Just one day after the tumultuous commotion in Kyoto died down.
Yaga, our homeroom teacher, dismissed Gojo and the others, sitting me down separately for a talk.
"Hachiro. We're heading back to Tokyo, but I want you to return to the Zenin main estate and keep your head down for a few days."
"…Excuse me?"
I frowned at the sudden order to go home. I thought we were just going back to school now that the mess was settled. Going back to that gloomy mansion? Reading the look on my face, Yaga set his teacup down and continued.
"The 'Old Rules' you and Satoru invoked were certainly a clever move. But from the perspective of the higher-ups, that wasn't just finding a loophole—it could be seen as an act of insubordination where a subordinate openly defied the authority of a superior.
Depending on how they twist the logic, you could be branded a rebel shaking the very foundations of the jujutsu world's discipline."
Yaga's gaze grew cold and sunken.
"So, for the time being, hide behind the barrier of your home ground, the Zenin clan. No matter how much of a nuisance you are, even the higher-ups will find it burdensome to touch a candidate for the Zenin headship without cause."
He had a point. Even if the Zenin geezers are insufferable elitist bastards, they're the type who can't stand seeing an outside enemy touch a member of their family. I scratched the back of my head and nodded.
"Understood. Fine, I'll rot there for a few days. Then, I'll leave right aw—"
"And take Kanao with you."
I froze mid-motion as I was about to stand up. I stared at Yaga, doubting my own ears.
"Wait a second, Yaga-sensei. Are you serious? You want me to take Kanao to the Zenin clan?"
"Yes. That is an order."
"No, Sensei, you know how it is. My clan is a bunch of misogynistic pricks! They're the kind of people who naturally believe nonsense like 'women should walk three steps behind men' and 'women and dried pollock are better the more you beat them'! That is the Zenin clan!
I absolutely refuse."
Despite my strong repulsion, Yaga remained unshaken and maintained his firm stance. He spoke with a heavy tone.
"I am not ignorant of the Zenin's atrocious family culture. But Hachiro, right now, the one in the most danger isn't you or Satoru—it's Kanao. The higher-ups and the conservatives will target her first as an example, since her affiliation is currently in limbo."
Yaga looked me straight in the eye.
"Right now, within Jujutsu High, safety cannot be guaranteed due to Gakuganji's surveillance and pressure from the higher-ups. But within the Zenin clan, it's a different story. Because of those toxic traditions you mentioned, it's actually a sanctuary where outside sorcerers cannot easily set foot."
"...."
"You started this, and you took that girl's hand. Therefore, it is your responsibility to protect Kanao from the shameful and annoying things that might happen within that family. Do you understand?"
I couldn't say anything back to Yaga's firm lecture. He was basically saying that since I was the only person with a modicum of common sense in that cesspool called the Zenin clan, I had to be her shield.
Eventually, I let out a deep sigh and slumped my shoulders.
"Sigh… Fine. Dammit, my head hurts just thinking about having to cater to those geezers. Hey, Kanao! Pack your bags!"
And so, Kanao and I began our heart-pounding Zenin life.
Going into it, my biggest concern was the lecture and interference from the musty family elders. Even if I was promised treatment as the first in line for the headship, the underlying contempt for those of branch family blood and the extreme sexist ideologies of this clan couldn't be helped.
So, to logically counter every bit of their absurd pressure, I had prepared five A4 pages of thorough scripts covering every possible question and answer.
'Kanao's personal safety, her cursed technique, the fact that both her parents were from sorcerer families, and every other bit of trivia! Come at me! I'll destroy you all with facts and logic!'
I was bracing myself, organizing the files inside my sports bag.
However, the situation took a completely unexpected turn.
Luckily, the current head Naobito, his close associates, and the major servants had all left the estate in a row for an emergency summons by the higher-ups. And the old elders remaining at the main house weren't fixated on my sudden return or Kanao's presence—they were obsessed with something else entirely.
As soon as I entered the main building, one wrinkled elder came running out in his stocking feet and grabbed both my hands.
"Ohh! Hachiro! Yes, I've heard everything!"
"…Huh?"
The elder thrust his face, flushed red with excitement, toward mine, spitting as he spoke.
"I heard the Gojo clan trash agreed to follow your lead and side with the Zenin clan?! This is truly unprecedented!
I heard you forced that arrogant Gojo brat to his knees and made him agree! What a magnificent feat!"
"…What???"
My jaw dropped in pure absurdity.
'Wait, the initial idea to use the Old Rules was Satoru's, and I just skillfully wove that together with our clan's rules to transfer Kanao to Tokyo High?
And the time I actually threw punches at Gojo Satoru was on the very first day of the semester!'
I had no idea how the rumors had been distorted and corrupted along the way to transform into this kind of miraculous logic.
"Uh, Elder. That's not it. My fight with Gojo Satoru was a while ago, and this time we just happened to share the same opinion—"
I tried to explain desperately, but the elders weren't even listening; they were busy popping imaginary champagne and self-congratulating among themselves.
Come to think of it,
In several hundred years of history, these insane Three Great Families had probably never cooperated out of pure goodwill! Whenever they met, they were busy growling at each other, and even if they did join forces, it was only when one clan exerted raw force or held a fatal weakness over the other.
So, in these geezers' heads, the conclusion that 'Hachiro beat the shit out of Satoru to threaten him' was the only one that made sense.
A group where common sense doesn't apply. A centuries-old tradition where any logic is overwritten by violent assumptions.
I toyed with the folder containing the scripts I'd written as I let out a deep sigh at the jubilant old men.
