his face darkening ominously.
"Sorry, sis…"
—-
A few weeks later in the lab, Qian leaned back in her seat and stretched her arms high above her head, breathing a sigh of content. She pulled out her phone, pressing pause on the playlist she was listening to, and glanced at the time.
Noon, already? Maybe I'll go get lunch. Almost on cue, her stomach growled and she chuckled at herself, pulling out her earbuds. Time always seemed to fly whenever she was submerged in work, with music especially. Initially, she wasn't sure if listening to audio was allowed in the lab, but with her thoughts becoming so distracting lately, she found it hard to focus and finally decided to ask Shoko for permission. The woman laughed in response, saying she did not even need to ask in the first place. Since then, her playlist has helped her stay on task. She stood up and grabbed her purse, slinging it over her shoulder.
As she strolled past the courtyard, she heard a series of shouts and cries. She turned and curiously followed the noise to end up standing at the top of a small hill, overlooking the track field which had a group of people scattered about in what appeared to be a sparring session.
She walked closer and recognized Megumi, Yuji, Nobara, and who she believed were second years... though she never got a chance to formally introduce herself to them.
Admittedly, to this day, she wasn't sure if that was a real panda among them, or someone in a panda costume.
The first years appeared to be in a training match with some unfamiliar faces, though they wore the same dark uniform. Intrigued, she took off her bag and carefully sat down on the grass, watching them unleash their techniques. A muscular, shirtless young man was currently scuffling with Megumi, a dark-haired archer was dueling with Nobara, and a blue-haired girl clashed her weapon against Yuji. They appeared to be evenly matched, with the exception of the latter, who appeared to be on an advantageous offense against the newest first-year.
A shadow appeared beside her and she looked over her shoulder to see an elderly man with a wooden cane resting between his fingers. He raised a hand to stroke his long beard, pensively regarding the matches below.
"G-Good day." She politely dipped her head in greeting.
His thick brows drawn together, he peered down at her seated form. "Hello." He replied simply, before turning back to face the field, seemingly fixated on the skirmish.
Qian turned her gaze back as well, scrutinizing the last pair in particular. She noticed how the girl used a wooden katana, swinging it nimbly to jab at every opening. Yuji's fists and arms appeared to be bruised as he kept blocking her blows and trying to land a hit on her body. She bit the inside of her cheek. There has to be something that could protect his hands. She blinked and quickly pulled out her notebook and pen, an idea forming in her mind.
"You must be the new medical assistant." She looked up to see him regarding her curiously.
"O-Oh yes, my apologies, how rude of me!" She quickly pushed herself to her feet to give a formal bow. "M-My name is Qian Tomioka. It's very nice to meet you." She clasped her hands together demurely.
He grunted. "I'm the principal of our Kyoto branch."
Qian's mouth formed a small 'o' in understanding. "A-Ah yes… Principal Gakuganji, correct?"
He nodded and she gave another bow. "I-It's an honor. I've heard your students are quite exceptional."
"Ha. Did your principal tell you to say that?" He snorted incredulously, folding his hands over the knob of his cane.
"N-No, not at all! I heard from Fushiguro-san about the Exchange Event. It must have been really amazing, being able to watch them practice and grow." She assured earnestly.
He raised a brow, an odd gleam forming in his eye. "Why yes, I suppose It was."
They fell back into silence and Qian's eyes traveled to Nobara. She watched as the brunette held her hammer in one hand, reaching into her pocket with the other while trying to dodge the rapidly flying arrows. She took out a couple of nails, though a few slipped through her fingers as she threw them in the air, infusing them with her cursed energy.
She tapped the butt of her pen thoughtfully against her lip as she slowly sunk back into the grass. Clicking the writing utensil once more to expose the tip, she jotte down more lines of notes.
She finally turned to Megumi, who seemed to be doing the best out of the trio, nimbly exchanging blows with the brawny man. She twirled her writing utensil pensively before writing more lines in her notebook, seemingly in defeat. She then drew out a few sketches, scribbling and crossing out several things before she held her notebook up with a satisfied smile. "I think this will work!"
"So, you're now creeping on my students?" She slammed her notes shut with a squeak and looked up behind her to see Satoru staring down at her in amusement.
"G-Gojo-sensei!" She immediately scrambled to her feet, hiding her book behind her. "W-What are you doing here?"
The elderly man grunted in disgust. "Of course you're here."
Satoru grinned mischievously. "Why wouldn't I be? They're my students after all."
Yoshinobu simply 'humphed' in response, so Satoru turned to Qian. "So, what are you doing here?"
"O-Oh, I just wanted to get a breath of fresh air and I heard some noise." She tilted her head towards the group. "I-I was just curious. How about you?"
The man blinked as the corners of his lips lifted. "Like I said, those are my students. You know… who I'm training?"
Pink dusted her cheeks as she looked down in embarrassment. "R-Right, sorry. Dumb question."
"It's fine." He sighed before strolling past her, heading down the steps. "Also, you really need to stop apologizing. It's starting to get annoying."
"I-I'm so-" He turned his covered gaze towards her, raising a brow, and she clasped a hand over her mouth. "I-I understand." She mumbled behind her fingers.
He smirked. "See you later." He then raised his hand in a mock salute. "And you as well, old-timer."
As he hopped down the stairs, he used a finger to peel down his mask, briskly rubbing his eyes before bringing the fabric back up over his face.
"That damn brat." She peered at the principal curiously, who simply shook his head, seemingly muttering to himself. "Always so arrogant. That mask does nothing to protect his eyes."
Qian frowned and turned back to scrutinize Satoru's face. It doesn't? She bit her lip, noticing him massaging the bridge of his nose with a subtle sigh … it doesn't look comfortable either… She paused in thought. She then opened her notebook once more, scribbling a few more lines.