Chapter 52: Second Years Return

"That was close."

Kugisaki Nobara weaved through the corridor, still shaken. She patted her chest, feeling the rapid thump of her heart.

Listening to White's nonsense about "saving her" was already irritating enough, and she couldn't even argue back...

She'd rather gamble her life among curses than endure mental torment. Between emotional suffering and physical death, Nobara would always choose the latter.

Wiping a strand of cold sweat from her brow, she was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a hand shot out from a nearby doorway, pulling her inside.

"The spiky-haired guy?"

"And... pink ape?"

Looking around the room, Nobara blinked in confusion at the faces gathered in the operating room.

What's going on?

You needed this much manpower just to help me dodge White?

The two people who'd earned her ridiculous nicknames—Itadori Yuji and Fushiguro Megumi—exchanged helpless glances.

Ever since White started giving people weird nicknames, things had spiraled out of control. Even Gojo Satoru followed suit, and now Nobara was doing it too.

Fushiguro closed the door and sighed, organizing his thoughts. He recounted everything that had happened while Nobara had been unconscious.

"What?!"

"Even this pink-haired idiot plays the resurrection game?"

Keeping up with the trends, huh?

Nobara leaned closer to Yuji, scanning him from head to toe with suspicious eyes.

Gojo raised his hand lazily, "It's all true~"

Ignoring Gojo's playful tone, Nobara only believed it after both Shoko Ieiri and Ijichi Kiyotaka nodded in confirmation.

"So, what's the point of dragging me in here?" Nobara asked, hand on her hip, eyebrows raised in confusion.

Yuji's expression darkened, his mood instantly souring.

Gojo motioned for Nobara and Megumi to step aside with him, lowering his voice for a private discussion.

As they whispered, Nobara's expression gradually shifted into one of complexity.

"Is this really necessary?" she asked, clearly troubled.

Gojo nodded solemnly. "Absolutely."

---

Dusk.

A formal notice from Jujutsu High's administration arrived:

"Mission Log: July 2018 – Juvenile Detention Center, West Tokyo."

"Special-grade Curse: First-year student Itadori Yuji confirmed deceased."

As for White, the curse who should have perished yet remained unharmed, the higher-ups pretended as if nothing had happened, continuing to ignore the anomaly.

---

The Next Day.

The cicadas buzzed under the glaring 9 AM sun.

On the steps of the training grounds, Megumi and Nobara sat side by side, saying nothing.

"You look even more sour than usual, Megumi. What's up?"

"Are you holding a wake or something?"

Startled by the familiar voice, Megumi looked up in surprise.

"Zen'in-senpai?"

"You're back from your mission?"

Standing before them was Zen'in Maki, dressed in the school uniform with a longsword strapped to her back.

She furrowed her brow. "Don't call me by that name."

"Okay, okay—Maki, Maki!"

Panda and Inumaki Toge peeked from behind a tree, whispering anxiously. "You didn't read the notice from the school, did you?"

"One of the first-years really did die yesterday!" Panda added solemnly.

Inumaki blinked, murmuring, "Bonito flakes."

Maki's expression froze. She turned slowly to glare at the two, enunciating each word with venom: "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

---

Nobara tilted her head toward Megumi, frowning slightly. "Who are they?"

"Second-years," Megumi answered, introducing each one. "That's Maki-senpai, who specializes in cursed tools. Inumaki-senpai can only speak using onigiri ingredients because of his Cursed Speech. And finally, Panda-senpai."

Nobara placed her hands on her hips. "So... there are only this many students at Jujutsu High?"

Megumi stood up, a touch of seriousness in his tone. "There's one more—our senior, Okkotsu Yuta. The only one truly worthy of respect."

(We're not counting the expelled student.)

As Megumi and Nobara stood, Panda and Inumaki moved to join Maki.

"Sorry about Maki. She didn't know about the loss." Panda offered a sincere apology.

Megumi and Nobara nodded absentmindedly, still weighed down by everything that had happened.

They were bound by Gojo's instructions to keep Yuji's survival a secret. But the real burden wasn't just the secrecy—it was the memory of how far Yuji had gone to save them.

---

"So, where's White?"

Panda scanned the training field, scratching his head. "Is that lazy curse still asleep?"

Maki shook her head in frustration. "That good-for-nothing fourth-grade curse has zero motivation."

Nobara's eyes widened in realization. "Oh! So you're that mama's boy's niece!"

"What did you just say?!" Maki's expression darkened as she clenched her teeth.

She didn't fully understand what "mama's boy" meant, but "niece" struck a nerve.

---

"Hey, rookies."

Maki crossed her arms. "You signed up for the exchange event, right? Don't think you can skip the intense training."

Nobara flipped her hair confidently. "Of course not! Easy training doesn't interest me."

"The tougher, the better!"

The memory of White's desperate attempt to save her still lingered in her heart—something she vowed never to experience again.

Megumi stayed silent, but the determination in his eyes spoke volumes.

This wasn't just training for them—it was preparation. For both of them, strength was the only way to repay Yuji for risking his life, not once but twice.

Maki grinned, her earlier annoyance giving way to admiration. "Now that's the spirit!"

"Let's start the training right away!"

---

Jujutsu High – A Private Room.

The training room was sparsely furnished—just a television, a sofa, and a small tea table piled with movie discs. A plush toy lay slumped on the table, mid-yawn.

"Gojo-sensei, I already know all of this!"

Yuji raised his hand enthusiastically. "White taught me about curses, and we even watched a ton of movies together!"

Gojo chuckled. "Still, you need to strengthen your basics. Watching movies is a great way to stabilize your cursed energy."

He smiled knowingly. "And sparring with me will help sharpen your awareness."

"For the next month, I'll personally oversee your training."

Yuji's face lit up with excitement. "Really? That's awesome!"

With renewed seriousness, he added, "I've been too weak... I couldn't protect anyone."

"Make me stronger. Make me invincible."

Gojo paused, taken aback by Yuji's sincerity, before smiling fondly. "Good. That's the right mindset."

---

2 PM – Faculty Quarters.

A groggy White emerged from his bed, his hair sticking up like a bird's nest as he stifled a yawn.

"How's the training going?" a voice asked lazily from the couch.

White held up two fingers. "Two at most, and one of them has to be weaker."

"Two strong ones, and my brain might explode."

The voice chuckled. "Two will do. You're joining the exchange event this time."

White gave a half-hearted salute. "Got it~"

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