Morning. Hurried footsteps echoed through the halls of Jujutsu High. "[angry]You've got to be kidding me... You've got to be kidding me!!" Maki's shout was so rough it was hard to believe it came from her, usually so composed. Kazuki, who had just opened the door to the assistant supervisor's office, stopped in his tracks at the sound. "What the hell happened...?" Toa, who had been organizing documents nearby, narrowed his ice-blue eyes and answered. "It seems the cursed tool storage in the training grounds has been ransacked. Zenin-san's spear-type cursed tool is the only thing missing." "You're kidding." When Kazuki and Toa arrived at the training grounds, Maki stood before the storage, fists clenched and trembling. The sole memento she had brought from the Zenin family. That spear was, to her, the very proof of her worth. "[cold]We will preserve the scene. As per protocol, please wait for the assistant supervisor's investigation." Toa spoke flatly. Maki ground her back teeth audibly. "[angry]...I know." Her voice was low, desperately suppressing her rage. The words they'd always told her back in the Zenin family echoed in her head. *Without a cursed tool, you're nothing.* Seeing her face in profile, Kazuki felt a pang in his chest. "[serious]I'll look into it." Maki glanced at Kazuki with a momentarily surprised look. But she quickly turned away. "...Do what you want." Inside the storage, it was quiet. The other cursed tools were untouched. Only Maki's spear was gone, as if someone had targeted it precisely. Kazuki touched the barrier's fastener. Signs of forced entry from the outside. And a dark, residual cursed energy hung faintly, stagnating. (*This isn't the work of a cursed spirit... Someone did this.*) A chill ran down his spine. That's when it happened. "[excited]Maki-chan's spear is gone!? Where, where's the evidence!?" Her emerald-green short cut swaying, Rinka burst in. She tried to touch the traces of black cursed energy on the wall with her bare hands, patting at them. "[angry]Hey! Don't touch that!" "[surprised]Eep! S-Scary!" Toa grabbed Rinka by the scruff of her neck and pulled her away. The feather-shaped earring on her right ear swayed. It was a scene straight out of a comedy, but no one laughed. The air remained heavy. Maki silently tried to leave the scene. "[gentle]Maki-san." Kazuki called out to her back. Maki stopped, but didn't turn around. "I'll find it. I promise." Still, Maki said nothing and disappeared into the hallway. Having begun his investigation, Kazuki was tracking the residual black cursed energy in a deserted spot behind the school building. He mobilized all his knowledge of barrier techniques to analyze the traces of the spell. (*This is... a curse. And a seriously nasty one at that.*) Then, the air changed. A sickly sweet perfume. A presence that made his skin crawl. "[cold]It's been a while, Kazuki." He turned to see a tall beauty in a black dress standing there. Long silver hair. Red eyes. The dark circles under her left eye spoke to the depth of her obsession. Todo Iris. His former lover, now a curse user wanted by the jujutsu world. "[surprised]...Iris." Kazuki's voice trembled. Just her appearance made memories flood back. The burning estate. The family he couldn't save. The few, peaceful moments they had spent together. "Oh my, you're trembling. Am I that frightening?" Iris smiled bewitchingly and took a step closer. She trailed slender fingers, clad in black lace gloves, along Kazuki's cheek. "[whispers]Do you still remember me? The feel of these hands..." "Stop it." "I heard. That Zenin failure is your partner now?" Her voice suddenly turned cold. With a scornful, mocking tone, Iris continued. "[sarcastic]A defective product even the Zenin family gave up on, and she dares to stand beside you. A worthless wreck like that could never be worthy of the sole survivor of the Todo family." "[angry]Don't you talk bad about Maki-san." When Kazuki glared back, Iris's red eyes narrowed. "[cold]...You're defending that woman? In front of me?" The pressure of her curse filled the area. Something like a black mist rose from Iris's body. Kazuki's breath stopped for a moment. Iris pushed Kazuki's body against the wall. His back hit it with a thud. She then traced his chest with her slender fingers, slowly crawling downwards. "[whispers]I've thought of nothing but you. From the day we were torn apart by the Great Cursed Spirit Flood, I've lived only to have you again." Her fingers crawled around his belt. Slowly stroked up his thigh. Kazuki's body reacted involuntarily to the sensation. Iris