’Come to think of it, I haven‘t heard the seniors introduce themselves properly yet. Though I already know about Utahime-neesan.‘
"Utahime-neesan, could you give the guys a quick introduction? I‘d also like to hear from the other senior standing behind you."
Utahime nodded at my request.
"Should I? Since we‘ve only traded names so far... I‘m Utahime Iori, a third-year. I was born into a family of shrine maidens, and I‘m currently a Grade 2 sorcerer. Touya and I first met about six years ago, and we've been in touch ever since."
As Utahime spoke calmly, Satoru puffed out her chest and snorted, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
"Hmph. I‘ve known Touya for ten years. Well, even if I haven't seen him much the last few years."
Utahime looked at Satoru as if she were an adorable child before dropping a total bombshell.
"Oh, right. Touya and I were actually engaged once. We‘ve even finished the formal family meetings."
’...Neesan? Why bring that up so suddenly? I mean, it‘s technically true... our parents did meet several times...‘
Before I could even process my embarrassment, Satoru grabbed me by the collar and started shaking me violently.
"Touya! What the hell is this?! Engaged? Are you actually going to marry this woman?"
I swayed helplessly in her grip, offering a sheepish smile as I tried to defend myself.
"No, Satoru, it's not like that... Could you just listen to me? I‘ll explain everything later..."
Shoko, who had been standing on the sidelines, giggled and chimed in.
"I‘m actually curious too. Tell us the story, Touya."
Suguru just watched me with a smirk, looking amused by the chaos.
"Heh. I thought you were the innocent type, Touya. Are you actually a playboy?"
"Not you guys too..."
As I hung there, feeling a deep sense of betrayal, the senior standing behind Utahime finally stepped forward.
"Oh my. I was starting to feel a bit left out. I wondered how long you were going to leave me standing here."
Finally freed from Satoru‘s grasp, I hurriedly straightened my clothes and bowed my head.
"Ah, Senpai, please excuse me. I should have greeted you sooner. I am Touya Zenin. Please, feel free to address me comfortably."
The senior observed me with calculating eyes, as if she were weighing my worth, then draped her arms around Utahime from behind.
"Hmm... you look like you could be quite profitable. Nice to meet you. I'm Mei Mei. I'm cute little Utahime's senpai. Currently, I'm under recommendation for Grade 1."
Utahime sighed, adding a word of caution.
"Mei-san bases every single decision she makes on money."
"My, my, Utahime. Not everything is about money. Other things have value too—it's just that money happens to be the best of them all."
As they bickered, my classmates stepped up to introduce themselves to Mei Mei.
"I'm Satoru Gojo. It‘s... a pleasure."
"Satoru? Since when did you start using polite speech?" I asked, surprised.
"Well, this person doesn't look weak," she replied simply.
I could practically feel Utahime‘s fist clenching, but I looked away, pretending not to notice.
"Hello, Senpai. I'm Suguru Geto. Please treat me at your convenience."
"I'm Shoko Ieiri. Looking forward to working with you."
"Yes, lovely to meet you all. What a crop of adorable underclassmen we have this year. Fufu..."
The way Mei Mei smiled with a glint in her eyes was slightly terrifying. It felt like her gaze was stripping me down to see exactly how much I was worth.
"Well, now that we‘ve exchanged greetings, I‘ll be heading in. I just got back from a mission and I‘m dying for a shower."
I watched her walk away with a subtle wink and a wave, feeling a bit dazed.
’It feels like I just met a real adult. Mysterious and mature.‘
Once Mei Mei left, it was just us first-years and Utahime.
"I‘ll be heading in too. We‘ll be seeing each other every day at school anyway, so there's no need to rush our catch-up session."
"Sure, Neesan. Get some rest."
I waved back as she gave us a bright smile and departed. Then, I turned back to the others.
"Alright, so now—"
"Spit it out, Touya!"
I tried to suggest heading inside, but Satoru cut me off, badgering me for the story. I laughed.
"Look, I'll tell you everything, so can we just go inside first? I‘m covered in sweat from the sparring, and I really want to wash up..."
"Fine! But you better talk as soon as you're done. Got it? For real!"
"Yeah, let's meet in the classroom after our showers."
Finally escaping Satoru‘s clutches, I let out a heavy sigh and headed up to the dorms with Suguru.
"You‘re showering too, right? The shower room is over there. I‘ll go grab some fresh clothes," Suguru said.
I nodded, returned to my room to grab comfortable clothes and underwear, and headed to the showers. Suguru was already there, washing up. He greeted me but then his expression suddenly soured.
"Hey. You're here, Tou...ya."
"Yeah. What's with the face?"
"Oh, nothing. I just realized life is incredibly unfair. This world is just irrational..."
"What are you talking about?"
I brushed off Suguru's nonsense and finished showering. We headed to the classroom together in our casual wear, where Satoru and Shoko were already sitting and talking.
"I'm telling you, it‘s true! A person with zero cursed energy in their body. I've never seen anything like it before!"
"How is that even possible? You must have misseen it. Maybe your Six Eyes are on the fritz?"
