The sunlight fell across Mei Mei's face, warm and persistent, until she finally blinked and woke up. Instinctively, she reached out to pull the curtains shut—a movement she would usually make in her own bedroom—but her hand met empty air.
Then, it hit her.
'WHAT?! What am I doing here?!'
Mei Mei bolted upright, her eyes darting around the room as she frantically checked herself. She was still fully dressed, but the bed was a disaster; it looked like at least two people had been wrestling in it. The pillows were scattered on the floor, and the room was a total mess. Ren was nowhere to be seen.
'How is this possible? How am I in Ren's dorm?!' she thought, her heart hammering against her ribs. 'I remember coming here, and then... then we were talking. I smelt something fishy, and then... then that shameless boy... no, he didn't, right? I would remember. Surely I would remember if something so... wait, I remember him kissing me! AHH!!'
Mei Mei buried her face in her hands just as the door pushed open. Ren strolled in, looking refreshed in a red sweater and black pants, carrying a small convenience store bag. He flashed her a bright, effortless smile.
"Oh, look who's finally awake. Good morning, sweetheart."
Mei Mei broke into a fit of violent coughing at the word. Ren ignored her reaction, pulling a chair over to his desk. He reached into the bag, pulled out a can of coffee, and popped it open with a satisfying hiss.
"Sweetheart?! What the hell?!" Mei Mei managed to choke out, her face flushed. "What am I doing here? And why did you call me that, Ren?!"
Ren took a slow, deliberate sip of his coffee before looking at her with a teasing glint in his eyes. "What? Don't you remember? After everything that happened last night, I thought 'sweetheart' was pretty appropriate."
Mei Mei felt her brain practically short-circuit. 'What happened last night? Fuck, I don't remember a thing! Did I do something when I was angry? Or did he?! No way, he's barely legal! Am I that stupid? But... I do remember the kiss!'
Ren watched her hide her face, a smug thought crossing his mind. 'Perfect. Completely forget that I gave you a nightmare mission and ghosted you for a month; just focus on the "activities" we might have had. This is the benefit of keeping things vague and not being in an official relationship—I can pull stunts like this. Now, time to distract her before she actually processes the gaps in her memory.'
He tossed a second can of coffee toward the bed. It landed softly beside her. "Hmm? I brought you caffeine, sweetheart. I figured you'd need it after all that nighttime exertion. Drink up. I don't want you sluggish all day because of our... workout."
Mei Mei grabbed the can, her cheeks burning a deep crimson. "Not another word about last night, okay?! And also... uh..."
'Shit!' Mei Mei panicked internally. 'This brat is going to hold this over my head for years, isn't he? The way he's talking... we must have done something! But what made me black out? No, there's no way he made me pass out... unless... did he use protection? Was I his first?!'
Desperate to settle her nerves, she cracked the can and began drinking the coffee fast. Ren, meanwhile, had already pivoted back to the file on his desk.
'Okay, my theories about cursed tools might actually be possible based on Mei Mei's research,' he noted, flipping through the pages. 'Nothing here says my ideas are impossible.'
One specific line caught his eye: Cursed techniques can be implanted into tools if used for years, but this process happens over time and has not been reached because Jujutsu Law 209 prohibits this as taboo.
"There are jujutsu laws?" Ren asked, looking up.
Mei Mei blinked, grateful for the change in subject. "Yes, of course. There are laws against certain practices. Throughout history, sorcerers with powerful techniques have tended to become quite radical—doing whatever they want without regard for the consequences. You know, like a certain someone..."
She gave Ren a pointed, meaningful look.
'How interesting,' Ren thought. 'It makes sense. Jujutsu is like science, but worse, because it's basically magic. I can't imagine how many insane binding vows were made in the past. Kenjaku is the living example of what happens when you give a human that kind of power.
Wait... why is she looking at me? Is she saying I do whatever I want? I mean... I guess I do. Has the power changed me? I feel way more comfortable doing things now that I wouldn't have dreamt of before I had strength.'
He was deep in thought for a moment before Mei Mei stood up and started heading toward the bathroom.
"Get ready if you want to go to the warehouse," she said. She stopped in the doorway, her back to him, her grip tightening on the doorframe. Her voice dropped to a much quieter, uncharacteristically soft tone. "And, uh... if something happened last night that you didn't like... I'm sorry."
She disappeared into the bathroom and locked the door immediately. Inside, she covered her face with her hands, her heart racing.
Ren stared at the closed door for a beat, then chuckled to himself. "That was actually kind of cute. She's worried about me... huh. I guess that's a good thing."
He leaned back in his chair and shoved the window open. The crisp morning air flooded the room...
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