Chapter Text
“Are you excited for the Goodwill Event, Nanami??” Haibara’s voice is excited as always and Kento frowns slightly.
“Not really,” he answers. Haibara groans good-naturedly which he ignores to tack on, “I don’t know why you’re so excited. With Gojo-senpai there, it’ll hardly be a contest.”
“It’s the spirit of the thing!” Haibara insists. “Besides, it’s our first year being able to take part! And next year, Gojo-senpai won’t be able to do it as a fourth year, so it’ll be good to see what we’ll be up against!” His eyes shine as he punches his fists together. Kento sighs but doesn’t bother to argue, it’s sound reasoning although…
“It’s only helpful if Gojo-senpai doesn’t immediately win against them all,” he notes. Haibara makes a sound like he’s been wounded and Kento opens the door to the outside, sunlight momentarily blinding him.
Blinking away stars, Kento doesn’t startle at the hand that lands on his shoulder as Haibara leans into his space with a grin.
“I also heard there’s a new student! A new second year, isn’t that crazy?”
“Is it?” Kento asks, not really finding it within himself to care. It’s hot today, the sun above them blistering. He’d rather not be out in the heat, but Haibara had insisted on a ‘snack run’ so they could stock up before the next two-day events when their sister school would be with them. He’d argued that they would likely not have enough time afterwards to run to the store for anything, so Kento had grudgingly agreed to go.
He's regretting that agreement now, but they’ve already started and it’s not worth the effort to try to complain to turn back now. Haibara will only dig his heels in and Kento would have wasted his breath for no reason.
“Yeah, I mean, why is there a new student in second year? Don’t most people find out about the sorcerer schools well before first year?”
He knows what Haibara means. Both of them aren’t from sorcerer families, yet their families were approached around middle school to let them know about jujutsu tech. Kento shrugs.
“Maybe they were just missed? I bet most only find out about the college because of sorcerers’ missions that bring them close enough to students who have cursed energy enough to warrant speaking to the families about the option. It all feels very accidental.”
“Hmm, maybe you’re right,” Haibara agrees slowly, kicking at a stray stone. Then he brightens. “Say, should we bring back anything for our senpai’s? They’d probably like something!”
Kento thinks about the added weight of snacks enough for an extra three people and he wrinkles his nose at the thought. “No, they can get their own stuff.”
Haibara pouts, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking generally like a dog that’s been kicked. Kento holds out for a few seconds before he breaks, sighing loudly, even as Haibara perks up at the noise, recognizing his defeat.
“Gojo-senpai is a black hole, don’t bother getting anything for him. But grab something for Geto-senpai, he’s looking a little tired lately.” Haibara cheers and, predictably, doesn’t seem to notice that Kento ‘forgot’ to mention Ieri, typical.
He won’t point it out though. Kento knows why Haibara tried to sneak in snacks for everyone, but in reality, there is only one person he cares to grab something for. Haibara hasn’t yet told Kento about his crush on Geto but since they’re the only two second years, it’s not hard to tell after being around the other teen day in and day out.
They walk down the path together, shoulders glancing off each other until Kento gets annoyed enough to push Haibara away though he only laughs at Kento’s disgruntled face, but he keeps the distance that Kento sets and begins to chatter away about something meaningless.
Hours later, back in the comfort of Haibara’s room with the A/C running, Kento crunches down on a chip and chews, annoyance beginning to fester in his stomach.
They’d thrown some sodas in the communal kitchen’s refrigerator before they began to play games and Haibara had just run to grab them both one, but it’s been long enough now that it’s obvious something has held him up.
Kento hopes he didn’t run into Geto, again. As much as he’d tried to get out of going with Haibara to drop off Geto’s snacks, he hadn’t managed to escape Haibara’s pleas so reluctantly he’d tagged along to watch Haibara light up under Geto’s attention.
The video game they were playing keeps repeating the same music on the paused menu and Kento starts grinding his teeth at the noise.
Right as he’s contemplating turning off the entire system and just dealing with Haibara’s wail of despair, the door opens, Haibara’s voice clearly in the middle of talking to someone.
