It had been almost three weeks since the day Miwa Ran died.
For three straight weeks, it had rained in Tokyo.
Light rain, heavy rain, light rain, heavy rain — there were hardly any clear days, and none of them felt pleasant. Today it was light rain.
It was the kind of rain where the drops were fine as hair, water and mist blurring together. In winter, this sort of rain usually left the air too damp for anyone to feel comfortable.
But Suguru Geto felt his taut nerves ease, if only slightly, for the first time in a while — not because he liked light rain, but because he hated heavy rain.
These days, heavy rain was practically an allergy to him.
The sound of heavy rain made him think of that thunderous wave of applause, and of the scene when they'd buried Miwa Ran.
At night the rain would drag him into dreams of that day, and he'd wake with a start, over and over.
During the day he forced himself not to dwell on it, but that was hard to manage.
Geto had always been the type to fixate on things, and between Miwa Ran's death and everything tangled up in it, his mental state was now barely different from a patient's — his color grew worse by the day, his body thinner by the day.
About a week ago, Yaga had recommended a psychologist for him. But what good could a doctor possibly do?
He only went to keep his teacher and that guy Satoru Gojo from worrying so much.
A doctor couldn't bring Miwa Ran back to life, much less fix this rotten world.
"...So my advice is that you give yourself some time off — go do something you actually enjoy..."
"Actually, Doctor..." His thoughts had drifted somewhere unbearable again, and he snapped back to reality, cutting off the psychologist across from him. "...Never mind. It's nothing."
"You zoned out again just now, didn't you? You weren't listening to a word I said." The psychologist across from him gave a helplessly wry smile and sighed softly. "If there's something on your mind, feel free to tell me. This is the first time in days you've actually wanted to bring something up on your own."
"No..." Geto slumped further into the sofa, a wave of helplessness washing over him. "I don't know..."
He knew the doctor was a good person. Dedicated, genuinely concerned about him, gentle and pretty — aside from that odd ring of stitches across her forehead, she really was kind.
But he couldn't confide in her, because she was just an ordinary person. Even though the Culling Game had already stripped away much of the secrecy around cursed techniques for the public, Jujutsu Sorcerers still had an obligation to keep certain things confidential.
And besides, even if this psychologist — Miss Kaori Itadori — turned out to be a Jujutsu Sorcerer herself, so what?
'I just realized protecting ordinary people might not mean anything at all' — how could he possibly say something like that out loud? It was nothing short of blasphemy.
Geto felt his mind sinking into a whirlpool.
He was used to attaching some kind of "meaning" to everything he did. Why keep pushing himself through Jujutsu Sorcerer duties? Why protect civilians even at the cost of injury or sacrifice? Surely it was because ordinary people were worth protecting!
But when he thought back to the moment Miwa Ran died... there was no question the blue-haired girl had died for Tengen's sake — and ultimately, safeguarding Tengen's Assimilation existed to protect the peaceful lives of Tokyo's people.
How many people had Miwa Ran died for? And when she died, what had those Time Vessel Association people even been doing?
Irritation, disgust, loathing... A flood of dark emotion crashed over Geto all at once, and his expression twisted again. — Ring, ring, ring!!
The alarm's chime jolted him back, and only then did he notice that Miss Kaori Itadori, seated across from him, was already gathering her things.
"I'm sorry you didn't open up to me," she said, standing and giving Geto a rueful smile, her tone still gentle. "I really do wish you'd trust me... I would never hurt you."
Of course she wouldn't.
Because Mahiru had given strict orders: he wasn't to be allowed to fall to darkness.
Kenjaku shrugged, said goodbye to Geto, and stepped out of the consultation room. Outside, a fine drizzle hung soft in the air; the woman opened her umbrella, stretched, and let a smile spread across her face.
It sure felt good to be off work.
Even a thousand-year-old monster didn't like having a job.
But it was the task Mahiru had assigned, and the blue-haired girl was her direct superior now — she had no right to refuse.
