I got 2 chapter to post

Sorry for the wait.

Chapter 3

September 27th 8:25 AM

"Huh?"

The two young first years of Tokyo high were left utterly in shock at the declaration this man had just made. A second ago it seemed like he was ready to keel over and cry at the young woman's words and now he said he would beat the shit out of Megumi based on how he answered a question. Is this how all the Kyoto Students acted?

"I'm sorry what?" Megumi couldn't help but ask.

"I asked what type of girls you're into. The type of woman a guy likes says everything about their personality, a guy with a boring taste in women is a boring person and I HATE boring people. So come give me an answer"

He then continued happily and without shame,"If you want to know, I love tall women with big butts."

'September 27th, I dont think I'm ever going to forget this day' Megumi thought in deep sorrow.

He pondered the guy's question inside his own brain, 'what type of girls do I like?' Megumi was not particularly interested in pursuing a romantic relationship at the moment, especially with the deadly job of being a sorcerer always ready to pull the rug out from under his feet. There was also the fact that he didn't really know many women. But, he supposed that if he did want to enter a romantic relationship what type of girl would he want to be with. It was a tricky question that he never deliberated on, so as he thought of his ideal woman he couldn't help his mind wandering back to the woman and person she admired most in his life; his older sister Tsumiki. Someone with a strong sense of character just like her, 'that's the kind of woman I want to be with'.

Fushiguro settled on his response and opened his mouth ready to give his answer. "As long as her character is never in question, I don't see why we couldn't work well together". He felt a little proud of his response and his positivity was mirrored by the two other women standing in the shade of the little structure, both nodding in approval of his answer. He looked over to see the older man's reaction and was stunned to see the blankest, most lifeless look he had ever seen on someone's face. Even dead bodies conveyed more emotion in their faces than this.

"Damn. you really are boring" Was all he heard before he was close lined all the way across the stone pathway of the school.

"FUSHIGURO" Kugisaki yelled in shock, about to run after him but couldn't, insteast being held from behind by the other woman.

"Not so fast, let the brutes have their fun. We can stay here for a chat" The woman apparently named Mai had said softly in her ear. Nobara was about to make a move to escape from her grasp but felt the unmistakable feeling of the barrel of a gun against her back.

The gun had no ammo in it and even had its safety on but Nobara was completely unaware of this fact so she remained still in the hold of the older woman.

'All Kyoto students are this crazy, how is this possible?' Nobara whined in her own head, astonished that the other girl would just casually use a gun against her in broad daylight, at a school no less.

A little ways away Megumi was fighting for his life, he had summoned some of his shikigami for defense in case this guy was actually serious about his threat. Said guy was now slowly walking towards him with that same emotionless face as before, "I thought that maybe we could have been friends but you have disappointed me, how could you do that?" Todo asked.

Megumi tried to get a proper defense up but failed, the speed of Todo was too overwhelming as he was sent flying through a building. Floor after floor, repeated punches brutalizing his face. By the time he was at the top floor his whole face was covered in his own blood, his whole head felt like it was throbbing. He'd really need a good trip to Ms. Ieri's office after this.

"All I came here for was to get an answer from Okkotsu, all I wanted to know was his type of woman. Instead you disappointed me and now my morning has been ruined."

Megumi setted a harsh glare on the towering form of Todo, in the haze of semi-unconsciousness, and fight or flight, Megumi firsted his hands together and leveled them one over the other. In a split second his cursed energy surged to an incredible degree. Todo saw this happening, face in awe at the display of cursed energy. He smiled and awaited the next move of Fushiguro.

"With-"

Before Megumi could even get the first word of the chant completely out of his mouth he was interrupted and astonished to see Yuuta Okkotsu phase seemingly into existence on the top of the building with incredible speed. "Fushiguro what the hell is going on, what were you about to do?!" His senior asked in a frantic rush. After a moment without response Yuuta turned his eyes to see the fairly recognizable face of Aoi Todo, reminding him of the exchange event from last year.

"T-Todo, what are you doing here?"

