In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed.
Mukuro stayed in Tokyo, just in case another accident happened. No one knew when it would come, or if it would happen at all.
Right now, inside Tokyo Jujutsu High.
"Whoa, that's rare. This time the mission isn't being led by Ijichi-san?"
Looking at the young and unfamiliar woman in front of him, Yuji couldn't help but speak up in surprise.
He had been enrolled for months now, and this was the first time he'd worked with an assistant manager who wasn't Ijichi.
"Ijichi has been helping Mr. Fushiguro with something lately. So for now, I'll be assisting you instead. My name is Akari Nitta. Nice to meet you."
The blonde woman was dressed in a standard business outfit. After a brief explanation and introduction, she began going over the details of the mission.
"Fushiguro? Are you making Ijichi-san do something for you?"
Yuji, simple-minded as always, naturally turned to Megumi beside him.
"Nitta-san probably meant Megumi's uncle."
Junpei answered for him from the side, sounding a little helpless.
"Oh, I see."
"In that case, let's head out."
Megumi didn't bother reacting to Yuji's clueless comment. Since the mission situation still wasn't clear, he decided it was better to go investigate first.
"I'm fine with that… but I heard there were four of you."
Akari lifted a finger and counted. There were only three boys here.
"Kugisaki suddenly had something come up today… so it's just the three of us."
Yuji scratched his forehead.
He remembered that this morning, it was supposed to be the four first-years going together. But after Nobara stepped out for a moment, she called and said she had something urgent.
"It's fine. The three of us together should be enough."
Junpei smiled as he looked at his teammates. His technique could both attack and defend. As long as they weren't facing someone too strong, he could still be useful in a support role.
"Alright… that works. Let's go."
Akari didn't think too much about it. She led them outside toward where her car was parked.
As for why Nobara was missing?
Let's rewind to about half an hour earlier…
* * *
"Seriously… I still have to go out on a mission in weather like this?"
With the rain pouring nonstop, Nobara was in a bad mood. She walked around campus alone under her umbrella, waiting for the assistant manager to arrive.
Then she suddenly spotted a familiar figure up ahead, hurrying into the school building.
It was Ijichi, who she hadn't seen in several days. He was holding a thick stack of documents.
"Ijichi-san!"
A sudden burst of curiosity and mischief hit her. Nobara quietly tiptoed after him. After following him into the building, she popped up by his ear to scare him.
"Huh?!"
Ijichi, who had been bullied by Satoru for years, flinched hard. Even the papers in his hands fell to the floor.
"Kugisaki-san, you scared me!"
Once he came back to his senses, Ijichi half-joked as he complained, then crouched down to pick everything up.
"Ijichi-san, you're still way too timid!" Nobara said that while crouching down to help.
But as she looked through the dozens of pages scattered across the floor, she immediately spotted a familiar face.
"Ijichi-san! What happened to her?!"
Her hands trembled as she pulled out the one sheet that mattered most to her. The calm look she always had was completely gone.
She even grabbed Ijichi by the shoulder, asking in a rush.
Normally, when someone ended up on a list that Jujutsu High professionals investigated, it meant only two things.
Either they were already dead, or they were about to die.
No matter which one it was, she couldn't accept it.
"Kugisaki-san… calm down…"
Ijichi's skinny body shook back and forth from being grabbed so hard, and even his glasses almost slipped off.
"Huh? Sorry, sorry… she's really important to me, so…"
Only then did Nobara snap back a little. She quickly apologized again and again.
"These are things Fushiguro-senpai asked me to investigate. To be honest, I don't really know what it's for, but if you have time—"
"I do!"
Before he could even finish, Nobara answered immediately, although she was supposed to be on a mission today.
"Alright then…"
Ijichi reorganized the papers, placing the sheet she was holding right on top. Then the two of them went to a classroom inside the school building.
Mukuro was already waiting there.
"Um! Fushiguro-san, this file has—"
"Someone you know? Then choose that one. Let's go see what's going on."
Nobara couldn't even finish her sentence when Mukuro stood up, took the documents from Ijichi, and decided what to do next.
* * *
Back to the present.
Ijichi was driving as usual. Nobara and Mukuro sat in the back seat.
Neither of them spoke.
Mukuro just kept flipping through the documents in his hand. Nobara's emotions, though, were clearly a mess. Even though she had been told in the car that the girl wasn't dead, Mukuro also said this might not be easy to deal with.
There weren't many things in the world that could trouble a special grade sorcerer…
"Fushiguro-senpai, it's here."
Their destination was somewhere in Tokyo. After only a short drive, the three of them arrived.
It was a small house that looked warm and cozy from the outside.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang. Not long after, a tired-looking woman came to open the door.
"I think I remember you…"
She looked at Ijichi with confusion. Clearly, she recognized him.
"I came a few days ago to investigate your daughter's condition. This person here is the top specialist in our field."
Ijichi smoothly showed his ID and introduced Mukuro.
"Is that so? Then… please. I'm counting on you."
The woman forced out a faint smile. Over the past two years, she had heard those same words more times than she could count.
Hope turning into despair again and again had made her numb. Even so, she still refused to let go of even the smallest chance.
But the woman didn't notice something important. From the moment she opened the door, Nobara's hand had started shaking.
The truth she kept trying to deny was right in front of her.
Right after that, the three of them followed the woman inside, heading to the target's room.
It was a girl with a pale face, yet beautiful features.
She lay quietly on the bed. The only sign of life was the faint rise and fall of her chest, like a sleeping beauty.
Her skin was fair, but on her forehead, there was a clear red mark.
"Saori…"
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