Jujutsu Kaisen: False Dawn

Ren woke up with a grunt. His body felt like a pile of bricks glued together with soreness. Still, he rolled out of bed and hit the ground for pushups. Then squats. Then stretches. The same brutal morning routine.

No cursed energy. That was the rule.

His body had to catch up to his perfected circuit. No matter how much cursed energy flowed inside him now, it wouldn't mean anything if his body couldn't keep up. So he pushed. Hard. Every day.

'It still hurts,' Ren thought, sweat dripping from his brow. 'But not as much as yesterday. That's good.'

He checked the time. 6:32 AM. Enough to shower, get dressed, and make it to the training field by 7.

The sun hadn't fully risen yet when Ren stepped onto the training ground. Maki was already there, wooden sword in hand, her arms crossed like she had been waiting for an hour.

"You're three minutes late," Maki said.

Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Your watch is fast," he replied.

Maki grunted and tossed him a wooden sword.

"Come on. Let's see if you learned how to stand straight today."

Ren caught it, but his fingers already ached from yesterday. They hadn't stopped aching, really. Maki didn't go easy on him. Ever.

The morning was filled with blows. Mostly to Ren's body.

Maki didn't hold back. She swung like she was trying to take him apart, and to be fair, she kind of was. Ren barely blocked half of them. The other half hit his arms, legs, or ribs. Once in the gut. That one almost made him vomit.

'She is this strong without cursed energy? Ah, it's more than I expected...'

He staggered back after another failed block, trying to control his breath.

"Your stance is weak again," Maki said. "Stop putting your weight on your back foot. You're not a damn statue."

Ren grunted. He reset.

Again.

And again.

And again.

The hours bled together. Bruises formed under his uniform. Sweat clung to his back and chest like a second skin.

Still, Ren learned a few things. His breathing was better now. He knew where to place his feet. How to keep his shoulders loose but focused.

Even if Maki beat the lesson into him.

And one other thing became clear.

'I suck at hand-to-hand combat.'

It wasn't even close. Take away his cursed energy, and Ren was just... average. Maybe worse than average. His movements were stiff, his reflexes late, and his body hesitated when it shouldn't.

Maki, of course, noticed.

"Are you sure you're not just cosplaying a sorcerer?" she teased, stepping over him after knocking him down for the fifth time.

Ren rolled his eyes.

"If I used my cursed energy, you'd be sent flying. You're lucky we are only doing hand-to-hand training."

"Excuses," Maki muttered, jabbing his shoulder with the wooden blade.

They kept at it until Ren couldn't lift the sword anymore. He collapsed onto the grass, panting.

Maki stood over him, arms crossed, her breathing a little faster now too. Just a little.

Ren closed his eyes.

"You're improving," Maki said after a long pause.

Ren opened one eye.

"Don't lie to make me feel better."

"I'm not," she replied quickly, then looked away. "You're not good, but you're not as hopeless as you were on day one."

Ren snorted.

"I'll take that as high praise."

There was another pause.

Then, out of nowhere, Maki muttered under her breath.

"...Thank you, idiot."

Ren blinked.

"What?"

Maki turned her face slightly, avoiding his eyes.

"I said thank you! Idiot! I didn't get to say it before. You went on leave for seven days without a word... and you're still a jerk. But you did save me. Back then... during that mission. So... thank you, okay? And don't let this get in your head. It means nothing!"

Ren stared at her, dumbfounded.

Her face was red.

He smiled slowly.

"Oh my. I mean, it's fine. Just let me study your body sometime later."

Maki blinked.

Then her eye twitched.

She raised the wooden sword fast.

Ren held up his hands.

"Ah! Hey, hey, chill. I was kidding. Kind of. I mean, not like that! You're dirty-minded to think I meant it like that!"

WHACK!

The sword hit the top of his head.

Ren fell back onto the grass.

"Ow... Damn... You really don't hold back, huh?"

Maki rolled her eyes and walked off.

"Be here tomorrow. Same time. If you're late, I'm doubling the bruises."

And so the days went by.

Wake up. Workout. Sweat. Get beat up by Maki. Learn. Grumble. Laugh. Think.

Two weeks passed like that.

Each day, Ren improved a little. His balance. His reactions. His thoughts became sharper. His control over his new circuit, though still clumsy, began to stabilize.

At night, he lay on his bed staring at the ceiling.

As the night came… Ren thought, "Hmm, everything is working well… Surely nothing should go wrong… but that info leak… it gives me bad vibes…"