Bristling, Kento turns, expecting to see Gojo or Geto walk in (or, heaven’s forbid, both of them. Whenever they came Gojo would demand they play Super Smash Bro Melee and Kento often lost, which meant he bore the brunt of Gojo’s teasing) but instead it’s someone he doesn’t recognize.
The wave of cursed energy that ripples out instantly makes all the hair rise up on his body and Kento stiffens. At first, he can’t even see who it is as he has to fight not to let his hand twitch towards his weapon. There’s an instant fight or flight that Kento struggles to get under control.
Haibara wouldn’t let someone harmful in here, he reminds himself and that allows him to relax long enough to take a deep breath and actually look at who it was.
It’s a girl, his mind helpfully informs him and Kento forces the thought away with a scowl. She’s much shorter than Haibara, her hair a poofy short curled mess, reaching to about her ears, tied back from her face with a yellow bandana. She’s wearing an oversized black sweater with the button for jujutsu tech students on one side, and a pair of round yellow sunglasses on her face. He raises an eyebrow. A student from the other school then.
Haibara smiles and gestures to Kento with both hands. “This is Nanami Kento! Nanami, this is Haibu Mitsubachi!”
She waves, her face spread in a smile. “Hi! Call me Mitsu, it’s easier. Nice to meet you.” It’s on the tip of his tongue to refuse, but then he realizes that switching between Haibara and Haibu would get frustrating very quickly and he relents.
“Hello, Mitsu-chan, nice to meet you as well.”
“Come in, come in,” Haibara encourages, pulling her closer until he reaches the bed where Kento is perched on the edge. “I was just playing Zelda, but we can switch to like Super Smash or something! I have a ton of party games.”
“Oh, that’s okay! You can keep playing, I don’t want to put you out,” Mitsu says easily, as she takes a seat next to Kento as he moves over to give her more space.
“Not at all! Lemme just finish up where I was so I can save,” Haibara says, sitting on the floor beside the bed and unpausing the game.
A poke at his arm makes him look away from the screen to see Mitsu holding out a can of coke. Now that she’s closer, he can see that she has dark brown eyes and a beauty mark in the center of one cheek. “Haibara said this was for you,” she says and quickly he grabs it.
“Thanks,” he says gruffly.
“Mitsu-chan is the new student I mentioned earlier, Nanami!” Haibara interjects.
“I see.” Kento cracks open his can, letting the fizz die down before he takes a sip. From the corner of his eye, he watches Mitsu do the same. Her cursed energy is… strange. But he doesn’t want to simply ask her about it. He doesn’t make a point in digging around into other people’s business.
“Say, Mitsu-chan, are you cursed by chance? It feels like you have two cursed energies!”
The same cannot be said for others. Kento fights down a groan.
“Ahh, kinda?” She presses her coke between her hands, rolling it back and forth, not looking at either boy. “My brother was in an accident last year and came back as a curse. He’s not harmful!” she says quickly, as if worried that either of them would interrupt with outrage. “We made a binding vow. So, it’s uh, safe.”
Somehow, Kento doubts that’s the case. Or at least, that that’s the full story. Still, Haibara seems to accept it at face value.
“Ohh! I see!” He reaches a save point before putting down the controller to spin to look at her. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he says seriously, kindhearted in any situation, in a way that Kento can never be.
Mitsu smiles back shakily. “It’s okay! I appreciate that though.”
There’s a brief pause in the conversation. Kento wishes desperately that he was better at small talk because he can just feel the knife edge in the air, the moment before Haibara says something that while he won’t regret having said it, Kento will certainly feel secondhand embarrassment from it for months to come.
“What’s your brother’s name? Does he come out? Can we see him?” Haibara asks in quick-fire succession.
Mentally, Kento melts into the floor, wanting to get as far away from this conversation as possible. Mitsu’s mouth hangs open at the onslaught.
“Sorry about him,” Kento interrupts, leaning forward to glare at Haibara. “He sometimes doesn’t know manners.” —Ignoring the soft ‘Hey!’ from Haibara he sits back— “Don’t feel like you have to answer that.”
Mitsu blinks at Kento before she lets out a small laugh, holding her hand in front of her mouth. Kento swallows; his throat suddenly feels a bit dry.
Unfortunately, Jujutsu Tech is a small school and while Ierie is pretty in her own way, after a few weeks in her presence, he got rather used to her. She has such a laid-back personality that it’s easy to get comfortable being around her.
