The shrine rooftop was bathed in the silver light of the moon. The wind blew softly—eerily silent, as if the world itself were holding its breath.
Utahime Iori stood in front of the torii gate, her arms folded, waiting calmly. The night had been tense. She had felt strange spiritual fluctuations earlier. Perhaps a cursed spirit, perhaps...
She heard footsteps.
Her eyes turned.
A familiar silhouette walked up the shrine steps—cool, confident, and elegant. Black cloak, silver earrings, and cold eyes that calculated everything they saw.
"Mei Mei?" Utahime said with a relieved smile. "Thank god, I thought I was imagining that energy earlier. What brings you here at this hour?"
Mei Mei didn't answer.
Instead, she walked until they were just a few feet apart. Her long braid swayed behind her like a coiled rope. And then, she smiled—not warmly, but sharply.
"I'm not here for greetings, Utahime," she said coolly. "I'm here to kill you."
Silence.
Utahime blinked, stunned. "...The hell did you just say?"
Her voice was quiet—but sharp. Her hands instinctively reached toward her sleeves, where talismans were hidden.
"We're friends. We're both teachers. What kind of sick joke is—"
"I don't care about friends," Mei Mei interrupted, voice still calm and clear. "I care about profits."
She took out her bird-shaped axe with a metallic clang. Its curved edge reflected the pale moonlight.
"I got an anonymous offer. A good one. Enough to fund my curse research for two years," she said. "And for that... you need to die."
"You've lost your mind," Utahime hissed. "Do you know what you're saying? You're betraying Jujutsu High, betraying me!"
Mei Mei simply shrugged. "If Jujutsu High paid me better, maybe I'd care."
Sparks erupted—Utahime leapt back, talismans flying from her sleeves, forming a shield of cursed energy. Mei Mei's axe swung forward, crashing against it, creating a shockwave that cracked the rooftop tiles.
They jumped apart. Utahime landed in a stance, breath steady.
"You're seriously going through with this?" she asked.
"I don't waste my time bluffing," Mei Mei said. "Let's see what a self-righteous teacher can really do."
And the battle began.
Utahime summoned her spiritual energy and launched hex-styled barriers, attempting to bind Mei Mei's movements, but Mei danced through them gracefully, axe spinning like a deadly compass.
Clash after clash, the rooftop lit up with streaks of light and shards of stone. Utahime gritted her teeth, sweat lining her brow.
"You think money is everything?" she spat.
Mei Mei paused mid-attack, adjusting her grip.
"Money," she said softly, "is the only thing that never betrays. Students, mentors, schools, even the Jujutsu world—everyone has a price or a secret. But money? It's honest."
She rushed forward again. Utahime barely dodged, the axe slicing a talisman in half.
Utahime's lips curled into a snarl. "Then you're just another tool. Not a sorcerer."
Mei Mei smiled.
"I'd rather be a tool that gets paid... than a tool who dies for free."
Their cursed energy flared—colliding in a brilliant flash of light.
And as the battle continued, so did the breaking of an old friendship.