didn't miss it. She brought her face close to his ear and breathed a warm, damp sigh. "[whispers]See, your body remembers. When I touch you, this place gets hot, doesn't it?" "[angry]Stop it..." But his voice had no strength. He couldn't resist her breath and the scent of her perfume. Iris's tongue traced his earlobe. Her knee pushed between his thighs. "You are mine. You were long ago, and you still are now." "I...!" Kazuki closed his eyes. Torn between the past and the present. He had decided to face Maki, yet he hated himself for still finding the warmth of Iris's touch comforting. After storming out of the training grounds, Maki punched the wall in the school hallway. Her fist hurt. But she didn't care. "[angry]Without a cursed tool, I really can't do anything..." The words they'd always told her in the Zenin family now became reality and assaulted her. "[excited]Maki-chan! It's okay now! I'll search with you!" Rinka came running up. In her hand was a handmade "Search Map." "[excited]I might not look it, but I'm a woman with good intuition! Leave it to me!" Saying that, Rinka dashed down the hallway at full speed. Immediately after, *thud!* She tripped, getting her foot stuck in a bucket, and sent a pile of documents on a nearby desk flying everywhere. "[crying]Uwah! I'm sorry!" "[angry]If you're just going to be a burden, don't come!" "[sad]But... Maki-chan, you're in so much trouble, and your face looks so scary... but I can't stand seeing you worry all alone." Rinka, on the verge of tears, rummaged through her pocket. She pulled out a melted, sticky candy. "[sad]You'll feel better if you eat this! Ah, it's melted..." Maki nearly fell over. "[cold]...Are you an idiot?" But her words lacked the thorns from before. Rinka's pure goodwill had disarmed her venom. Maki glanced down the distant hallway. Through the window, she saw Kazuki with a serious expression, examining the residual cursed energy. (*That guy... is he really looking for my spear?*) A slight, sharp pang struck deep in her chest. Right after that. In a blind spot behind the school building, Maki saw Kazuki pinned against the wall by Iris. She saw Iris bring her face close to his ear, her hand crawling up his thigh. Kazuki's eyes were closed. Something inside Maki snapped with a crack. (*............I knew it. I can't trust anyone.*) She bit her lip and left the spot without a sound. Night. In an old, abandoned classroom, lit only by moonlight. Kazuki had been summoned there by Iris. "[gentle]I've wanted to be alone with you like this for so long." Iris's black dress slipped off her shoulders. Her white skin stood out in the moonlight. She took Kazuki's hand and guided it to her chest. "[whispers]You remember this feeling, don't you. Only you know everything about me." "[sad]We're not the same as we were back then." "[angry]We are not!!" Iris shook her head violently and forced her lips onto his. Her tongue pried open his lips and crawled around inside his mouth. It was lukewarm, a sensation unchanged from the past. Kazuki's tongue, too, was unknowingly entwined with hers, responding. One second, two seconds. The wet sound of their saliva mixing echoed in the quiet classroom. When the long kiss ended, Iris smiled with satisfaction. She scooped up the string of saliva hanging from Kazuki's lip with her finger. "[whispers]You really are mine. I will never give you to that woman." Kazuki fell to his knees on the spot. He was utterly pathetic for accepting Iris's kiss, even though he didn't want to. His stomach churned painfully. But deep in his heart, a voice screamed. *The one I want to protect is Maki.* Iris's red eyes took on a mad glint. "[cold]I've already decided on my next move. Look forward to it." She vanished as if melting into the darkness. The next morning. When Kazuki arrived at school as usual, Maki wouldn't even look at him. Even when they passed in the hallway, she completely ignored him. "[gentle]Good morning, Maki-san." "[cold]...Stay away from me." Her voice was far colder and harder than it had been yesterday morning. It rejected Kazuki like a blade. (*Just a little while ago, she told me "good job" about my barrier...*) Kazuki remembered her amber eyes, softened just a little under the starlight. But now, a layer of ice, deeper than before, covered them. A deep sadness filled his chest. As Maki walked away, she clenched her fist tightly inside her sleeve. (*This is what I get for trying to trust someone. I never had the right to do that in the first place.*) Her loneliness sank deeper than the night before, like the bottom of a dark sea.