"Achoo!"
In another world, a white-haired girl couldn't help but sneeze.
Jogo, for her part, didn't mind at all that Mahiru was impersonating her. But the truth was, Mahiru had no choice in the matter.
She could hardly stand there and watch Riko Amanai die right in front of her, could she? After all the trouble she'd gone through rescuing the girl once already, it would be such a waste for her to die now.
And Mahiru's true appearance was that of a wanted monster in this world. Fortunately, Big Sister Mahiru here was a master of a thousand transformations, and she'd whipped up a brand-new look on the spot.
"You're... a Magical Girl??" Riko Amanai's jaw dropped. Having just been saved by Mahiru dropping out of the sky, the girl momentarily forgot she was still standing on a battlefield.
The blue-haired girl drifted down from above, a faint glow shimmering around her. Her smile was sweet and gentle, her softly curled blue hair trailing in the wind. The gorgeous dress and the exquisite jeweled wand suited her perfectly.
Cute, elegant, polite, beautiful — and incredibly powerful on top of it, like an Angel. She matched, down to the last detail, every child in the world's fantasy of what a Magical Girl should look like. So pretty...
Riko Amanai was still just a middle schooler at the moment — the kind of age that hadn't yet grown jaded toward kids' shows — so naturally, she was completely captivated by Mahiru.
The last time she'd seen anyone this beautiful had been Miwa Ran.
"Ahem... yes," Mahiru coughed twice, flashing Riko an elegant, composed smile, even dipping into a little curtsy. "Please hurry to the evacuation shelter. Leave these monsters to me."
With a casual wave of her hand, she also freed the Assistant Supervisor pinned under a car nearby.
Hurry up and hide, damn it!!! — That was what Mahiru was really thinking.
You'll only be safe once you're hidden!
And only once you're safe can I get on with the actual work!
Honestly, you! A middle-school brat who couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag, getting mixed up in Jujutsu Sorcerer business? Being an Assistant Supervisor is basically the same as throwing your life away!
She had no idea how those two prodigies, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, had ever agreed to this. But Mahiru was certain of one thing: if she could still stand at Riko's side as Miwa Ran, she would never, ever let the girl become an Assistant Supervisor. Right now, all she wanted was for Riko to get lost, fast.
But Riko didn't seem to see it that way.
Mahiru's words had the opposite effect entirely.
"No, I want to fight alongside you!" Tears welled in the eyes of the middle schooler who'd just survived near-death, but somehow, seeing Mahiru only fired up her fighting spirit even more. "Thank you for saving me! I won't let you down!"
Mahiru: ...
Mahiru: ? Let who down?
You'd be letting ME down by staying here to fight!
"No, no, no, you've already been fighting for a long time. You should rest..."
"No, I'm not tired. I have to keep trying!"
"These monsters are all incredibly strong. It'd be bad if you got hurt."
"No, I'm not afraid of getting hurt! You're all still fighting — how could I run away like a coward!"
Mahiru kept the smile plastered on, though the corners of her mouth had started to twitch. "Ahaha... it's just that this particular battlefield isn't really suited for an ordinary person like you..."
"No!" Riko shouted, her voice ringing with the resolve of someone ready to die a martyr's death. "Don't worry about me! Miss Jogo! I'd rather die than lose one more person to my own cowardice—"
BANG!!!
"Ow..." Riko clutched her head where the wand had just smacked her hard. "Why'd you hit me..."
"Right now you're nothing but a liability — do you get that?!" Utterly done with playing nice, Mahiru dropped the elegance entirely, planted her hands on her hips, and laid into Riko head-on. "You think you can save people at your level? You got stepped on by a Cursed Spirit so casually it didn't even notice what it had squashed, and you still want to play hero?" Mahiru was furious now, and rapped the girl's head twice more — bang, bang.
"Get to the shelter, now!"
"Uwaah," Riko sniffled, eyes brimming with tears from the blows. "But..."
The memory of a month ago surfaced in her mind again — how Miwa Ran had sent her away, and how she herself had cried and screamed...
She really had noticed it too: the Barrier techniques she'd spent the last three weeks learning were completely useless on a real battlefield. She was still weak, forced to watch helplessly as others fell into danger.
"I..."
Can't I ever become strong?
Riko lowered her head, a stinging ache rising up behind her nose.
Seeing the girl like this, Mahiru softened a little.
"Don't worry. I'm the strongest Magical Girl there is — I can protect everyone just fine." Her tone gentled, and she stroked the girl's head to comfort her. "Now hurry and get to safety..."
"Teacher!" little Itadori came flying over. "We've finished off the Cursed Spirits on this side. Where should we go next?"
"Head over that way..." Mahiru pointed in a direction.
Truthfully, the gesture was pretty vague, because she'd just realized the Cursed Spirits were almost all wiped out already.
Credit for that went to another wave of Cursed Spirits pouring in from the distance, locked in battle with the ones raining down from the sky — Suguru Geto had arrived.
Three days apart, and a man's worth a fresh look. Even though it had only been three weeks since the last incident, Mahiru could tell Geto's abilities had sharpened further still. He commanded an entire host of Cursed Spirits to sweep the battlefield clean, his efficiency frighteningly good.
Add to that the tireless, dutiful Jujutsu Sorcerers of this era's jujutsu world, and the chaos in Tokyo was brought under control before long.
Wherever Mahiru looked, she couldn't spot a single living Cursed Spirit left.
"Anyway, go help the sorcerers with the cleanup." That was the only order Mahiru could really give.
"Okay, got it, Teacher!" the pink-haired girl replied, and flew off.
Overhearing the exchange between the two of them, Riko's eyes went wide, as though she'd just stumbled onto something enormous. "You're their [Teacher]?" [Teacher]!
Ordinary people wouldn't know this, but as someone half-inside Jujutsu High, Riko knew: the Magical Girls had once mentioned they had a teacher they deeply respected!
That bit of information had leaked out ages ago, back when little Itadori and little Fushiguro had only just become Magical Girls and hadn't yet been given strict instructions by Mahiru and Kenjaku. Back then, they'd bragged to the people they'd rescued about having a deeply respected teacher who'd granted them their Magical Girl powers. That, in fact, was how Jujutsu High had first confirmed this was a new organization recruiting new Jujutsu Sorcerers.
And now, this legendary "Teacher" was standing right in front of Riko...
The middle schooler swallowed hard. She decided to seize what might well be a once-in-a-lifetime chance—
"Teacher!!" Riko threw all dignity to the wind and lunged forward, wrapping both arms around Mahiru's leg. "Please make me a Magical Girl too!"
One moment she'd been despairing over how weak she was, and the next she'd discovered the very person standing before her could grant her power — how could such luck exist?
When good fortune drops straight out of the sky like a meat pie, you'd better catch it with your face!
"You little—!" Mahiru startled. "What are you even trying to pull!"
How had she never noticed before what an absolute menace this Riko Amanai kid was?!
If she'd known, she wouldn't have bothered coming out to save her! Damn it!
____
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