Though she’s never said one way or another, Kento has the feeling she prefers girls anyway.
Which brings him to the crux of his current problem: he doesn’t know how to talk to women.
Or well, girls at any rate. Around his own age. Especially ones that are this cute.
“No, no, it’s okay!” Mitsu says with a wave of her hand, hair bouncing with the force of her laughter. “I’m glad that someone is interested! No one has ever asked about Onii-chan, it’s nice.” She tilts side to side, humming to herself loudly in thought.
“I don’t like to tell people his old name. He’s… different, now. He’s still my brother, but a curse isn’t the same thing as a human.” Then, under her breath as if they aren’t meant to hear she adds, “I’d know that better than anyone.” She bounces in place and says louder, “But! You can call him Echo. ‘Cause he’s like an echo of his former self, in a way. What else did you ask?”
Haibara doesn’t miss a beat. “If he can come out and if we could see him!”
“Ah!” Mitsu nods, then looks pensive, biting her lip as she considers it. “Well… yes he can come out, but I…” She shifts, discomfort clear on her face. “I don’t like to let him out much. When we’re together he protects me, makes me stronger. I’m nervous being in a new place—”
“That’s okay then!” Haibara interrupts, hands waving in front of him. “Don’t worry about it, I was just curious! But it’s better not to if you wouldn’t like it.”
A knock rings out and Haibara turns towards the door, confusion coloring his face. Kento recognizes the cursed energy at the same time Haibara does because he bolts to his feet and is across the room in seconds.
“Geto-senpai! What are you doing here?!” Haibara asks opening the door wide and then lingering in the doorway as Kento rolls his eyes. Mitsu watches Haibara curiously.
“Do you want some snacks?” Kento asks, and Mitsu drags her eyes away to meet his. “He’ll be a few minutes, at least.” With a hand, he gestures to the bedspread which has their snacks scattered around.
“His crush?” Mitsu guesses, voice low so as not to be overheard. Kento is impressed with her observation skills but it’s not his place to out his best friend.
“They always just talk a lot,” he explains vaguely. She selects a box of pocky, and he watches as she opens it. “And sorry again, about his questions. Just ignore him if he oversteps.”
Mitsu shakes her head, black curls hitting her cheeks with the motion. “No, it’s nice.” She takes a few bites of a poky stick and chews quickly. “No one else has bothered. They avoid me, you know, ‘cause of it. No one wants to be friends with someone who’s cursed.” She shrugs but it seems forced.
“Is that why you started school so late?” he asks before he can stop himself. Internally he winces but before he can take it back, Mitsu is already answering.
“No, Onii-chan didn’t like sorcerers, so he didn’t allow me to attend school.” Mitsu crunches down another pocky stick before holding out the box to him. Kento takes one and she goes on, “When he died, I was left without many options. Our parents died years ago, Onii-chan was the one who was taking care of everything. Without him, how could I afford the apartment or anything else? Becoming a shaman meant that I would be provided housing, money, and a free education. There wasn’t much else I could do.”
“Huh,” Kento says, munching thoughtfully on his stick, the taste of cheap chocolate spreading through his mouth. “But doesn’t he still not like them? If he’s still…” He hunts around for an appropriate word, not wanting to offend. He finally lands on, “around.”
Mitsu shrugs. “Like I said, he’s changed. The world of sorcerers doesn’t really concern him in the same way. As long as I’m alive and healthy, he doesn’t care what I decide to do with my life.”
“Okay kids,” the familiar voice of Geto interrupts them as he walks into the room, “it’s time to call it a night. You all have an early day tomorrow.”
“Geto-senpai!” Haibara immediately whines. “Don’t say ‘kids’ like you’re so much older! We’re only a year apart!” He’s still pouting as Geto chuckles.
“You’re right, you’re right. It’s just fun to tease. Plus, it seems like you need the reminder. There’s enough snacks here to last you the whole night.”
As Haibara races to explain that they were for several days not just one, Kento chugs back the rest of his soda before he stands. Mitsu follows his lead then glances down at the box of pocky in one hand, then at a pocky stick in the other, and finally at her can of soda on the ground beside the bed.