’Sounds like they‘re talking about someone I know.‘
As we entered, Shoko spotted us and gave a bright smile, looking relieved to see us. It seemed she was exhausted from Satoru‘s endless rambling.
’She has a pretty smile.‘
"What took you guys so long? What could you guys possibly be doing in the shower for that long?"
"We weren't that long... wait, did you girls even shower, or did you just come straight here to wait?"
"We did. Anyway, sit down already."
’The nerve of her...‘
I grumbled under my breath and took my seat. Satoru immediately shoved her face toward mine.
"Touya! You saw him, right? That guy with no cursed energy. Wasn't he from your clan?"
"He's not anymore. But yes, he used to be."
Suguru looked confused.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"He left the clan. The Zenins have a toxic obsession with sorcerer supremacy, so he had a rough time. He left, got married, had a kid, and is living a good life now."
"See! I told you he was real!" Satoru barked triumphantly.
Shoko nodded dismissively at Satoru and turned back to me.
"Is that even possible? Even non-sorcerers are born with a tiny bit of cursed energy."
"Apparently, it is. In exchange for having no cursed energy, that man possesses physical abilities that transcend human limits. Give him a cursed tool, and he could probably kill most sorcerers—Satoru or me included."
Suguru nodded, realization dawning on him.
"I guess that‘s the ’master‘ you were talking about."
"Exactly. To be honest, I can't beat him. If he‘s serious, he‘d have my hands cut off before I could even finish a hand sign."
"I see. Well, let's leave it at that. Now, tell us about the engagement, Touya."
Now that her curiosity about the physical beast was satisfied, Shoko brought us back to the main topic. I sighed and began the story.
"It's really nothing much... You know I'm the heir to the Zenin Clan, right? Between my Ten Shadows Technique being extremely rare and the Zenin name as one of the Big Three Families, I‘ve been flooded with marriage proposals."
"I believe it. Even as someone from a non-sorcerer background, the first name I heard when I entered this world was Zenin," Suguru added, nodding.
I agreed with a couple of nods and continued.
"Anyway, my father kept teasing me with these proposals, and I reached my breaking point. One day, we were at a cherry blossom festival. He wouldn't stop poking fun at me, so I got so annoyed that I just grabbed the first person I saw and shouted that I‘d rather marry them if he didn't stop."
Shoko, who was listening intently, burst into giggles.
"Pfft... so what happened?"
I cleared my throat, feeling like a fool just thinking about it.
"Well... that person just happened to be Utahime-neesan. Since our fathers already knew each other, we ended up becoming close after that."
Suguru frowned as if something didn't quite add up.
"Then what about the 'formal family meetings'? You didn't mention that part."
"She‘s probably referring to the times her parents came over to the Zenin estate when she visited. That‘s all."
"Oh? Is that it? Hmmm... Senpai seems quite eager, then."
I was about to ask Shoko what she meant by that meaningful smile when Satoru let out a loud shout.
"AAARGH! I should have been at that festival!! Ugh... I‘m so jealous!"
"Jealous of what? You weren't even visiting me back then, and I was bored out of my mind. Regardless, it worked out well. I got a new friend."
Suguru watched Touya‘s oblivious attitude and thought to himself:
’I don‘t think that senior thinks of you as just a friend... Man, your future is going to be rough with these girls around.‘
"Alright, see? Nothing to it. Let's drop the subject now."
We spent the rest of the evening chatting about trivial things before retreating to our rooms, bringing our first day at Jujutsu High to a close.
The next morning, I went to see Yaga-sensei to take care of something I had completely forgotten about the previous day.
"Sensei~ are you there?"
In response to my knock and call, Masamichi Yaga‘s voice boomed from within.
"Enter."
I opened the door to see Yaga-sensei at his desk, with Mei Mei standing across from him.
"So, what brings you here, Touya?"
After giving a polite bow to Mei Mei, I addressed the teacher, who was speaking with a surprisingly gentle tone.
"I didn't receive my uniform yesterday. I noticed all the other kids got theirs..."
Yaga-sensei‘s eyebrow twitched before he barked out a response.
"Goddamn! I completely forgot. My apologies. I'll get it for you immediately. You are free to have the uniform customized as you see fit."
I thanked him as he handed over the clothing, ready to head back out.
"Yes, Sensei. Thank you. I‘ll take my leave now."
"Wait a moment. I actually have something to discuss with you."
’Discuss something? What is it?‘
I paused and turned back to face him.
"What is it?"
"A mission. The Higher-Ups want to see the performance of the new first-years. You‘ll be heading out with Mei Mei. Since you're a first-year with no field experience, we‘ve decided to pair you with a senior."
"What? So suddenly?"
"That is simply the nature of the jujutsu world."
"Fufu. So that‘s how it is... I look forward to working with you, Zenin-kun."
Mei Mei looked at me with those heavy, half-lidded eyes, seemingly licking her metaphorical chops. A sudden chill ran down my spine, making me shudder involuntarily.
’As I thought... this person is actually a little scary...‘