His features were sharp, carrying a clean and confident presence.

  “Go back and train for a few more years before you come out to charm men. Your hands are shaking, and that is not a quality a shooter should have.”

  Mai Zenin was not very afraid of Akira anymore, but that did not change the fact that she lacked experience. Nervousness was unavoidable, and for a shooter, that was deadly.

  “Still, if you already have the mood to try to charm me, you should be fine. Goodbye. I am really looking forward to the fight between you and your sister. No matter who wins, it will be interesting and good growth for both of you.”

  Akira patted himself off, stood up from the ground, and left Mai Zenin with his back.

  They were standing in the shadow under the eaves. When he stepped into the sunlight, the image reflected in the girl’s eyes looked like someone wrapped in light, making her dizzy despite herself. She hated how fast her heart was beating.

  He teased her and rejected her at the same time. She had never been treated like this in her life. But still, there was no but, it was all the sun’s fault, because the sunlight that day was too beautiful and too gentle.

  As her thoughts drifted, a sudden “Hey” snapped her back.

  When she focused, it was that handsome face that had shaken her heart more than once.

  “Ah, Ari, why are you…”

  “Because I changed my mind.”

  Akira’s cheerful smile made Mai Zenin flustered.

  “Th-then, I am not ready yet…”

  “No need to prepare. Just help me pass along a couple of messages. In return, I will give you two pieces of advice, guaranteed to be useful to you. How about it?”

  “So that is how it is.” Mai Zenin let out a sigh of relief. “I thought…”

  “Thought what?”

  “N-nothing. I agree.”

  “OK. Let’s exchange contact info. If there is anything you want to say to your sister, you can send it to me too.”

  After smoothly exchanging phone numbers and email addresses, Akira stepped back into the sunlight.

  This time, Mai Zenin did not look at him. She buried her head back into her knees.

  Waaah, Makoto is so embarrassing. What am I even doing?

  Unfortunately, her attempt at shutting herself off had only just begun when she heard two familiar cries.

  “Mai Zenin?”

  “What is wrong with you, sitting here alone?”

  “Kasumi, Momo…”

  Kasumi Miwa and Momo Nishimiya were her classmate and senior, and also the people she was closest to at school.

  “Wow, your face is so red, and tears. Those are tear marks, right?”

  “What happened? Did someone bully you? That junior called Akira?”

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Women understood women best. They knew Mai Zenin too well. Someone who always paid so much attention to her appearance would never sit by the roadside in such a messy state.

  She spent at least half an hour on makeup every day, and now it was ruined. Combined with the fact that she had left together with Akira, who was close to Maki Zenin and full of bad ideas, something happening to Mai Zenin was not impossible.

  “No, no.” Mai Zenin shook her head quickly.

  At least she could tell right from wrong. Although Akira had acted almost flirtatiously, he had not crossed any line and had even helped her sort out her thoughts.

  “Makoto’s?” Kasumi Miwa did not believe her. “Then why were you crying?”

  “I get it. It must be your sister bullying you. How dare she bully my cute junior, I will not let her off.” Momo Nishimiya ground her teeth.

  “Uh, how exactly will you not let her off? Are you sure you can beat her?” Mai Zenin poured cold water on her.

  Momo Nishimiya froze.

  She had been eliminated early and had the chance to observe the whole situation. She had clearly seen how Maki Zenin completely dominated Noritoshi Kamo.

  As Noritoshi Kamo’s classmate, she knew very well how strong the heir of the Kamo Clan was. She herself could not compare at all, and escaping with Tool Manipulation was already the best outcome.

  Even though Noritoshi Kamo had already used up energy before fighting Maki Zenin, Maki Zenin had come out completely unscathed. Momo Nishimiya did not think she was a match for her.

  “We can report it to the teachers. Utahime Iori will definitely help us, and there is also Yoshinobu Gakuganji.” Kasumi Miwa raised her hand, very much the model student.

  “No need. It would be embarrassing to say it out loud.” Mai Zenin shook her head again. “Besides, it has nothing to do with Maki Zenin. Our match has not even started yet. Who bullies whom is still unclear.”

  “Ahaha, that is true.”

  Kasumi Miwa thought about it and felt that being bullied by someone from another school on her own campus would indeed sound bad.

  Momo Nishimiya noticed something else. Mai Zenin did not look like she was forcing herself. She had clearly cried, but there was no resentment, and she seemed more cheerful than usual.

  That reaction…

  “Mai Zenin, you… are you in love?”

  “What what what what what?” Kasumi Miwa was shocked.

  Mai Zenin froze. “Wh-what are you saying? How could I be in love?”

  She said that, but the blush on her cheeks and her dodging eyes told another story.

  “Kasumi, what do you think?”

  “Reporting, senior, I think senior is right.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Hey, listen to me.” Mai Zenin snapped.

  In love my foot. I already said something like that and he still calmly rejected me. This is getting dumped before even being in love, okay.

  “Heh, Makoto’s?” The yellow and blue pair smiled at the same time.

  As if on cue, Mai Zenin’s phone rang. The screen lit up, showing the sender, Akira.

  “Heh~~~~~”

  Mai Zenin fell silent.

  I could jump into the Fukushima bay and never wash this clean.

  Mai Zenin was being questioned by her friends, and things were no better on the other side for Akira. No, it might have been even worse.

  After leaving the girl, he was thinking about how to use the two chances to pass messages when he suddenly felt pressure from above. A long-handled Battle Blade, tied with white tassels and looking nine parts similar to Satoru Gojo’s hair color, slammed down from the air.

  Akira hurriedly stepped back to avoid it and said to the attacker, “What are you doing? That’s dangerous.”

  “Who was it that said being a Jujutsu Sorcerer is a dangerous job, and that you need to stay alert at all times?” The ponytailed girl pulled the Battle Blade out of the cracked ground, spun it cleanly, and raised an eyebrow as she spoke.

  “I also said you should trust your teammates. Attacking a teammate out of nowhere is a big taboo.” While glaring at Maki Zenin, Akira also glanced at Gardevoir behind him, only to find that she had turned her eyes away and was not looking at him at all.

  Was she sulking?

  “I trust my teammates a lot, as long as they don’t betray themselves,” Maki Zenin shot back without backing down. “So tell me, what did you do to someone else’s little sister?”

  “Little sister? Oh, you mean Mai Zenin.” He understood now, she had seen him talking with Mai Zenin, just not sure how much she saw.

  “Mai Zenin, huh. Just one moment out of sight and you’re already calling her by name.” Maki Zenin’s eyes darkened, and even Gardevoir puffed out her cheeks in clear annoyance.

  Unfortunately for them, Akira’s level was far higher than one low emotional intelligence fighter plus an eight-year-old. He replied calmly, without a hint of panic.

  “If you have a problem, go talk to your sister. She asked me to call her that, and you, as her sister, should know the reason.” Maki Zenin clicked her tongue. “That idiot. And you too. She tells you to do it and you just do it? Where’s your sense of shame?”

  “You all dragged me into it. Calling people by name isn’t that our old tradition?” With that one sentence, all of Maki Zenin’s arguments were blocked.

  At Tokyo Jujutsu High, there were just too many people who got familiar too fast. Satoru Gojo, Panda, and Maki Zenin were all like that.