Silly author note: BREAKING NEWS: Megumi was Asked About Parenting Allegations From The Previous Chapter, He Immediately Attempted To Summon Something, Locals Report Hearing "With This Treasure I Summon---" Across Town.
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The morning sun hit different when you were wearing Akatsuki robes.
Shinra stepped out of the dorms and immediately felt like the main character of an edgy AMV from 2008. The cloak was light surprisingly light and the fabric moved like water around his shoulders. Red clouds on black. High collar framing his face. Sleeves hanging just right.
He looked in the small mirror by the door.
Damn.
Told you, ROB said. Fifty percent more drip. Minimum.
I look like I'm about to recruit people for a cult.
You look like you're about to lead a cult. There's a difference.
Shinra adjusted the collar. Pulled one arm out of the sleeve, letting it rest across his chest like Itachi. The pose felt natural. Felt right.
Yeah. This is it.
Now go show everyone. The reactions will be hilarious.
---
= Flashback: 3 AM, Last Night =
---
"So you're telling me," Shinra said, staring at the ceiling of his dorm room, "that I have all these powers, a fighting style, a magic ring, and a senzu bean... but zero yen?"
Correct.
"Not even like... pocket change?"
You have exactly 1,247 yen in your wallet from your previous life's part-time job. That's about eleven dollars. Congratulations, you're broke.
Shinra sat up. "How am I supposed to buy food? Supplies? Manga? I need manga, ROB. It's essential for mental health."
You expect me to just give you money?
"Yes."
That's not how this works.
"You sent me to a new world with nothing but the clothes on my back and a forged admission letter. No wallet. No bank account. No"
You have a roof over your head and food in the cafeteria. Stop complaining.
"Stop complaining? I'm BROKE. In TOKYO. One of the most expensive cities on Earth. I can't even buy a vending machine coffee without feeling guilty."
Then don't buy coffee.
"I need coffee."
You need to touch grass.
Shinra flopped back onto his bed. "This is extortion. I fought Sukuna. I beat Maki in a spar. I speedran a building for you. And I'm still broke?"
You got drip though.
"The cloak doesn't pay for ramen."
No, but it makes you look cool while you're not being able to afford ramen.
Shinra stared at the ceiling for a long moment.
"...Can I at least get a j*b?"
A j*b?
"Yeah. Part-time. Like a normal person."
You're a jujutsu sorcerer. You exorcise curses. That's your j*b.
"Do I get paid for that?"
...Eventually? Probably? I don't handle the finances.
"Great. Awesome. Wonderful."
"I'm going to sleep."
Fine. But tomorrow, when you're walking around in that cloak like a edgy protagonist, remember who gave it to you.
It was gacha...
Well, I made it so technically I gave it to you.
"Goodnight, ROB."
Goodnight, broke boy.
---
= End Flashback =
---
The cafeteria was empty.
Shinra stood in the doorway, cloak flowing dramatically behind him, and realized he'd slept through breakfast. Again. The tables were clean. The serving window was closed. Even Panda's chaotic cooking residue had been wiped away.
Late again.
Skill issue.
Shut up.
He turned and headed for the training grounds. If he couldn't eat, he might as well watch Maki and Panda beat each other up.
---
The training grounds were active.
Maki and Panda were mid-spar, and it was exactly as one-sided as you'd expect. Not because Panda was weak the guy was a cursed corpse built like a tank but because Maki was Maki.
She moved like a blade.
Her naginata spun in arcs that defied physics, each strike flowing into the next. Panda blocked with his massive arms, the impacts sounding like thunder, but he couldn't land a hit. Every time he tried to close the distance, Maki was already somewhere else, her weapon finding new angles, new openings.
THUD. The naginata caught Panda's ribs.
THUD. Panda swung, hit nothing.
SMACK. Maki's foot connected with his knee.
Panda stumbled back, raising a hand.
"OKAY! OKAY! I SURRENDER! YOU WIN! AGAIN!"