"Yes! Just the man I was looking for, Okkotsu now that you are here you may finally bless me with an answer to the question I asked you all those months ago"

"Q-question? what question" he asked as he made his way over to Megumi, and began to apply reverse cursed technique to his head, which shocked both students as it was a skill that hardly any sorcerer could claim to have. The only person Todo could recall performing that feat of sorcery for him to see would be his teacher Yuki Tsukumo.

This momentary distraction did not deter Todo, who pushed forwards to remind Okkotsu of his all important inquiry. "I asked you, Yuuta Okkotsu, what type of woman do you like?"

"What!?" Yuuta choked out. He was not expecting this at all. And he couldn't help the face that immediately popped into his head. Yuuta was a mostly shy person, so he didn't really know why he would share this information. But if this question was so important that Todo had remembered all these months later, he felt like he had an obligation to answer it. But if people heard about this he would rather the Earth swallow him whole.

After many long seconds taken for Yuuta to decide if he really wanted to say what he was thinking he announced his taste in women for Megumi and Todo to hear.

"I like…I like a strong willed, determined, beautiful woman with above average boobs!"

Yuuta was sure his face was beet red, a color akin to that of a tomato but he couldn't take back his words now. He looked up from the ground to Todo. The Kyoto students' expression was deep though, as if he was studying Yuuta's answer like it was his philosophy.

"A respectable answer Okkotsu, oddly specific, but quite respectable nonetheless. Have a nice day" He eventually said with a slight smile on his face, then he turned around, jumped off the building and began walking back to the one Nobara and Mai were in.

Meanwhile Megumi witnessed the conversation completely floored. He had given a deep emotional answer that came straight from his heart and he got beaten to a pulp for it.

Todo peered into the small structure so that Mai was completely surrounded by 3 new students and the same girl from before, 'they must've also sensed that kids suriging cursed energy and came over'.

The story inside the shade was a completely different one.

When Maki, Panda and Toge had Arrived and gotten Mai off Nobara's back the conversation that followed was not one the other Tokyo students thought they should be hearing. Maki was a private person and did not share about her life with her family often or at all, so being caught in the cross-fire of Maki and her twin sister's conflict felt like they were intruding.

"Well if it isn't the one who ran away" Mai spat, conveying her distaste for her twin.

Maki tried to feign calmness, her way of staying in control and keeping her defenses up. Her sister was someone who could absolutely make her feel vulnerable given their deep history and how close they had once been. She didn't want to let Mai rile her up and make her upset, that was all she was trying to do with her words.

"What are you doing here Mai?" she asked as evenly as possible.

"What do you care, Maki?" Her sister bit back.

They were going to get nowhere like this, eventually Mai's antagonizing would work and Maki would slip up and lose her temper. The best thing was to simply defuse the situation. However, Mai didn't seem all that interested in that route.

"You've heard right? The news about the Gojo-Zen'in clan altercation. Well guess what I heard in the compound the other day, our dear family is going to hold a special mandatory gathering. Tomorrow night right in the evening, every single member of the Zen'in bloodline is to be there. That sounds great right Maki? Returning to mother and father, that would make you happy right?"

"Mai that's enough", Maki didn't need to hear anymore. Whatever good mood she had felt this morning evaporated at that news. She already felt so close to throwing up. Unfortunately Mai didn't seem to notice, or if she did it didn't dissuade her as she talked over Maki's request.

"I don't think Mother would be happy to see you though considering how you disgraced her, and you're probably the last person father wants to see or even think about. He wanted a strong powerful child in order to become the next clan head. Instead he got 2 wretched girls, one of whom was so scared she ran away from home."

Every word clawed a Maki, only people who were familiar with her past could make her feel so small and weak. This was probably the first time in Maki's whole life she wanted to punch her own sister, if only to get her to stop disclosing their family baggage.

The other Tokyo Students simply stood there, completely stunned, unsure how to respond. They didn't want to let Maki fight all by herself but this was a family matter that didn't involve them. Thankfully it seemed like someone had finally come to save the day, and their hero surprisingly turned out to be the one who started this whole mess in the first place.

"C'mon Mai, I got my answer from Okkotsu. We can leave now" Todo announced with his rough voice.

