The Crimson Communion's dorm was in ruins.Not from a fight, not from a curse—just poor life decisions.
There was a hole in the ceiling from Flint's failed "hotplate griddle training arc." The hallway reeked of lavender and regret thanks to Spillglass accidentally mixing cursed incense with bath salts. And Thorne? Thorne hadn't slept in 40 hours and was currently staring at a washing machine like it had killed his family.
"We need to do laundry," Juno declared, holding up a hoodie that might've achieved sentience.
"No," Thorne replied without blinking. "It's a trap. The dryer hums in E-flat minor. That's a trauma key."
Junpei, now semi-adjusted to the group's stupidity, raised a brow. "You're afraid of laundry now?"
"No," Flint said, stepping out in cursed-themed boxers, "he's afraid of emotional confrontation, and the dryer reminds him of his mom."
"Can we go one day without revealing someone's deep personal baggage through basic chores!?" Yuji cried, stepping over a broken rice cooker.
"No," the room replied in unison.
Meanwhile, miles away and underground, Geto stood in front of a map of jujutsu activity, fingers tapping the city grid.
Mahito sat nearby, mostly re-formed, face still cracked from the tuning fork. "They're messy. Sloppy. But dangerous."
"Chaos is a resource," Geto murmured, not looking up. "If they get too stable, they become predictable. But like this? I can push them."
He dropped a red pin near Shibuya. "Let them clean up the scraps. Let them laugh. When it ends... it'll hurt more."
Back at the dorm, Juno had dragged everyone into a mandatory "emotional damage debrief circle" after Thorne tried to sleep inside a laundry basket. Junpei sat with his arms crossed. Yuji tried to take it seriously. Spillglass was already crying about a cat he saw in a dream.
"I'm not sharing anything," Flint muttered. "I'm the normal one."
"You once kissed a cursed mirror because it said you were handsome," Juno replied.
"I am handsome," Flint barked.
"I have a question," Junpei said suddenly. "Why are we called the Crimson Communion?"
They all paused.
Spillglass blinked. "Wait... do we know?"
Juno looked around. "I thought it was a wine joke."
Thorne finally spoke. "It was Claire's idea."
The room went still for half a second. The dumb left the air.
"She said... if we're all bleeding anyway, might as well do it together."
No one spoke.
Then Flint threw a towel at his face. "Gay."
The moment shattered. Juno started laughing. Yuji choked on water. Spillglass yelled, "To bleeding as a team!" and popped open a bottle of cursed champagne.
And just like that, the chaos resumed.