Without much thought, Kento bends to pick up the soda and gestures at the door with his free hand. “Let’s go, I’ll walk you to your room. Goodnight, Haibara, Geto-senpai. See you tomorrow.”
“Aww, Nanami! Don’t leave me with the clean-up!” Haibara whines but when Geto offers to help, he immediately perks up and loses the thread of his argument easily enough. Kento rolls his eyes again as he shuts the door behind them.
They start to walk together, their steps echoing in the otherwise quiet hallway. Kento tries desperately to think of anything to break the silence. He’s terrible at this.
After the awkward silence stretches, he decides to hell with it and just outs Haibara anyway. He owes him this much.
“He’s pretty oblivious, huh?” Kento says at last as they reach the stairway and he holds the door open for her.
Mitsu hums and picks up perfectly what he means as they start walking down to the second floor, where the women’s rooms are. “Yeah, just a bit. It’s cute though. Do you think Geto likes him back?”
“I have no idea,” Kento says, frowning with thought. “Geto-senpai is nice to everyone, so it’s hard to say if he prefers Haibara more or not. He spends a lot of time with Gojo-senpai, but their friends like how Haibara and I are friends, so that could mean nothing or he could like Gojo-senpai or he could like no one. I’m not really good at these things.”
“Not good with crushes you mean?” Mitsu clarifies and Kento nods. “Have you never had one yourself?”
“Not really.” Then he notices that Mitsu is still heading down towards the ground floor, and he stops. “Wait, aren’t you going too far?”
Mitsu looks at him from over her shoulder, a few steps below now. “Ah, I’m in another building. You don’t have to walk me so far, I wasn’t thinking about it. Give me my soda?” She reaches a hand towards him, and he holds the can away from her, though she wouldn’t be able to reach him anyway.
“In another building?? Why? That doesn’t make any sense.”
She swallows, her eyes darting away and then back again. “Like I said, people don’t really like the fact that I’m cursed.”
A flash of anger hits him so quickly that Kento is almost dizzy with it. “Enough to put you in a separate building?? That’s bullshit! Your peers I could see maybe some people having an issue with it, but why are the teachers letting that happen?” Because who else would put her in another building if not for the teachers themselves?
Mitsu turns around to face him completely, clearly taken aback before she smiles. “You guys are too kind!! It’s okay, I really don’t mind. It’s kinda nice, to be honest. I’ll just walk back myself, it’s not that far.” She takes a step up towards him, hand still held out.
Kento hesitates. He still doesn’t like this blatant ostracization of a student but then again, there’s not much else he can do about it. Pressing his lips together, he hands off her soda.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Mitsu says cheerfully. “Let’s both do our best!” Then with a wave, she starts skipping down the steps, humming to herself under her breath. Kento watches her go before tucking his hands into his pockets as he turns to trek back up the stairs towards his room.
The next morning Gojo is his usual annoying self.
Wrapping an arm around both Kento’s and Haibara’s shoulders he pulls them in close. “So, I was issued a challenge by our sister school!” Gojo says gleefully. “They said I wouldn’t be able to defeat them before they killed all the curses.” He pauses, waiting. Kento huffs, not rising to the bait but Haibara dutifully does.
“That’s impossible! Gojo-senpai is the best!”
“Right you are!” Gojo says loudly and releases them both. Kento rubs his ear with annoyance as it rings slightly. “However, I’ve decided to humor them so their defeat will be that much more humiliating.”
Kento steps away until he’s well outside of Gojo’s arm length. Though it hardly matters since Gojo wouldn’t know personal space if it hit him in the forehead.
“Ohhh! Gojo-senpai, could Nanami and I go with you then? We wanted to see the others cursed techniques to better prepare for next year!”
Heaving a sigh, Kento doesn’t bother arguing with the logic, as Gojo readily agrees, though he wishes Haibara hadn’t brought it up. Seeing Geto standing outside their little huddle, he asks, “What about you?”
“I’ll concentrate on killing curses,” Geto says with a smile. Kento nods and says nothing more.
Honestly, the Kyoto school has their work cut out for them. Two special-grade sorcerers on the same side make this battle almost unfair.
Ieri isn’t allowed to participate this year so it’s just the four of them, but Kento doubts he or Haibara will even see any action.
