Elsewhere, inside Kyoto Jujutsu High, in a small office.
"Mechamaru~ The teacher said the notes have to be handed in by today~"
Miwa peeked in from the doorway with a stack of notebooks in her arms. When she saw Mechamaru sitting on the sofa with his arms crossed over his chest, she walked in and reminded him.
In their line of work, there weren't many notes to write. Most of it was basic knowledge about jujutsu, but those basics were also the most important. After all, being a sorcerer meant living alongside death. If someone didn't even know the fundamentals, it would be easy to die on a mission one day.
"The notes are on the desk. You can take them. Sorry, Miwa. I'm a bit sleepy. I'll take a nap first."
Mechamaru didn't even lift his head. After he finished speaking, the light in his eyes faded.
"Sleep? But it's still evening…"
Miwa felt confused, but he didn't respond again.
She quietly moved closer, then reached out and gently poked his forehead with her finger.
There was no reaction.
"He's really asleep? Where is Mechamaru's real body anyway…"
Like a child teasing a cat, Miwa kept poking his forehead, making soft tapping sounds.
Poke.
Only after she was sure his consciousness was truly gone did she stop.
She picked up the notebook Mechamaru had left on the desk, stacked it together with the ones she was holding, and placed them back neatly. Then she sat down beside him.
"Mechamaru. Can I go see you?"
Only at times like this did the shy girl have the courage to say what was in her heart, because he couldn't hear her.
"These past few months… especially after the exchange event, it feels like everyone's hearts have gotten a bit closer."
A faint look of satisfaction appeared on her face.
Before, they were always companions. But because of their different personalities and the danger of the job, they kept a certain distance from each other, so that when the day came for someone to leave, it wouldn't hurt as much.
But the days when the boys were all beaten up by Fushiguro-sensei, and the time the girls spent by Utahime-sensei's side like close friends, slowly brought everyone closer.
Working together during the exchange event and the joy of the baseball game finally broke the last remaining barrier.
"I want to be closer to you too…"
The sunset shone through the window into the office, lighting up Miwa's pale face with a faint blush. Her fingers fidgeted like lively little rabbits, and her voice was so soft, like a mosquito buzzing in daylight.
Miwa and Mechamaru.
* * *
At the same time, the battle between Kokichi and Mahito had reached its fiercest stage.
The form he was controlling, Ultimate Mechamaru Mode: Absolute, Armored Puppet Ultimate Mechamaru Prototype No. 0, simply called Ultimate Mechamaru, stood facing Mahito.
"If this shot lands… it can work!"
In Ultimate Mechamaru's hand, a bullet engraved with Simple Domain as its technique core was fully charged. He had prepared this specifically for today.
As long as Mahito's soul wasn't destroyed, he could regenerate as long as he had cursed energy. But even a crude Simple Domain still counted as a domain. If it hit, it would cause a guaranteed hit effect from within the body. Even the soul couldn't escape that.
Mahito had already taken one such shot more than ten exchanges ago, and the effect had been obvious.
However, before Ultimate Mechamaru could fire again, the mangled mouth on Mahito's bloody face opened wide. Countless small hands formed inside his mouth, quickly weaving into a hand seal.
"Domain Expansion: Self-Embodiment of Perfection."
Behind him, dozens of giant hands surged forward, spreading out and swallowing the massive Ultimate Mechamaru in an instant.
"Idle Transfiguration."
Mahito snapped his fingers lightly.
Right before his eyes, Ultimate Mechamaru collapsed. The eyes that had been glowing red lost their light, and the sound of machinery slowly faded away.
"All those tricks and schemes… even if I can't touch you, the result is the same inside a domain."
He scratched the back of his head with disdain and turned around, ready to leave. His words were filled with mockery toward Kokichi's so-called clever tactics.
Only raw power stood above everything else.
But the smile on his face didn't last long.
After taking only two steps, the Ultimate Mechamaru that had supposedly gone silent suddenly lifted its head.
The next instant, the bullet that should have already been fired stabbed straight into Mahito's chest from behind.
"What?!"
Mahito gasped in shock. His face twisted in disbelief, his eyes bloodshot.
That moment earlier had been completely intentional.
Kokichi had exploited the information gap that often existed with cursed spirits. When Mahito activated his domain, he used a Simple Domain within the body to neutralize the technique's effect. Then, once Mahito relaxed, he struck to kill.
"New Shadow Style: Simple Domain!"
Kokichi's calm voice rang out as the bullet exploded inside Mahito's chest. Rotten flesh flew everywhere, and the domain shattered with a loud crack.
As the darkness faded, the world beneath the curtain reappeared.
Only then did the boy finally breathe out.
Now, he could finally go see them.
Finally…
He could go see her.
"Hehahahaha! It's not over yet!"
A sudden change.
Mahito, who should have been blown to pieces, reappeared before Kokichi. His right arm had already transformed into a drill and smashed through Ultimate Mechamaru's armor.
He laughed wildly, his body sprouting dozens, even hundreds, of long blades that shot toward Kokichi.
"Damn it… Mechamaru!"
The interior space was already breached and far too narrow. On top of that, only one weapon engraved with Simple Domain remained.
Kokichi made a split-second decision. He abandoned Ultimate Mechamaru, summoned several simple Mechamaru units to block the attack, then opened a hatch behind him and escaped at once.
He ran without looking back, sprinting in a single direction.
"It's useless. Without that thing, you're no different from a rabbit running across open ground."
Mahito stepped out of Ultimate Mechamaru, showing no hurry to chase Kokichi. With the curtain in place, escape was impossible anyway. He might as well enjoy this game of cat and mouse.
After all, he had almost suffered a serious loss just now.
"Hm? An owl? You want to hunt that kid too? He's my prey, you know~"
Suddenly, a pure white owl flew past him, heading straight for Kokichi's back.
Mahito instinctively prepared to kill it, but when he followed its path, he saw it land on a tree.
More precisely, it landed on the outstretched arm of a man standing on the trunk.
And Kokichi stood directly below that man.
An uneasy feeling spread through Mahito's chest.
"You… who are you?"
"I think you've heard of me," the man said calmly. "Mukuro Fushiguro, a special grade jujutsu sorcerer."
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