Eight Days Later
Eight suns had set since Shibuya, bleeding red through a permanent canopy of ash.
Tokyo wasn't dead, but it was breathing its last.
The last eight days were a dead loop. Wake up, kill whatever crawled out of the rubble, move, pass out.
They'd ditched the traditional house almost immediately—it was too exposed. Pushing toward the edge of the quarantine zone, they linked up with the remaining sorcerers and locked down an abandoned subway terminal just outside Jujutsu High's jurisdiction.
No showers. Uniforms stiff with dried blood. Sleep just meant dropping onto the cold tiles until something loud enough woke them back up.
Going back to Jujutsu High was a dead end. The higher-ups were already busy drafting execution orders to cover their own panic.
But the constant fighting did burn away the baggage.
Across the dim platform, Mai sat on a busted ticket turnstile, tossing a freshly formed brass cartridge into the air. Maki caught it without looking and slid it into her pouch.
No snide remarks. No glaring.
Whatever rivalry they'd been dragging around for years died eight mornings ago—right around the time Mai buried her face in a pillow, groaned in total defeat, and muttered that her sister was a "stamina freak."
Now, they just worked. They covered each other's blind spots out in the ruins without having to speak. At night, they squeezed onto the same mattress with Ren. The hierarchy was settled. Nobody argued.
Ren leaned against a concrete pillar, swiping a smear of ash off his neck. He stared at empty air.
Eight days of non-stop slaughter meant an endless stream of notifications. His System Points counter was sitting at a massive number.
Before he could test the flow, the warding talismans plastered near the tunnel entrance flared green, casting a sickly light over the tracks.
Instinct took over. Maki's hand dropped to the leather pouch at her belt. The heavy clack of Mai shouldering her rifle echoed off the tiles. Ren pushed off the concrete pillar, the air around his hands already warping with heat.
"Stand down," Nanami called out from the map table, his voice cutting through the dark. "They're cleared."
Five figures walked out of the pitch-black tunnel.
Megumi Fushiguro led the pack. He looked like hell—pale, with deep bags under his eyes—but Shoko's reverse cursed technique had patched the worst of the damage.
Close behind him was Yuji Itadori, carrying a heavy, hollow silence. And standing practically on top of Yuji's shadow was Choso. The Death Painting's eyes darted across the platform, assessing every single person in the room like a bodyguard daring someone to make a sudden move.
Yuta Okkotsu flanked them, hand resting casually on his katana. Taking up the rear was Yuki Tsukumo, looking completely out of place in a pristine leather jacket.
"Cozy place," Yuki noted, kicking a piece of rubble off the platform.
Maki lowered her guard, though her eyes lingered on Yuta. "Thought you were supposed to be executing him, Okkotsu."
"I did," Yuta said mildly. "Then I healed him. The higher-ups bought the report."
Ren crossed his arms. "Where's Panda?"
"Jujutsu High," Megumi answered, walking straight past the camping stove to Nanami's table.
"The higher-ups are trying to pin Shibuya on Principal Yaga. Panda is staying back to cover him."
Megumi planted both hands on the edge of the folding table, looking at Nanami, then at Maki and Ren.
"We need to find Master Tengen," Megumi stated, his voice hard. "The impostor wearing Geto's body is starting a death match—the Culling Game. My sister is caught in it. Tengen is the only one who knows how to open the back of the Prison Realm, and the only one who knows what that bastard is actually trying to do."
Nanami adjusted his glasses. "Tengen's barriers are a maze. They actively reject outsiders. We cannot simply walk in."
"They won't reject me," Yuki chimed in, leaning against a rusted ticket machine. "I know the exact route down into the Tombs."
Maki raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"Because I'm a former Star Plasma Vessel," Yuki said casually, like she was discussing the weather. "Tengen and I go way back."
Silence hung over the platform, broken only by the low drone of the portable generator.
Maki shifted Playful Cloud off the floor, letting the heavy red staff rest on her shoulder.
"Megumi's right," she said. "If this Culling Game is as bad as it sounds, that old shut-in is the only one who actually knows what the hell is going on."
She glanced at the depleted supply crates against the wall, then looked over at Yuta.
Before she could finish her thought, Ren frowned, scanning the group that had just walked out of the tunnel.
"Where's Kugisaki?" Ren asked.
"Tokyo High," Yuki answered, waving a hand casually. "She said she forgot her clothes in her dorm. Walked off the second Shoko cleared her to move."
Ren just stared at her. "Clothes."
Yuki shrugged. "Her exact words."
"She's holding the campus," Megumi clarified, his voice flat. "Her, Inumaki, Panda, and Principal Yaga. They're locking the school down so the higher-ups can't move on it while we're dealing with Tengen."
Maki gave a short nod. "Good. One less thing to worry about."
Yuki tapped her head back against the rusted machine. "Right, almost forgot. Shoko said to drop by and see her before you actually go through with whatever plan you decide on."
A beat of silence passed over the platform.
Megumi looked around the circle. Yuji just looked confused. Nanami didn't even blink.
"Who?" Yuji finally asked, voicing what the rest of them were thinking.
Yuki didn't specify, just waving a hand vaguely toward the side of the platform where Maki, Mai, and Ren were standing.
Maki closed her eyes for a second, letting out a short, tired exhale. "She means you, Ren."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Me?"
"She probably wants to poke around in your head again or check whatever the hell you've been doing out there," Maki said dismissively, opening her eyes. "Deal with it later. Right now, we have a bigger problem."
She shifted her attention back to Yuta and the empty supply crates, refusing to let the detour kill her momentum.
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Hey guys, I took a little break for a few days to recharge after wrapping up the Shibuya arc. I'm back now, so let's pick right back up with the Culling Game arc!