"Hold on a second Todo-"

"NO! Takada is having a fan meet & greet in exactly 3 hours, I will not fail to be at least a part of the first 50 in line!"

"Tch, whatever"

And with that two began to walk away from the scene, completely uncaring and oblivious to how they had ruined that morning for the majority of the students. Before they got too far though Mai turned around to say one last thing to her sister. "I can't wait to see you there tomorrow Maki, I bet Naoya will be overjoyed too"

It wasn't a surprise that following the departure of the Kyoto students Maki had removed herself as well. All she said was that she needed some time alone, a wish the Tokyo students immediately granted her.

When Yuuta and Megumi met up with the rest of them they each decided that it was best if the early morning training session concluded there and then. Yuuta thought about searching for Maki and trying to lift her spirit but decided that it would be best if she got the space and time she desired. Megumi and him then headed off to Shoko's office, mostly because Yuuta wanted to make sure he applied his reverse cursed technique properly and because he wanted to see everyone he had been away from for the past 8 months.

When they entered they found that they were not the only ones there. Nanami Kento, A professional grade 1 sorcerer and former student of Tokyo High, was sitting on the chairs sharing a conversation with the healer of the school which stopped when Shoko noticed the familiar face of Megumi and surprisingly Yuuta. "Is that you Yuuta, you must've had a growth spurt. Definitely weren't that tall when I saw you last" she asked in her distinct tired-bored tone. Yuuta sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, in response. The presence of Yuuta seemed to have caught Nanami Off guard as well, "It's good to see you Okkotsu". The two older sorcerers then greeted Megumi, with Shoko going over his wounds to see if they had been healed correctly.

They were.

The 4 made small talk for a moment before Megumi and Yuuta turned to leave. As they walked Megumi asked Yuuta what his plans were now that he had returned to Jujutsu high. Yuuta only responded with a chuckle saying that he really had no idea what he was going to do other than the periodical solo special grade mission, and that he really just wanted to see his friends again.

Megumi was stunned. Yuuta may only be a second year student but he was still a special grade that had been purposely sent overseas by the highest in the jujutsu world. No matter how badly he missed his friends Gojo wouldn't use his power so casually to bring Yuuta back without a reason, especially when his clan needed to consolidate said power. There was definitely Gojo wasn't telling him, as was often the case with every one of his students. Suddenly in the middle of their discussion his phone buzzed in his pocket, signaling that he was getting a call.

"It's from Gojo" Megumi Voiced. 15 seconds later he hung up. "He wants me to come see him in his office, probably wants to tell me some stupid joke he saw online"

"Alright, I'm going to go to the school library. See ya' later"

The Library that Jujutsu High had was old, really old. 'Probably why nobody comes here anymore' Yuuta thought.

The lights were all candles and the floor creaked with every step. If this were a year ago he would probably be too scared to come in here by himself. The school had existed for many generations, it had been revamped and improved several times as well to fit in more closely with the modern era but that didn't mean it lost its spooky aesthetic.

Once Yuuta lit all the candles in the room he began looking through each shelf, trying to find interesting books on sorcery to read and analyze. His cursed technique demanded that he keep his mind in top form, ready to quickly decipher jujutsu and other sorcerer's techniques at a moment's notice. While in Kenya Miguel had forced him to read and study his profession, citing that a special grade sorcerer is a special grade not simply based on power but Jujutsu prowess in general. The more he knew. the more strategies and techniques he could come up with strategies for how to defend against them or employ them once he had made his opponents technique his own.

As he peered into yet another shelf, most of the books he had seen covered the history and different time periods of the jujutsu world. Finally though he found 2 books worth investigating and reading.

One was an entire known cursed technique encyclopedia, which was quite the bold claim considering the vast amount of cursed abilities to have existed. The other was yet another encyclopedia but focused on cursed Tools rather than techniques.

