Chapter Three:
The approaching Cursed Energy was a rapidly swelling pressure wave in Kai's newly awakened senses, a focused spike against the ambient thrum of Jujutsu High. It was moving with a speed and confidence that spoke of familiarity with this place, and an inherent power that made the fine hairs on the back of his neck prickle. His heart, which had momentarily seized at the sight of his transformed reflection, resumed its frantic rhythm.
Hostile? Unknown. Intent: approaching directly. Estimated time to contact: less than thirty seconds. His mind scrambled, desperately trying to regain some semblance of its analytical composure, even as the image of the stranger in the pond – himself – burned behind his eyelids. My appearance… it's completely different. Is this an advantage? A disguise? Or just another layer of inexplicable phenomena I can't control?
He tore his gaze from the pond's still surface. The reflection was a problem for later. Survival was the immediate imperative. Options: 1. Flee. Unknown terrain, potentially into greater danger. Pursuit likely. 2. Hide. Limited cover, mist offers some concealment but Cursed Energy signature is likely detectable to a trained sorcerer. 3. Confront/Communicate. High risk, outcome unpredictable, dependent on the nature of the approaching entity. His external expression remained a mask of blank shock, his body frozen mid-turn from the pond. He was, he realized with a fresh wave of dismay, failing spectacularly at any sort of proactive response. The analysis paralysis he'd always intellectually feared was manifesting with crippling efficiency.
A rustle of leaves, a snap of a twig too close for comfort, and then a figure materialized from the swirling mist at the edge of the clearing, moving with a silent, predatory grace that sent a shiver down Kai's spine.
The figure was female, clad in the dark, practical uniform of Jujutsu High, though styled differently from the standard male version he wore. She was lean, athletic, her movements economical and precise. In her hands, she carried a long, polearm-like weapon, its metal tip glinting dully even in the faint starlight that filtered through the mist. Dark hair was pulled back, revealing a face that was sharp, determined, and instantly, shockingly familiar.
Zenin Maki.
The name flashed in his mind with the force of a data lookup. He knew her. Knew her fighting style, her Cursed Tool proficiency, her rebellious spirit, her Heavenly Restriction that granted her superhuman physical abilities in exchange for minimal Cursed Energy. He'd analyzed her battles frame by frame, admired her tenacity. And now, the character from the screen stood before him, a solid, breathing reality, her gaze sweeping the clearing, sharp and appraising. She felt… more intense than the anime had ever conveyed. Her Cursed Energy, though low as expected, had a dense, tightly coiled quality, like a compressed spring. And her physical presence alone radiated a palpable sense of capability.
Her eyes, a striking, intelligent green, locked onto him. They narrowed.
"Who are you?" Her voice was exactly as he remembered from the show – strong, direct, with a no-nonsense edge that cut through the stillness of the night. "You're not a student I recognize. What are you doing out here?"
Kai's throat felt dry. His carefully constructed internal scenarios for potential first contact dissolved into static. His mind, however, was still working, albeit in overdrive, cataloging her stance, the way she held her weapon, the slight tilt of her head that indicated suspicion. She's assessing threat levels. Standard procedure for encountering an unknown individual within a secure perimeter.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. What could he say? The truth was insane. A lie would be transparently foolish to someone like her. His silence stretched, amplifying the tension. He could feel her gaze, like physical points of pressure, scrutinizing him.
She perceives me as an unknown. My uniform is standard, but my presence is unscheduled. My physical appearance… He risked a quick internal check of his reflection's memory. Taller, more built than the average first year. Does that make me look more or less suspicious? Older? A transfer he wasn't briefed on? An intruder who stole a uniform?
Maki shifted her stance slightly, the end of her polearm tapping lightly on a stone. The sound was a sharp punctuation mark in the quiet. "Can you speak? Or are you just going to stand there looking lost?" There was a hint of impatience now, a dangerous undercurrent to her tone.
Lost. That's an understatement. Kai finally managed to find his voice, but it came out raspy, uncertain. "I… I am lost." It was the truth, or at least a fraction of it.
