Jujutsu Kaisen: I Have A Gardevoir

On the full moon night, in the old streets of Kyoto.

A place of the yakuza, a street of darkness.

One person quickly walking east.

One person walking with hands behind his back.

"You're here."

"I'm here."

"You shouldn't have come."

"Didn't… you tell me to come?"

"Ahem." The boy with his hands behind his back awkwardly coughed. "Sorry, I was touring a lot of sightseeing spots this afternoon, and I haven't quite switched out of sightseeing mode."

"So that's why you're dressed like this."

The one who walked quickly was Kamo Noritoshi, and the one with his hands behind his back was Akira.

As for Akira's outfit—

He wore a straw hat, a cloak of woven straw, and an old sword hung at his waist—the classic attire of a wandering swordsman.

Taking off the straw hat casually, Akira smiled, "Blame Kyoto for having so many historic sites. I put this on to match the setting better, and it's good for disguising myself too—a win-win. Oh, and I almost forgot—people even asked to take pictures with me, so I earned a few thousand yen, that's a win-win-win."

While Noritoshi had been following the plan and leaving, Akira hadn't been idle—how could he waste a trip to such a famous tourist destination like Kyoto without exploring a bit?

"A few thousand yen… Is that even worth it?" Noritoshi looked puzzled. Setting aside everything else, the regular assistance from Jujutsu High and the rewards from missions were all in the tens of thousands—a few thousand yen was hardly anything.

"It's worth it. A few thousand yen is enough for a few days of a normal person's living expenses. But I guess in the Kamo household you wouldn't have much sense of that."

"I—"

Noritoshi was just about to explain when Akira suddenly raised a hand and looked toward a certain corner from where Noritoshi had come, his expression amused.

"Are you coming out yourself, or should I ask you to come out?"

Clack, clack—the sound of high heels. A tall girl hesitantly walked out.

"Mai-san?" Noritoshi was slightly stunned.

"I didn't follow you," Mai said before the two could even question her, "I just wanted to help you remove any potential dangers. This is a yakuza-controlled gray zone, full of people who don't follow the rules."

This was true.

The Zen'in family was the "most martial" among the Big Three Sorcerer Families, and most of their industries were tied to such matters.

The yakuza who controlled these streets were also subordinates of the Zen'in clan—though not direct subordinates, they were under families affiliated with the Zen'in.

Mai wasn't treated well within her family, but outside, she was still a member of the Zen'in bloodline. How many people dared not give her any respect?

Thanks to this relationship, Mai had managed to find the appropriate firearms. After all, revolvers—due to their capacity, reloading, recoil, and other limitations—had gradually disappeared from history. Japan's strict firearm regulations made it nearly impossible to get one without some pull.

She also picked up a lot of things that couldn't be learned in the public eye.

They say, "The king is easy to meet, but the servants are difficult."

The lower-ranked the thugs, the less sense they often had.

Whenever Mai came to these places, there was always someone who didn't know any better and became her punching bag.

Among sorcerers, she might be weak, but against normal people, she had no problem. It wasn't just one—she could handle ten people easily, like Ip Man.

Akira and Noritoshi, who were clearly "newbies" and "marks" to those in this line of work, had been watched for a while now.

"Then I really need to thank you," Akira said, sounding genuinely grateful.

"No need. It's a small matter."

Mai waved her hand dismissively, but seeing Akira's smile grow, she instinctively lowered her head and spoke softly.

"Fine, I admit it. I was a bit curious. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I've already set a 'Contract', you can ask Noritoshi-senpai if you don't believe me."

"I can confirm, it's true. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare act with her," Noritoshi said honestly.

"No need to be so tense, I never said I didn't believe you." Akira's grin widened. "I haven't even said anything."

"Ugh…" Mai was instantly choked up, cursing herself inwardly for being weak. Why does he always have me under his thumb?

She couldn't beat him, couldn't argue with him, couldn't even keep a small secret from him.

Seriously, does he not know how to show some consideration for a girl?

Though she thought this, in front of Noritoshi, she could occasionally show some assertiveness. With Akira, it was like a mouse in front of a cat, naturally feeling smaller.

After being stared at by Akira for a few more seconds, she couldn't even lift her head. Finally, she offered,

"I-I'll go stand guard for you two. But I can't stay too long—the longer I stay, the more suspicion I'll draw."

"Got it. Thanks a lot."

Akira winked, pretending to be playful, making Mai grind her teeth in frustration.

No, I can't keep letting this happen. Get it together, Zen'in Mai.

You already have one older sister you can't stand up to—don't let another guy join that list.

"You—"

"The thing I promised you, I'll send it later. It's already ready."

"…"

Another failure.

I barely said a word.

Can this guy read minds?

If he knows those thoughts I could never say aloud…

Thinking of this, Mai couldn't stay a moment longer, hurriedly saying:

"I-I'm going."

And quickly left.

Now it was Akira's turn to be stunned.

"I don't think I did anything, did I?"

All I did was see through her following us.

It's normal to be curious about things like this. She didn't tip anyone off and chose to help honestly—that's already pretty good.

And now she's willingly helping watch out for any small fry—that's an unexpected bonus.

For that alone, Akira thought this connection couldn't be severed lightly. He could consider adding her to the Assistant Instructor Support Program's external list.

After all, he had a decent impression of her curse technique. If she found the right direction, she could achieve something.

But her attitude just felt… off somehow.

Without the plot context, it was impossible to figure out. If only she were as easy to understand as Maki.

"It should be fine," Noritoshi said, also finding it strange. Was this really the Zen'in Mai he knew?

"If it's not me, then it's you. You probably act too much like a young master, and it scared her."

"Did I?" Noritoshi didn't think there was anything wrong with how he treated Mai.

"People don't see themselves clearly. Anyway, I think you're starting to resemble a certain man—you look like him, dress like him, even act like him. Look at you—you look more like twenty-seven than seventeen."

"I—"

Noritoshi stopped abruptly. If he answered, it would only confirm that he was unaware.

And compared to Akira, he did indeed seem much more mature—at least in appearance.

Maybe I should pay more attention to this. I don't want my mother not recognizing me when she sees me.

Seeing him like this, Akira knew his old habit had resurfaced.

Overthinking, taking jokes too seriously.

"Relax, it's just a joke. I know living under the old folks' watch isn't easy. If it were me, I'd have quit long ago, so here's some motivation. Catch."

With that, he tossed his phone over.

The screen lit up, already entering the video call interface.

The person being invited was none other than Hayami.

When the call connected, and he saw that gentle face he could never forget…

Noritoshi could no longer control his emotions and called out:

"M-Mother."