'I bet maki would find that interesting'. Deciding to pick out the book and deliver it to her once he left the library. She would probably want a distraction from her clan and this was right up her alley. But before he could perform that task he would use this time to himself in order to reflect on his first 2 hours back in Tokyo. It was nice to return but honestly the news their teacher had given himself and his classmates earlier, and the shenanigans with the Kyoto students had overshadowed everyone's good feelings. He had looked forward to using the morning to reconnect with Maki, Toge, and Panda. He could still probably find Panda and Toge if he went to look for them. It would probably do all three of them some good to get their mind off the more serious topics, it's what Gojo wanted them to do anyway. He could find his own time to read the text on cursed energy and techniques on his own time.

With that thought in mind he collected the two books and prepared to seek out Panda and Toge in the hopes of some lighthearted conversation.

It probably took him about 7 and a half minutes of wandering around campus for him to finally find his companions; they were just sitting on the front steps of the school. Kinda odd.

"Hey guys, I was looking for you"

"Kelp" Inumaki had said in acknowledgement

"Yeah sorry about that Yuuta, we were just thinking of a way to cheer Maki up. We considered going to get burgers from her favorite fast food joint for lunch later, but then we realized that I am a Panda and Toge can't communicate with most people '' Panda exclaimed with a sigh.

"Well, I could go do it" Yuuta Offered, the kind and generous person that he was.

"Yeah, we had thought about getting you or Kugisaki to go take the order. We might still do that but it's only 9:24 AM, so we still have time before we can make any decisions"

Yuuta opened his mouth to say something but hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was an appropriate question. "Panda, Toge. What exactly happened between Maki and her sister?"

Him and Fushiguro (technically also Todo) were the only ones who had no idea what had happened inside that small open building. When the two of them did get there Maki was walking away, he had noticed that her fists were clenched at her sides. Fushiguro asked Kugisaki, the other first year, what was up with Maki and Kugisaki just shook her head and said that it wasn't her place to talk about it.

Now here in front of the other 2 viewers of the exchange that took place, Yuuta again asked the question he had not gotten an answer about earlier.

"I don't know Yuuta. It wasn't really anything that happened, but more what was said. I think it's best if you asked Maki herself at some other time. She would probably feel comfortable talking to you about it" Panda said to the prodigy, attempting to explain his reasoning to his clearly disappointed friend.

"I understand"

A beat of depressing silence passed. Panda didn't like that things seemed so down when the day they were reunited was supposed to be a happy one.

"You guys, let's head to my room and play some blackjack, we'll bet with our sorcerer allowance"

Yuuta laughed out loud at the suggestion. Back in his first year the three of them played all sorts of card games involving gambling. Even Hakari, their senior, joined in on a couple of occasions. Most of the time they would bet on stupid things, like each other's lunch, or who would cut the grass of the field. Now that they were second years it was only natural things would escalate to betting real money.

"Alright sounds good to me. How much are we betting?"

"Slow your roll, nothing major. Not all of us get special grade salaries" Panda joked lightheartedly.

"Yeah hehe" Yuuta said sheepishly.

"Fish Flakes"

"Toge you have the worst winning percentage out of all of us, you have shit luck" Panda exclaimed in laughter.

Yeah, this is the feeling Yuuta missed. He was so very happy to see his friends again.

11:58 AM

"Why do you need me to tell him?...What?...Thats stupid as fuck, you have your own phone so just call him yourself….Fine I'll ask and see if he wants to do it."

Nobara Kugisaki tapped on the hang up icon, ending the call between herself and whoever was on the other end. Megumi sat beside her in the limousine. He tried his best to space out her loud voice which only increased in volume the angrier she got at the person on the other end. They had just wrapped up a grade 4 mission, it was a simple search & destroy kind of operation in an abandoned morgue. They were in and then out all within 20 minutes.

"Who was that?" Megumi asked.

"Who do ya' think? Our one and only teacher" Nobara answered back sourly. "He wanted me to text Okkotsu in order to tell him to meet Gojo in his office, like what does that even mean?"
"Well it does sound stupid but you don't really know him and he probably just wants his students to know each other. It's just that his strategies are lackluster" Megumi offered, attempting to find reason in Gojo's overcomplicated way of doing these little things.

"I understand that much, but he can literally just call him."

"Based on how the call ended, I'm guessing he wants me to deliver this message to Okkotsu?"

