Chapter 45: Entertainment

150 stones

---

Gojo had Yuta in a private room, watching him calmly but with a gaze that conveyed anticipation. "Well... would you like to explain what happened?" he asked, his tone casual, though his eyes showed sharp interest.

Yuta, tense and still in shock, seemed lost in the void. After a heavy silence, he began to speak with a trembling voice. "Four years ago... she was my best friend. One day we went to the park. That day, we found a lonely girl. I was going to ignore her, but Rika-chan approached her, inviting her to play with us. She was... strange, but at that moment I didn't think much of it. I just had fun as always."

But then, his gaze darkened, and his hands began to tremble. "The end of that day is marked in my life forever. I saw a truck coming straight at me... Rika jumped without hesitation and pushed me, taking the impact in my place. I saw... I saw her body bounce on the asphalt, covered in blood. I ran to her, not understanding how it had come to this."

Yuta closed his eyes, as if reliving the pain of that day. "While I was grieving, that strange girl approached, showing no emotion. She looked at me, and with simple words forced me to move away from Rika. She murmured things I didn't understand, and then... then she looked me in the eyes, gave me a paper with a strange seal, and ordered me to leave. Before I knew it, I was already walking away... and I saw her taking her. After that... I don't remember anything clearly."

Gojo remained thoughtful, piecing things together in his mind. "Do you know the name of that girl?" he asked, though he already suspected the answer.

Yuta, as if the mere mention of that name was sacrilege, started to stammer, unable to pronounce it. "M-Ma-Ma-"

Gojo stopped him with a gentle yet firm gesture. "Makima?" he said, with a tone of understanding and caution. Yuta trembled, nodding with contained gasps.

"I see... Makima, huh?" Gojo sighed, then flashed a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes. "To put it simply, Okkotsu, you're cursed. But your curse... is incomplete, as if it's missing an essential part. In short, you're broken."

Yuta frowned, not fully understanding what Gojo meant, but a chill ran through him when he added, "Besides... Makima is at this institute."

Terror flashed in Yuta's eyes. "I want to leave. I don't want to be here," he pleaded, in a desperate attempt to escape that shadow from his past.

"Are you sure?" Gojo looked at him with a mix of empathy and firmness. "Look, Rika is also here in some way, and maybe Makima isn't the person you think she is. Plus, I can talk to her."

Yuta hesitated, as if the mere thought of considering the idea was too much. "I... would prefer not to see her for now," he said, with a trembling voice.

Gojo sighed, knowing he'd have to ask for help. "Seems like I'll have to turn to someone... how I hate that." His mind conjured up the image of a blonde woman, and he thought to himself: I'll have to see her true limits.

Kirara lay on the floor of her room, writhing as the echo of last night continued to pound in her head. She could barely open her eyes when a loud noise broke the silence, piercing her skull like a needle. Shaking a bit, she looked up and blinked to focus on the figure in front of her: it was Makima, standing beside her with a playful smile on her lips, something that scared her. Between her fingers, she held two small metal bars that, with another tap, clanged together again, ringing like a bell in the room.

"Good morning," Makima greeted, her tone soft but overly cheerful for her. Kirara could barely respond with a groan; her head throbbed with every word from her friend, and the hangover was crushing her.

Without giving her time to react, Makima tapped the metal bars together again. This time the noise was even louder, and the echo drilled into Kirara's ears, forcing her to cover them with both hands.

"S-stop..." she murmured, in a broken voice, as she tried to shield herself and turn away from her friend, who didn't seem to have any intention of stopping. On the contrary, Makima looked completely entertained, watching Kirara with an amused expression, as if she were a fascinating experiment.

At that moment, Megumi, who had been sleeping on the bean bag, started to wake up from the noise. "Ugh..." he groaned, extending a hand toward the table to look for his phone to check the time. His sleepy eyes opened a bit more when he saw it was 2 in the afternoon.