Her eyes didn't soften. "Lost enough to end up inside Jujutsu High's grounds after dark? This isn't a public park." She took a step closer, her movements fluid, never breaking eye contact. He could feel the air stir as she moved. She's incredibly fast. Her physical prowess is no exaggeration.
He noted her gaze flicking over his physique. Was it curiosity? Assessment? He couldn't tell. Her expression was hard to read, all business. She's wondering if I'm a physical threat. My current build… it's probably registering as 'capable' even if my demeanor is 'confused idiot'.
"I… don't know how I got here," he managed, the words feeling inadequate, foolish. His internal voice was screaming at him for his ineptitude. 'I don't know?' That's the best you can do? Brilliant, Kai. Top marks for eloquence.
"You don't know?" Maki repeated, one eyebrow arching slightly. It wasn't a mocking gesture, more one of genuine, if wary, skepticism. "People don't just 'end up' in here by accident. The barriers are designed to prevent that."
Barriers. Right. The anime mentioned them. Complex, layered. Impossible for a civilian to bypass. Which means my entry method was… anomalous. Highly anomalous. This realization did nothing to calm his nerves.
"I was… somewhere else," Kai said, his gaze dropping to the ground for a moment before he forced himself to meet her eyes again. He tried to project harmlessness, an almost impossible task when his heart was trying to beat its way out of his chest and his mind was still reeling from the sight of his own changed face. "And then… there was a light. And now I'm here." He omitted the part about the laptop and the anime. That would just sound certifiable.
Maki was silent for a long moment, studying him. He could almost hear the gears turning in her head, a much faster, more combat-oriented version of his own analytical process. She wasn't overthinking; she was assessing, deciding. The way she held her weapon suggested she hadn't ruled out the possibility of needing to use it.
"A light," she said, her tone flat. "And you expect me to believe that?"
No, not really. It sounds like a terrible excuse from a low-budget sci-fi B-movie. "It's… what happened." He wished his voice didn't sound so thin, so unconvincing. He wished he didn't feel so utterly out of his depth, so physically… new. This body, despite its apparent capability, felt alien to him, like a rental that came without an instruction manual.
Suddenly, Maki's head tilted again, but this time her focus seemed to shift slightly, her eyes flicking past him for a fraction of a second, towards the main school buildings hidden deeper in the mist. Her expression tightened almost imperceptibly.
She sensed something. Or heard something I didn't. Kai's own senses, heightened as they were, were still raw, untrained. He was picking up the general background noise of Cursed Energy, the thrum of the place, but fine details, specific signatures beyond the one that had approached him (Maki herself), were still a blur.
"You're going to come with me," Maki stated, her voice leaving no room for argument. The tip of her polearm gestured vaguely towards the path leading further into the school grounds. "We'll get some answers. One way or another."
Interrogation. Authority figures. Explanations I don't have. Kai's internal panic spiked again. This was escalating far too quickly. He was a variable that had just been introduced into a complex system, and the system was beginning to react.
He wanted to protest, to ask more questions, to demand to know what was happening, but looking at Maki Zenin's resolute face, her weapon held at a casual but ready angle, he knew it would be pointless. She wasn't asking. She was telling.
He gave a stiff, jerky nod, his mind already racing ahead, trying to calculate the odds, the potential outcomes, the best way to present his impossible situation without sounding completely insane or overtly suspicious. His expression, he knew, probably still looked like a startled deer caught in headlights, despite the sophisticated calculations whirring uselessly behind it.
Just try to gather data, Kai, he told himself, a desperate attempt to cling to his usual methods. Observe. Analyze. Don't make any sudden moves. And for God's sake, try not to make things worse.
As he took the first reluctant step to follow her, the weight of his new reality, the chill of the mist, and the sheer, terrifying impossibility of it all pressed down on him. He was in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. And his old life, his old self, felt a universe away. The ground beneath his feet was solid, unforgiving, and undeniably real. And it was just the beginning.