"Yup, it would help a lot if you did, Panda texted me asking if I could get some special burgers for Maki to cheer her up which would be a lot easier if you could go ahead call Okkotsu"

'If Gojo isn't calling Yuuta directly for something as mundane as requesting him in his office then there has to be an important reason' Megumi contemplated.

Sighing he dialed Okkotsu's number, after about 20 seconds of waiting he finally picked up on the other end. He got straight to the point and informed the special grade of Gojo's request. Once everything on that end was straightened out, he himself hung up.

"Right her Ichiji, wait right here while me and Fushiguro order the food" Nobara exclaimed as they had stopped outside of a fast food chain.

"What did you need to see me for Sensei?"

"Yuuta I need to discuss something very important with you", the once blindfolded sorcerer now had the cloth rested on his desk as he looked up at the ceiling, leaned back in his chair. When he finished his statement he lowered his piercing blue eyes so that Yuuta could see the weight behind them.

"Um, alright" The younger of the two exceptional sorcerers responded.

"I told you over the phone that you were coming back to Jujutsu high so that you could finally return to Tokyo while also getting the chance to watch your friends compete in the Goodwill event. However there is also another reason I wanted you to come back."

"What other reason?" Okkotsu asked curiously. There was definitely an edge in his voice. A part of him was wishing he didn't have to hear this news, especially after everything he had already heard today.

"Well...I am going to make you my temporary heir to the Gojo clan, at least until this storm with the Zen'in passes over" His teacher finally announced.

Out of all the possible outcomes to Yuuta's question this was by far the most appalling answer. Yuuta couldn't help his mind suddenly going blank for a second.

'W-w-what?! I can't replace you. I don't even belong to the clan. What are you talking about?"

Gojo drew in a deep breath before he continued on, "If you are named the temporary Heir it will at least stall the motion of the Gojo clan's excommunication from the 3 great families. Everyone says the Gojo are a one man show so if the apparent successor to myself is also extremely powerful then the ground the Zen'in are building their case will be destroyed."

"But I hardly know anything about your clan. We are only distant cousins so would your plan even work out?" Okkotsu said in an anxious voice.

"I don't really know, but what I do know is that once I tell them that this protects their own self interest they will back down 100%. I am asking you to do this as a favor Yuuta, to help save my clan, you don't have to say yes.

Yuuta didn't really like the idea of being a part of the 3 great clans, from what he had heard they have brought the jujutsu world to the place it is now. But this was a request from Gojo, the man who had saved his life from execution and was the reason he had met wonderful people like Maki. Yuuta owed this to him, to pay off the lifetime debt he owed the strongest sorcerer of today.

"I'll do it" Yuuta's voice came out firm, full of determination to make his teacher proud.

"Thank you Yuuta, that's all I needed to hear. Tomorrow I will introduce you to my clan formally in the morning, so you can have the rest of the mid-day and afternoon to yourself. For now however, you can continue to enjoy the company of your friends, it is still your first day back.

6:20 PM

After Yuuta and Gojo's conversation many hours ago he had wanted to meet back up with all the students to raise the morale of Maki. Apparently she had been beating the shit out of some training dummies for almost 4 hours instead of being in her room. He was glad she found an outlet for her anger instead of letting it bottle up inside.

He wished he was there to eat lunch with everyone, but he was assigned his first special grade mission right after his discussion with Gojo. This mission was assigned directly by principal Yaga himself which meant it was very important and not a responsibility he could shrug off. Panda kept him updated on the whole situation with Maki though through text, letting him know that she seemed a lot calmer now.

That was good. Yuuta decided to focus on the mission so that he could complete it within the next hour or so and return to Jujutsu High.

Things wouldn't be so easy though, he kept getting periodically side-attracted. This was not the type of day he envisioned when he dreamed about seeing his friends again. God, how could one day hold so much baggage.

To avoid thinking about it any longer Yuuta swore to himself that he wouldn't let these negative thoughts intrude on his day anymore. After all, Tomorrow was the day the ball would really start rolling.