When the whistle blows, he starts to run and from the corner of his eye, he sees Geto veer off from them rather quickly.
Gojo takes the lead, which isn’t surprising. There’s a burst of cursed energy right in front of them, from several different sources. Perhaps a calling card for Gojo to follow? He shares a look with Haibara who nods back at him. He’s thinking the same thing then.
A trap.
Though what their sister school thinks they can do against Gojo is another matter but ultimately, it’s not his problem. He’ll stand on the sidelines as Gojo shows off and wipes the floor with them, then go back to the dorms to brainstorm with Haibara about single battles tomorrow.
All in all, not a terrible day for him, though Haibara will probably be a little disappointed.
They burst out of the treeline into a small clearing with only one person standing in the center.
Kento’s eyes widen as he sees the fact that it’s Mitsu, fidgeting with the hem of her large sweater.
“What’s this?” Gojo leers. “Just one person to hold me back?”
“Gojo Satoru then, I presume?” Mitsu asks, her voice shaking just a little. Gojo strikes a pose.
“The one and only!”
Mitsu dips her head in a small bow. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ll be your opponent. Um, please go easy on me!”
Gojo grins, looking very much like he’d love to tear her apart with his teeth. “No promises. Well then, come at me!”
He holds out his arms mockingly. Mitsu shuffles her feet. “I uh, would prefer if you came at me?” she says though it’s phased more as a question. Haibara comes to Kento’s side and tilts his head in silent question. Kento shakes his head back. He doesn’t understand what’s going on either.
With a snort, Gojo drops his arms. “Okay, if that’s what you want.” Then he charges.
He’s definitely showing off, Kento thinks with a scowl. Gojo is probably more than capable of defeating her with his technique but of course he’d use hand-to-hand, if only for the opportunity to drag her into the dirt. Gojo never fails to be the most annoying senpai to train with, simply because of the way he gloats about how much better he is in everything, oftentimes hardly ever needing to use his curse technique.
When Gojo gets close enough though, two black arms sprout from Mitsu’s back, the hands hovering over her shoulders end in claws, rather than regular fingers. Gojo dodges when one strikes at him, stretching out from Mitsu’s back. As he does, she tries for a punch that gets stopped by Infinity. Gojo laughs in her face before one of the black hands aims for Gojo’s face.
Kento is expecting it to be stopped by Infinity, in the same way her fist is. Surely Gojo is too as he doesn’t try to move away, but where Kento feels the line for Infinity should start the hand moves past it. It all happens so fast, he doesn’t really know what happened but between one blink and the next Gojo is on the ground, and Mitsu stands there, looking surprised. The extra pair of black arms immediately disappear, as if they were never there at all.
His mouth drops open at the same time that Mitsu says, almost to herself, “That worked? It worked!!” Abruptly she starts hopping up and down. “It worked!!! Oh my god, that’s amazing!”
“Gojo-senpai!” Haibara yells, breaking Kento out of his trance and he shakes his head before running forward with Haibara.
Mitsu freezes her celebration before dropping down to her knees next to Gojo. With one hand she lays it on his neck and with the other she holds it, palm out, fingers spread. “Stay back!” she says loudly, and they both hit something invisible.
Immediately, Haibara starts punching, his fists glowing a bright blue as Kento squints his eyes trying to find the ratio line. It seems to be a force field and he can’t immediately track where it starts or ends.
“Nanami?” Haibara asks and he clenches his teeth.
“I can’t find it!” he calls back.
“Mitsu, is Gojo-senpai okay?” Haibara asks, not letting up with his punches.
She makes an offended noise. “Who do you think I am?? He’s just passed out, he’s fine!”
“Ah, well that’s good to know!” Haibara keeps talking, keeping Mitsu’s attention on him and slowly Nanami starts to move around the other side. They don’t know if she’s in a bubble or not but the fact that his technique can’t find the ratio line means it’s unlikely that it goes all the way around her.
He’s able to come up behind her and tightens his hand on the handle of his specialized weapon, just for this fight. It won’t cut anything, but it will leave a nasty bruise, if not break a bone. Hoping that it’ll only bruise, he brings it down on her arm that’s still stretched out and touching Gojo.