Mahiru had said that if Geto turned to darkness, it would mean no end of trouble. Kenjaku agreed wholeheartedly, and in the process had come to realize just how badly Jujutsu High neglected its students' mental health.
It was a lesson worth taking to heart — from now on, she'd need to pay closer attention to the mental health of any children in her care.
Lost in thought, she made her way out of Jujutsu High and took a car into downtown Tokyo.
She'd meant to pick up a few things before catching another ride back to their gathering point.
But she froze mid-step.
She'd spotted a familiar blue-haired figure standing at the entrance of a bookstore up ahead.
She walked over. "You're back?"
Mahiru glanced up at Kenjaku. "...Oh, yeah. Came back for something."
"You should've let me know..." the woman started.
But Mahiru cut her off. "Never mind that — I need to ask you something."
She held up a comic from the bookstore and waved it in front of Kenjaku, her mouth twitching. "What the hell is this — Magical Girl Yuuko? And that one over there, Magical Girl Keiko?"
Wait, what? Mahiru was sure she hadn't even been gone that many days!
How did the bookstore already have Magical Girl comics starring Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro?!
Curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she'd flipped through one just now — the designs, the plot, all of it was unmistakably little Itadori and little Fushiguro.
Weren't Japan's comic artists working a little too fast?
...No, wait, it wasn't just comics. The store even carried Yuuko and Keiko Magical Girl toy merchandise.
And — oh, come on — the pachinko parlor across the street was putting up ads for a new machine, themed around Yuuko and Keiko too.
Mahiru was standing on one of Tokyo's busier shopping streets, and by now the whole block had been overrun by images of the pink-haired and black-haired Magical Girls — the two of them were everywhere she looked.
"What exactly did you do?!"
"Me? I didn't do anything." The woman didn't so much as blink, putting on an innocent face. "Everything I did was exactly what you ordered."
"Just what you told me before. Nothing special — sending the two kids out on regular patrols, having them comfort a few citizens, say a few encouraging words, build up a bit of goodwill." The woman spread her hands. "And somehow they just... got popular?"
"Really?" Mahiru eyed her suspiciously.
"Really." The woman nodded emphatically.
Mahiru rubbed her chin.
It was true — Kenjaku couldn't defy her orders, and couldn't lie either, so whatever she'd said was probably genuine.
Part of why little Itadori and little Fushiguro had gotten so popular was probably that they really were magical girls — ordinary people were bound to be dazzled by encountering real magic. And the other part was probably just that little Itadori and little Fushiguro were genuinely adorable.
Especially little Itadori.
Who could say no to a pink-haired little angel who swoops in out of nowhere during a disaster to pull you from the fire, flashing a warm, sweet smile while cheering you on?
"Fine, whatever." Mahiru shrugged.
Being popular was a good thing, all things considered.
Sure, if the popularity grew too large it might paint a target on their backs and stir up friction with Jujutsu High, leading to no end of headaches — but for now, this level was fine.
Jujutsu High couldn't exactly go after someone just because their merchandise was plastered all over the street, could they?
It wasn't as if it threatened their rule...
"Hm?" Something nearby caught Mahiru's eye.
She looked up to find a large crowd marching down the street, holding up all sorts of signs, dressed in outlandish pink costumes, chanting something about "love and justice" — it looked like... some kind of parade, or a march to promote something?
A bad feeling crept over her without warning. "What are they doing?"
"Oh, that's some newly formed sect. What they're singing is their hymn," Kenjaku answered.
"By the way, they call themselves the 'Magical Girl Yuuko Cult.' What they're singing is the anime's theme song..."
Mahiru's jaw dropped as she listened.
"And one more thing — there's a 'Magical Girl Keiko Cult' too," the woman said, beaming, as if she'd been waiting all along for that shocked look on Mahiru's face. "Though its membership is only about a third the size of the Yuuko cult."
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