Maki lowered her weapon, not even breathing hard. "You're getting slower."
"I AM NOT SLOW! YOU ARE JUST FAST! THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!"
"There really isn't."
Panda opened his mouth to argue, then stopped. His beady eyes locked onto something behind Maki.
"OH. SHINRA IS HERE. AND HE IS WEARING... IS THAT A CLOUD BATHROBE?"
Maki turned.
And stopped.
Shinra was walking toward them. The cloak moved with him, red clouds stark against black. He had one arm out of the sleeve, resting across his chest, the other hand in his pocket. The high collar framed his face like something out of a fan edit.
He looked like he'd stepped out of a completely different anime.
Maki's eyes went wide behind her glasses.
She scanned him. From the collar down to the hem. Lingered on the clouds. Came back up to his face.
"What," she said slowly, "the hell are you wearing?"
Shinra stopped a few feet away. Posed. Just a little.
"It's called 'drip,' Maki."
"Is it a bathrobe?"
"No."
"Did you join a cult?"
"Also no."
"Then what" She stopped herself. Her eyes were still scanning. Still lingering. Her expression wasn't disgusted. If anything, it was... interested.
The cloak was rebellious. It was "I don't give a fuck." It was exactly the kind of aesthetic someone who'd spent their whole life fighting tradition would appreciate.
Shinra noticed.
She likes it.
Of course she likes it. She's Maki. She hates rules and loves style.
"It's comfortable," Shinra said, shrugging. "And it has pockets."
Maki snorted. It was almost a laugh. "You're ridiculous."
"You're staring."
"I'm assessing."
"Same thing."
Panda watched the exchange with the enthusiasm of someone witnessing a nature documentary. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING BUT I SUPPORT IT!"
Maki ignored him. Her eyes were still on Shinra, and something in them had shifted.
"Let's spar again," Shinra said.
Her eyebrow went up. "alright."
"I want to show you something I didn't use last time." He slid the cloak off his shoulders in one smooth motion, tossing it toward Panda. The giant panda caught it with the reverence of someone holding a holy relic.
"I WILL GUARD THIS WITH MY LIFE."
"Please don't."
Shinra turned back to Maki. Rolled his shoulders. Felt the Flowing Water, Crushing Rock style settle into his bones like it had always been there.
"No CE," he said. "No Haki. No tricks. Just hands."
Maki hefted her naginata. "And I get this?"
"You get the spear. I get to prove a point."
Her eyes narrowed. But she was smiling now that sharp smile that meant she was about to enjoy herself.
"Fine. Don't cry when I break your ribs."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
She moved.
---
Maki was fast.
Not "fast for a human." Not "fast for a sorcerer." Just fast. Her body had been honed by years of rejection, years of being told she was worthless, years of proving everyone wrong. Every movement was economy. Every strike was purpose.
The naginata blurred toward Shinra's jaw.
In their last spar, he would have tanked it. Taken the hit, powered through, relied on durability.
Today, he didn't even blink.
His hands came up in a circular motion smooth, fluid, almost lazy. The spear's handle met his palm, and instead of blocking, he guided. A gentle spiral. A subtle tug.
Maki's momentum reversed.
She stumbled forward, off-balance, her own strength yanking her past him into empty air. Her eyes went wide.
"What"
Shinra's hand found the shaft of her spear. And then, in the space of a heartbeat, he rained down three precise strikes.
CRACK.
The wooden spear shattered.
Not cut. Not broken in half. Shattered, like it had been hit by something that shouldn't exist. Pieces clattered to the ground around them.
Maki stared at the broken weapon in her hands.
Then at Shinra.
Then back at the pieces.
"What," she breathed, "was that?"
Shinra settled into a relaxed stance. Hands loose. Weight balanced. Waiting.
"That was me not trying. Keep going."
Maki's eyes flashed.
She dropped the broken spear and came at him with her bare hands.