At the last second, she turns to him and lets out a loud gasp, then Kento’s vision is filled with nothing but black as he’s knocked back. He hits a tree trunk hard, and he falls to the ground, all the air leaving his lungs with the impact. He tries to suck in a breath, but he just gasps on nothing instead, holding himself up by his hands and knees.
By the time he gets in a lungful of much needed oxygen, tears have blurred his vision. Getting to his feet he wipes his face with his forearm before lifting his head.
Haibara is battling a huge curse. It’s obviously not one supplied by the school for the Goodwill event, given that the sheer power it radiates means it’s clearly a special grade.
It’s humanoid in statue, with four pairs of longer-than-average arms that all end in sharpened claws. It has long black hair that reaches down to its calves. Its legs are covered by a pair of loose pants but starting from its calves down to the ankles are wrapped in bandages. Its feet are bare, with only three clawed toes. When Kento catches a glimpse of its face that’s really what seals the deal.
There’s nothing there but a spiral pattern. No eyes, no nose, no mouth.
Mitsu is still sitting next to Gojo, watching the fight between the curse and Haibara. It almost seems like it's… toying with Haibara. The curse is only dodging Haibara’s hits and occasionally reaching out with one of its long arms but all the swipes that it uses are lackluster, not committed.
Abruptly, Kento realizes this is probably Mitsu’s brother and he’s trying very hard not to hurt Haibara.
Narrowing in on Mitsu, Kento starts running again, this time determined to get a blow in. They need Gojo for this fight more than ever, there’s no way Kento and Haibara alone can take both of them on.
Mitsu doesn’t see him coming and when he strikes down, there’s no force field to protect her and she takes his attack fully on her arm. She screams, high-pitched and filled with pain.
Heart pounding in his ears, he reaches for Gojo, not daring to look up and see how the curse reacts to that. He just needs to grab Gojo and high-tail it out of here—
“Onii-chan, don’t hurt him!” Mitsu screams, this time with fear as something slams into him from behind, forcing him to the ground. He feels his back pop in several places and for a moment he’s afraid whatever’s pressing him down will keep going, tearing a hole through his spine and out the other side but it releases him quickly.
He looks up just in time to see the curse grab Mitsu and Gojo both in its lower set of arms, cradling them close before it starts to run away.
Haibara runs to his side and helps him to his feet. “Are you good, Nanami?? We gotta go after them!”
“Yeah,” he wheezes, “yeah I’m good, let’s go.”
They run after it.
It’s much faster than them but luckily it seems that running with two people isn’t that easy and they’re at least able to keep it within sight.
“Haibara, can you amplify me?” Kento yells and Haibara whoops a wordless noise of agreement. Kento reaches out and Haibara slaps their palms together.
Immediately, he feels a rush of power and he focuses on the curse in front of them. He sees a line on its leg and swings.
Normally, Kento would be way too far for his technique to reach, but with Haibara’s help it lands, and the curse trips.
As it falls forward, its lower arms toss both humans up in the air. It’s almost comical to see the way Mitsu clings to Gojo’s form, screaming the whole time, while Gojo’s body just ragdolls in the air.
Before Kento can think of a way to catch them, the curse is already back on its feet and jumps in the air to catch them before it lands, resuming its pace effortlessly. He curses. They barely made up any ground.
Haibara laughs once. “Wow, Echo sure is strong huh? Lucky he’s going easy on us!”
Kento shoots him a bewildered expression and Haibara makes a face back. “Echo? Mitsu’s brother? That’s what she said to call him!”
Ah. Trust Haibara to remember details like that.
“How are we going to get Gojo-senpai back?” he asks, ignoring the issue of the name entirely.
“No idea!” Haibara yells back cheerfully. “Keep hitting it with your technique?”
“I don’t think—” Kento is cut off by several curses rocketing into Echo’s side, throwing him into a tree, hard enough to break it.
“Geto-senpai!” Haibara calls out with excitement. They follow the line of destruction, several more trees felled before they come to another clearing.
Do they clear out little pockets like this just for the event? Kento wonders to himself. Mitsu is again on the ground, this time Gojo’s head is positioned on her lap. Kento’s eyebrow twitches. Figures that even while completely asleep, Gojo has the best of luck.
