Night settled over Kyoto Jujutsu High like a heavy silk curtain.
The gates closed with a low groan. Lights flickered on. The campus exhaled.
Three exhausted girls dragged themselves across the stone courtyard—uniforms torn at the hems, shoulders aching, pride barely intact.
"Next time," Miwa muttered dramatically, "I'm applying for desk duty."
"You don't have desk duty," Mai replied flatly.
"Then I'll invent it." Miwa responds
Momo adjusted her broom at her side, posture straighter than the other two despite the fatigue in her eyes. "At least no one died."
Miwa paused and said
"…That's a low bar."
Before Mai could answer, a familiar voice cut through the cool air behind them.
"You three look like you fought a war."
They turned.
It was their Sensei, Utahime Iori, walking up to them, arms folded, but her expression displayed relief.
Miwa nearly burst into tears.
"Sensei… the cursed spirits jumped us. It was ambush etiquette. Very rude."
Utahime sighed, walking down to meet them.
"I've already arranged the hot baths. The cooks kept dinner warm." She paused, gaze sharpening slightly. "You'll give me your full report tomorrow."
All three straightened instinctively.
"Yes, Sensei."
Utahime's tone softened. "Rest first. You all did well to come back alive."
Miwa pumped a fist weakly. "Hot bath, food, sleep. In that order."
"Don't fall asleep in the bath," Mai said.
"That was one time." Miwa aid
"It was last week." Momo said
They disappeared toward the dormitory wing, their banter echoing faintly down the hall.
Utahime remained behind.
Her eyes drifted toward the administrative building at the far end of campus.
The lights were still on.
Of course they were.
—
Inside, the air felt heavier.
The principal of Kyoto Jujutsu High, Yoshinobu Gakuganji, stood by the window, hands resting atop his cane. The shadows carved deep lines across his face.
"You allowed them to retire without debriefing?" he asked without turning.
Utahime stepped into the room, closing the door gently behind her.
"They were ambushed by coordinated low-level cursed spirits," she replied evenly. "They were exhausted. They rest tonight."
Gakuganji's gaze sharpened.
"The higher-ups are already asking questions. Coordinated manifestations of cursed spirits in a public park. Civilian exposure. They want immediate documentation."
Utahime did not flinch.
"My students come first."
Silence.
The weight of tradition pressed between them.
"You are aware," Gakuganji said slowly, "that sentiment has no place in our hierarchy."
"And negligence has no place in leadership," Utahime returned calmly.
The room tightened.
Then —
A faint exhale from the old principal.
"…Very well. Tomorrow morning."
Utahime inclined her head. Not victory—just boundary.
As she left, Gakuganji's fingers tapped once against his cane.
Pressure was building.
And not from curses alone.
⸻
Morning came clearer than expected.
Steam no longer clung to the girls' hair. Fatigue had dulled into focus.
They stood before the principal's office doors in full uniform.
Miwa whispered, "If I faint, tell them I died heroically."
"You won't faint," Mai replied.
Momo knocked.
"Enter."
They stepped inside.
Gakuganji sat at his desk. Utahime stood to the side.
"Report," the principal commanded.
Momo began, voice steady.
"Multiple low-level cursed spirits manifested simultaneously within the park perimeter. Numbers exceeded initial projections. Their movement and attack pattern suggested coordination."
Miwa clenched her hands behind her back. "They surrounded us first. Cut off escape routes. We were forced into defensive formation."
Mai continued, tone blunt. "They weren't acting like strays. It felt organized."
Gakuganji's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Continue."
Momo hesitated—just a fraction.
"There was… a civilian boy present at the area "
Utahime's gaze lifted.
"He appeared ordinary at first," Momo said carefully. "No visible training. No uniform. No talisman."
Miwa swallowed. "But when things got bad… really bad…"
Mai finished it. "He somehow manifested cursed energy. That was beyond normalcy"
The temperature in the room seemed to shift.
"Describe this civilian boy you mentioned?" Gakuganji ordered.
"If I'm not mistaken, his cursed energy was close to the level of a Grade 1-level output," Momo stated firmly. "My sense of judgement could be unrefined—but it was immense, similar to the same level of Todo."
Utahime's brows lifted slightly as she pondered in her thoughts about the words she had just heard
"Similar cursed energy level to that of a Grade 1 sorcerer, like Todo?"
Momo continued and added, stepping forward. "Also, there appeared to be a translucent creature that manifested. It somehow responded to him in some way."
"But, strangely, it did not attack us, but kind of appeared to be protecting him in some sort of way."
Silence fell thick and deliberate.
"A summoned translucent creature?" Utahime murmured.
Gakuganji's fingers tightened around his cane.
"And the boy?"
"Unconscious shortly after," Mai said. "He seemed unaware of what he had done."
Utahime and Gakuganji exchanged a brief look.
Something unsaid passed between them.
"You are dismissed," the principal said at last.
The girls bowed and exited.
Miwa exhaled loudly once the door shut. "That went better than expected."
"You talk too much," Mai muttered.
"You're welcome."
Momo remained thoughtful.
"That boy…and that creature?
"What is the relationship here?"
*****
Inside the office, silence lingered.
Utahime spoke first.
"The pattern of the cursed spirits. It wasn't random."
Gakuganji nodded slowly.
"Coordinated dispersal. Strategic encirclement. That suggests a technique adjacent to cursed spirit manipulation."
Utahime's expression darkened.
"Do you think someone is capable of commanding or controlling them?"
"Or staging them," Gakuganji added.
The implication hung heavy.
"A cursed spirit user?" Utahime asked quietly.
"Perhaps." His gaze shifted toward the window again. "Or something worse."
Utahime folded her arms.
"And the boy?"
"Potentially collateral," Gakuganji said.
Utahime didn't look convinced.
"Or potentially connected," she countered.
A sharp knock interrupted them.
A lower-ranking assistant entered, bowing deeply before handing Gakuganji a sealed document.
"From the higher-ups, sir."
The room cooled further.
Gakuganji broke the seal slowly.
His eyes scanned the contents.
Once.
Twice.
His expression did not change—but something behind it sharpened.
Utahime watched carefully.
"Well, what do they want?" she asked.
He folded the document neatly.
"That boy has a name."
A pause.
"His name is Shinji Ino."
Utahime repeated it softly.
Gakuganji's voice lowered.
"Classified interest from the higher-ups has been placed on him."
Utahime's gaze hardened slightly. "For what reason?"
"The higher-ups did not elaborate."
Of course, they didn't.
The old principal stepped forward, stopping just short of the doorway.
His tone carried no warmth now. Only calculation.
"Keep an eye on the boy."
Utahime met his gaze steadily.
Curiosity flickered in her eyes.
Neither suspicion nor fear.
But, something else.
Outside the office, the wind brushed through the trees lining the campus.
*****
Far away—
Unaware of the shifting currents gathering around his name
Shinji Ino lived another ordinary morning.
But within the walls of Kyoto Jujutsu High,
The board had been set.
And someone had just become a piece worth watching.