---
The next three minutes were the strangest fight of Maki Zenin's life.
She threw everything at him. Punches that could crack concrete. Kicks that moved faster than sound. Elbows from angles that shouldn't work. Knees aimed at places that would end anyone else.
Shinra didn't block any of it.
He flowed.
Her fist aimed at his face? His head tilted exactly enough to miss, his hand touching her wrist and sending her spinning past him. Her kick toward his ribs? He stepped into it, hip checking her leg and redirecting the force into the ground. Her elbow coming from behind? He wasn't there anymore.
It wasn't dodging. It wasn't blocking. It was like fighting water every strike just... slid off.
Maki threw a spinning back-kick, full power, aimed at his chest.
Shinra moved around it like it was nothing. His palm touched her ankle just a touch, barely pressure and suddenly her center of gravity vanished. She stumbled, caught herself, came up swinging.
He caught her wrist. Twirled her. Released.
She ended up three feet away, facing the wrong direction.
"What"
She spun. Threw a combination. Jab, cross, hook, knee.
Shinra slipped between every strike like they were moving in slow motion. His hands traced circles in the air, each one catching her momentum, guiding it away, letting it spend itself on nothing.
Maki was breathing hard now. Sweat on her forehead. Eyes wide.
She'd never fought anyone like this.
No cursed energy. No visible technique. Just... redirection. Like her own strength was being used against her without her consent.
She threw one more punch desperation, frustration, awe all mixed together.
Shinra caught it.
Not blocked. Caught. His palm wrapped around her fist like it was the most natural thing in the world. And then, gently, he pushed.
Maki stumbled back. Sat down hard on the ground.
Stared up at him.
He wasn't even breathing hard.
"You're not using cursed energy," she said. It wasn't a question. "I can't sense a single drop. Or that black armor stuff Yuji mentioned." Her voice was strange frustrated and awed at the same time. "How are you doing that?"
Shinra extended a hand to help her up.
She took it. He pulled her to her feet.
"It's called Flowing Water, Crushing Rock." He released her hand, settling back into that relaxed stance. "Think of your opponent's power like a river. You don't fight the river, Maki. You just change its direction, think of it as a Uno reverse card for hand to hand combat"
Maki looked down at her hands. At the hands that had always relied on being faster, stronger, better than everyone else because she had no other choice.
Then back at him.
"You just... redirected everything I threw at you. Like it was nothing."
"Like it was something," Shinra corrected. "Your power is real. I just used it for you."
Something shifted in her eyes.
For someone with no cursed energy, the world had always been about overcoming disadvantages. Being faster. Being stronger. Being more. But Shinra just showed her a way to fight that didn't require any of that. A way to win without overpowering anyone.
DING!
[NEW MISSION: The Teacher]
Objective: Fully teach Maki Zenin the Flowing Water, Crushing Rock style.
Reward: Special Grade Tool "The Dragon-Slayer's Hilt"
Bonus: unlock full potential of FWCR
Tool Description: A broken sword hilt styled like a dragon. Has no blade. When held, it uses the user's "will" to create a blade of pure energy. The stronger the will, the stronger and sharper the blade. Highly effective against curses and sorcerers alike.
Shinra read the description.
A sword that runs on willpower.
For Maki, ROB said. The woman with one of the most strongest will in the series. Fits, right?
Yeah. Yeah it does.
Shinra walked toward her.
Stopped when he was well within her personal space. Close enough to feel the heat radiating off her skin. Close enough to see the way her pupils dilated just slightly.
"I can teach you," he said quietly. "If you want."
Maki's lips parted. For once, she didn't have a sharp response. Didn't have a sarcastic comeback. She just looked at him, and something in her expression softened.
"You'd really... teach me that?" Her voice lost its usual edge. Came out almost vulnerable. "Why?"
Shinra reached up. Adjusted her glasses they'd gone crooked during the fight. His fingers brushed her temple, just for a second.