The asshole.
Geto is sizing up Echo who is standing at his full height in front of Mitsu, looming several feet taller than Geto.
“Onii-chan!” Mitsu calls. “He’s got curse manipulation you shouldn’t fight him!” Echo makes a waving motion with one of its lower arms as if to reassure her. Geto smirks.
“Maybe you should take her advice,” he offers before he moves his hands, and more curses appear.
Haibara and Kento hang back, not wanting to get in the way. It’s immediately clear that Echo is stronger than the curses Geto is throwing at it, tearing them apart with ease.
Still, Kento is aware that this is just another tactic. Get your opponent comfortable, make them think you’re weaker than you are, and then move in with the killing blow.
As expected, Geto starts to get closer and closer, all the while the curse seems to get bored with the onslaught that Geto is sending at him.
“I apologize for breaking up the fun,” Geto says, “but I really would like to take Satoru back now.”
He puts out his hand, now in range to be able to absorb the curse. Kento has seen it a handful of times before, but it’s always sort of fascinating to watch. He’s expecting to see the normal swirl as the curse gets basically sucked into a ball form, but a blur catches his eye instead.
Mitsu has abandoned Gojo and slides on the ground beside her brother to end up right at Geto’s feet. The sorcerer looks down, but everything is happening too fast; he can barely take a step back in alarm. Mitsu braces herself, looking like she’s preparing herself to spring up. She has an arm across her face and the sun reflects a light into his eyes from her hand, clearly a weapon of some sort.
Kento can see the next move clearly, her launching herself into the air and plunging whatever is in her hand into Geto’s face or neck.
Then a firecracker goes off, crackling loudly making everyone freeze. They’d been told beforehand that that was going to be the signal that the match was over.
Someone has won.
And judging by the fact that they haven’t seen a single curse other than Mitsu’s, it isn’t hard to guess which school it is.
“Put down your hand,” Mitsu instructs, voice like ice. Geto regards her calmly.
“Why don’t you put down your weapon first,” he says.
Mitsu doesn’t move and Kento sees now that she’s holding something very thin and long—it looks like an ice pick. Unease slithers down his spine. What was she planning on doing, poking that into Geto’s eye?!? She could have killed him with that!
“My brother is worth more to me than your life,” Mitsu says very seriously, like a promise. “Put down your hand or else.”
Geto seems to take her at her word because he takes another step back and holds his hands out in a pacifying way. “No harm done. Everything’s okay, we’re all on the same side, aren’t we?”
Echo crouches down one pair of arms resting on his thighs, the other dragging its knuckles against the grass. Even crouching he’s still huge, and he towers over Mitsu’s small frame from where she’s still on the ground. A clawed finger reaches out and moves some of her hair behind an ear. Slowly, Mitsu stands, and takes a step in front of Echo, protecting him with her body the way he had been protecting her.
“Not if you had taken my brother we wouldn’t be. You should remember that, for the future,” she warns. Geto takes another step back before dropping his hands.
“Duly noted.”
A loud yawn breaks through the tension in the air and Kento sees Gojo sit up and stretch. “Man, what happened?” he asks, rubbing at his head. “I was havin’ the best dream.”
Geto and Mitsu stare at each other for a moment more before Geto inclines his head and starts to walk towards Gojo’s body. “Satoru, you slept through the whole match. We lost.”
“What!?” Gojo squawks but Kento tunes out the rest of the conversation. He can’t tear his eyes away from the siblings.
Mitsu turns to face her brother and they press their foreheads together. Echo should look ridiculous, his large body almost folded in half to be lower than her, leaning up towards her, but he doesn’t.
An emotion Kento’s never felt before grips him and he’s not quite sure what it is.
“It’s you, it’s me, it’s us,” Mitsu says, and it seems as though Echo just… disappears, fading quickly into his sister until it’s just her standing there, alone.
When Mitsu looks up, their eyes meet. She tips her head in a nod before she turns to walk away.
Kento is left feeling off-kilter, watching her until the forest finally swallows up her small frame. Haibara grabs him around the shoulders, breaking him out of his thoughts, shouting in his ear about something or other but Kento can't seem to focus on his words.
Instead, he wonders why if Kyoto just won, Mitsu had looked so sad.