He didn't complete all the tasks asked of him until it was 8:13 PM, and he still needed to get a ride back to the school. When he did finally make it back, at a time closer to 9:00 PM he went to his room and changed into more casual clothes after a shower. He then went to the small bookshelf by his bedside, collected the book he had picked out earlier in the day and moved back towards the door to his room, this time exiting.

When he reached his destination finally he knocked twice so as not to interrupt the occupant of the room. Of course the person inside could easily hear the knocks no matter what with her great senses. The door Opened to reveal a tired looking Maki Zen'in, who had her hair still pulled into the same style he saw on her earlier in the day. Now that he was getting a chance to fully appreciate her features he noticed that her hair was cut a slightly different way and that she was wearing new glasses then she was months ago. He didn't notice it as well earlier because to him it didn't detract from her beauty whatsoever.

"Yuuta? Is something the matter?" The cursed tool user asked him, a little puzzled since Yuuta actually had not said anything since she opened the door about 10 seconds ago.

"Oh uh yeah, sorry haha" He showed the cursed tool book to Maki, "I saw this earlier in the library and I thought you would like it" He tried to keep his voice from shaking in embarrassment,

Maki took the book from his extended hands, flipping through its pages. "Thank you for the thought Yuuta, but I read this back when I was a child in the compound" she said with a wistful smile.

'Shit'. This was supposed to be something to distract her from her family, not remind her of it. "Fuck, im sorry Maki I didn't mean to-"

"Shut it idiot" She looked him in the eye, "I'm glad you got this for me, reading this was one of the few good memories I had while in that hellhole"

Yuuta was confused at first at her words and now he was panicking as he could see faint tears begin to form in her eyes. But Maki, being the strong prideful woman she was, refused to let them fall.

"I remember as a kid I found this book and thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I would read it to Mai every so often at night. Even though it was just boring facts about sorcery and the tools themselves it was always incredible to read."

Yuuta was silent the entire time as she continued to recall the memory.

"In the Zen'in clan women are taught to walk 3 steps behind man, they are taught that the natural place all women are made for is inside the home far away from all battle. I wanted to be a strong fighter, so strong that I wouldn't have to let other people tell me how I should live my life. Unfortunately I was talentless in sorcery, hardly any cursed energy to speak of as you know."

She breathed in deep trying to steady her voice which started to shake more and more. "When I found this book and read it, I had the dream that I could achieve the strength I desired even without cursed energy. I was able to realize there was still a way to become a grade 1 sorcerer despite my curse. Eventually I got caught with the book and was punished for it, but it was worth it. I wouldn't be the person I am today if I never did read it."

She looked back up at Yuuta, moving her gaze away from the encyclopedia. "So don't worry, you didn't make me upset. You should know better than anyone else that i'm not made of glass" She finished the last part off with a smirk.

"I missed you guys so much" Yuuta began, "Even though today kinda sucked when compared to what my imagination had created, I was still reminded of all the reasons why I love this place. Thank you so much for making me confront my goal that first day we met."

After a couple seconds of the two sharing eye contact Maki couldn't help but to comment "soft" faintly which earned her a laugh.

"It's getting late Yuuta and I would like to wake up early tomorrow to get some training in for the event. I'll keep the book with me though."

"Yeah, I enjoyed talking with you. Have a goodnight Maki" He said before she softly closed the door to her room and he walked back to his own.

He probably should get some sleep as well, slim chance of him falling asleep before 4 AM though. Any sleep he could get would be needed for his meeting with the Gojo clan Tomorrow.

The old sorceress Ogami addressed the situation with horror painted all over her wrinkled face. She was missing one last piece to complete the biological information of Toji Zen'in body. This was very, very, bad; If Geto found out about this she would be dead. The only way to address this miscalculation would be to acquire more information from the body of the fallen sorcerer killer. But that body was kept well hidden somewhere on the grounds of the Zen'in compound. In order to complete her technique she would have to get ahold of such information which would also mean sneaking into the compound itself.

She wasn't left with much choice though. She could either wait and die at Geto's hands or attempt the impossible with a slim chance of success. The choice was easy for the old woman.

Even if it meant certain death, she would find the remains of Toji Zen'in before Geto met with her next. Her life depended on it.