"Because the Zenin clan are idiots for not seeing what I see." He held her gaze. "And because I think you'd look even better throwing them around."
Maki's face went pink.
Not red like Nobara. Not embarrassed-pink. Something softer. Warmer. She swatted his hand away, but she didn't move back. Didn't break eye contact.
"Fine," she muttered. Her voice was shy. Quiet. Determined. "Teach me. But don't expect me to be a 'good' student. I'm going to surpass you."
Shinra smiled.
"I'm counting on it, Maki."
---
"SHINRA! MAKI! GUYS!"
The moment shattered.
Yuji came sprinting onto the training grounds, Megumi jogging behind him with his usual expression of permanent disappointment. Yuji was waving something a mission slip, probably.
"WE GOT A MISSION! A REAL ONE! WITH CURSES AND EVERYTHING!"
Shinra stepped back from Maki. The moment was gone, but the look in her eyes wasn't. She watched him go with something that might have been disappointment. Or anticipation. Or both.
Yuji skidded to a stop in front of them, breathing hard.
"Look! Look!" He thrust the paper at Shinra. "Official mission! Some building with a special grade curse or something! We get to fight!"
Megumi caught up, slightly less out of breath. "It's a mission for the three of us. First-years."
Shinra scanned the paper. It looked legitimate. Official. Standard mission format.
Higher ups, he thought. They're trying to kill Yuji.
Yep, ROB confirmed. Gojo's not here to protect him, so they're pulling the "dangerous mission" card. Send the vessel somewhere nasty and hope he doesn't come back.
They didn't account for me.
They think you're one of theirs. A random transfer they approved. They have no idea what you are.
Shinra looked back at Maki.
She was watching him with that new expression the one that said things she hadn't put into words yet. Panda stood behind her, still holding the Akatsuki cloak like it was a sacred artifact.
Shinra walked over. Took the cloak from Panda. Swung it over his shoulders in one smooth motion.
The collar framed his face. The red clouds settled against black. The sleeve hung empty across his chest.
He looked back at Maki.
"See you when I get back."
Maki crossed her arms. Tilted her head. That sharp smile was back, but softer around the edges.
"Don't die, Shinra." A pause. "I still need to learn that move where you tripped me."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
He turned and walked toward Yuji and Megumi, the cloak flowing behind him.
Yuji's eyes went huge. "WHOA. SHINRA. YOU LOOK SO COOL. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT? CAN I GET ONE?"
"No."
"WHY NOT?"
"Because you'd trip over it."
"I WOULD NOT!"
Megumi just stared. His expression didn't change, but something in his eyes suggested he was re-evaluating every life choice that led to this moment.
"...That's a lot," he finally said.
"It's called style, Megumi. You should try it sometime."
"I have style."
"You have depression. Different thing."
Megumi opened his mouth. Closed it. Decided this wasn't a fight worth having.
They walked toward the front gate, where Nobara was already waiting by a car. Ijichi sat in the driver's seat, looking nervous, because Ijichi always looked nervous.
Nobara spotted Shinra's cloak and did a double-take.
"WHAT," she said flatly, "is that?"
"Drip."
"It looks like you're about to commit a war crime."
"That's the vibe."
She stared at him for a long moment. Then, grudgingly: "...It's not terrible. I guess."
"Was that a compliment?"
"It was an observation. Don't push it."
Shinra smiled and slid into the car.
Yuji piled in next to him, still talking about how cool the cloak was. Megumi took the front seat, probably to preserve what remained of his sanity. Nobara sat on Shinra's other side, occasionally glancing at the cloak when she thought he wasn't looking.
Ijichi started the engine.
The car pulled away from Jujutsu High, headed toward whatever mission the higher ups had prepared.
[END CHAPTER 7]
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A/N: if you guys want to read more chapters, 300 Power stones = 1 extra chapter, Btw if you want to support me for my work and read some advanced chapters then check out my Patreon, then link's in synopsis.
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(54/300)