'Sigh… truly a legendary family, for all the wrong reasons.'
Although there was this mishap on the first day, life inside the family itself was quite comfortable.
They gave me delicious food on time and my resting place was cozy.
Still, staying for several days living like a parasite just breathing was making me feel awkward, and my body was starting to itch for action. I dragged the loafing Kanao by the scruff of her neck toward the Zenin training hall.
"Hey. If you're going to work out, do it by yourself. Why bring me along?"
Kanao grumbled, pouting her lips as if it were a hassle.
"Oh, really? Then do you want to go back and play Shogi with those geezers? I won't stop you."
"…Ugh, fine. Fine! I get it!"
Seeing her stand beside me while pretending to be coerced, I let out a chuckle.
"Hey, don't grumble so much. Isn't it a good thing for you to get stronger too? Not just for the time being, but once you officially transfer to Tokyo, you're destined to clash with those higher-up geezers."
I loosened up my neck and stepped in front of her.
"So! I've prepared something special just for you! Drumroll please—!"
I made a big show of playing imaginary drums in the air. At my childish rhythm, I saw Kanao's eyes sparkle with subtle expectation. Since it was obvious she was imagining something cute, I shouted the answer with ultimate confidence.
"For you, whose close-quarters combat is absolutely pathetic! I have prepared this specifically! Its name is… Muay Thai!!"
"...."
Along with the sound of her expectations shattering into pieces.
THWACK!!
"Gah?!"
Kanao landed a perfect, no-nonsense elbow strike right on my philtrum. It was such a clean hit my legs almost gave out. As I slumped down clutching my nose, I secretly felt a thrill that my intuition hadn't been wrong.
'Daaaamn, using cursed energy reinforcement to strike with elbows and knees? Oh shit.'
"Seriously! What is that?! That's the 'special something' you prepared for me?!"
"Ow, just listen! You should know after fighting me for real! Even though you have that cheat-like technique and can generate massive cursed energy, your hand-to-hand combat is so trash that you can't even draw out half that power!"
Feeling wronged, I rubbed my nose and stood up, firmly grabbing the fuming Kanao's hands.
"I'm being serious. The things you don't know, the things you can't do—I'll teach you all of it."
"Uugh… You…"
At my sincere gaze, Kanao flinched and her cheeks flushed red. She averted her eyes, squeezing my hands as she snapped back.
"F-fine! I get it! But if you half-ass your teaching, I'm going to kill you!"
After that, we continued our intense Muay Thai training day and night in the Zenin training hall, dripping with sweat.
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Though she complained at first that it was too physically demanding, once I started teaching her through actual body-on-body sparring, her learning speed was insane. To her stiff body, which had only been used to manipulating cursed energy, the senses of practical striking and evasion were being carved in at a terrifying pace.
SMACK! SWISH! THUD!
Inside the training hall, the sounds of bone hitting flesh and air being sliced echoed relentlessly. Sweat soaked the floor, and Kanao was already gasping for breath.
"Good! Just like that! If your opponent parries your homing missiles and forces their way into close range, don't panic—grab the back of their neck with both hands to force a clinch! Then, put your weight into a knee strike!"
"Pant, pant… Hey, it's easier said than done! Opponents aren't idiots; they won't just let me grab them!"
Kanao snapped back while sweeping her hair out of her face. I smirked and patted her shoulder.
"It doesn't matter. It's just because I'm used to fighting you that I don't get caught. Anyone facing you for the first time will be so preoccupied trying to dodge those missiles that they'll be desperate to close the distance. That's exactly when the clinch timing happens."
Just as I was about to continue the combat theory lecture, the old sliding door of the training hall opened heavily.
Creaaaak—!
Standing at the door was a man with a fierce expression and a massive build—Jinichi Zenin.
"Hmm? Jinichi-san? Is the higher-ups' summons over already? What brings you here…"
"No. It's just that I had nothing to do, and playing the part of a wall decoration among those higher-up geezers got boring, so I came back early."
As Jinichi slowly walked in, he roughly tossed aside the haori he was wearing. The hard-packed muscles over his bronze skin gleamed as if showing off.
"I heard some decent sounds from outside. Hachiro, I'm curious about your teaching skills. Care for a sparring match?"
"Not a bad idea. However, your opponent today isn't me—it's Kanao here, our guest. Give us ten minutes to get ready. We'll start right away."
At the fact that his opponent was a girl, Jinichi's brow twitched slightly. He glared at me for a moment as if displeased, then seemed to fall into thought before giving a short nod.
"…Fine. I'll see you in ten minutes."
As soon as Jinichi moved toward the sparring area, Kanao grabbed me by the collar and shook me, screaming.
"Hey! Are you crazy?! What's this all of a sudden?! Anyone can see that old guy is a monster!"
"Calm down! There's no better timing than this to gain real combat experience. Especially since Uncle Jinichi has a cursed technique mechanism very similar to yours."
"That tank of a man is similar to me?"
"His technique is called Man'yuken. It's the ability to rain down countless fists made of cursed energy from the sky like rain. He has a style that pressures enemies with long-range projectiles just like you. But that uncle is a completed sorcerer who made up for his weak close-quarters combat with overwhelming martial arts. He's exactly what you should aim to become."
I smirked and pushed Kanao's back while she was still paralyzed with fear.
"It'll be a great learning experience, so go out there and have a good game!"
Kanao's face was still pale, but she gripped the hand I offered and steeled her resolve. It seemed her competitive spirit as a former yakuza boss was slowly beginning to boil over in the face of a massive powerhouse.