Blinking several times, he tried to gather energy to get up, but soon noticed the scene in the room. He could see Kirara on the floor, clutching her hands over her ears while Makima continued clanging the metal bars, each time closer to the poor girl's face, who seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

"Ahhhh, stop it!" Kirara screamed, unable to endure the noise any longer. With a jump, she ran toward the window, opened it in one pull, and without thinking too much, leaped outside, fleeing from the unbearable torture. Megumi and Makima approached the window; there she was, lying on the ground.

"Should we help her?" Megumi asked, though he wasn't quite sure how to proceed. He was worried to see Kirara in that state, but he knew Makima well enough to know this situation had its own purpose... even if it was just for fun.

Makima watched Kirara, who was trying to get up slowly, stumbling as if she had just woken from a bad dream. "She'll be fine. She has good resilience..." Makima said in such a calm voice that it made Megumi sweat.

"Mmh, if you say so..." Megumi murmured, thinking that "resilience" was due to the runs they had. However, he decided to let it go; Kirara would probably be fine after some fresh air.

"We should go. I have things to do..." he said, looking toward the door, hoping for a quick exit from the situation.

Makima looked at him with an enigmatic smile and nodded. "Oh, right, on my next visit to the Zenin clan, you'll come with me..."

Megumi's face froze immediately. "I don't think so... I have things to do this weekend," he replied, looking away. The idea of visiting the Zenin clan didn't appeal to him at all, especially not accompanied by her.

Makima looked at him for a moment, assessing his response. Her eyes seemed to search for any hint of hesitation in him, but Megumi stood firm, or at least tried to. Finally, she simply accepted it. "Fine, next month then..." she commented with a lightness that only made him sigh in relief.

As they headed toward the exit, Megumi felt that, even though he had dodged going to the clan that weekend, the unease continued to linger in his mind.

Makima walked with firm steps toward the first-year training ground, where she knew she could find her cousin Maki. It had been a while since she'd seen her, and her face reflected a mix of curiosity and a strange satisfaction, as if she expected to find some entertainment with her. Upon arriving, she saw Maki engaged in an intense training fight with a talking panda.

Without changing her expression, Makima approached. The panda, noticing her presence, stopped and pointed toward her, which puzzled Maki. Turning, Maki found herself facing her imposing cousin and, almost instinctively, lowered her gaze to the ground, avoiding her golden eyes. She knew that look carried a weight, an authority that made her feel uncomfortable.

"Hello, I'm Panda," said the panda with friendly energy, breaking the silence. Makima looked him up and down, not responding immediately.

"Are you a first-year?" she asked, smiling slightly, though her eyes reflected no kindness, only a cold and calculating intensity. Immediately, her eyes began to analyze Panda's figure with a depth that made him shiver, as if she could see beyond the surface.

"Interesting... your structure is made entirely of cursed energy. You're not a real animal, are you?"

Panda felt a deep discomfort. Normally he was friendly and open with people, but something about Makima made his instincts flare, as if warning him to stay away.

"Well... no, I'm not actually an animal," he replied, scratching his neck nervously.

Maki slightly raised her head, trying to intervene. "Makima, we..."

Makima interrupted her without even glancing at her. "Did I give you permission to speak to me?" she said in a low but sharp tone. Her golden eyes landed on Maki for just an instant, but that was enough for Maki to lower her gaze again, pressing her lips in silence.

"Uh, hey, don't be like that," murmured Panda, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. But Makima ignored his comment and looked directly at him again. "I see you were training. Would you like to practice with me?" she offered, but her tone didn't sound genuinely interested, as if she were evaluating a new toy.

Panda opened his mouth to decline the offer, but when he looked over at Maki, he noticed her completely still, still staring at the ground. Without waiting any longer, Makima continued, her voice laced with a contemptuous tone. "Answer, useless... are you still as pathetic as last time?"

Something inside Maki seemed to ignite. As if a spark of wounded pride awakened her, she raised her gaze, her dark eyes meeting Makima's golden ones. For a moment, she held her cousin's stare, refusing to lower her head again.

Makima smiled, enjoying the challenge in Maki's eyes. "Ah, it seems you need a reminder of your place, don't you?"