The higher-ups at Jujutsu Headquarters weren't blind to Maki Zen'in's true capabilities. They were fully aware she wielded the strength of a Grade 2 Sorcerer, if not higher.
Her official Grade 4 classification was a political farce, enforced by the Zen'in Clan to maintain their twisted sense of pride.
After all, Maki was their living contradiction—a girl born without cursed energy, yet trained herself to surpass even those blessed with it. Her Heavenly Restriction, far from a handicap, had become a weapon sharper than any cursed tool.
If the outside world recognized her true potential, it would be a direct insult to the clan's values—a slap in the face they weren't ready to accept.
As she ended the call from HQ, Maki's fists clenched unconsciously. Her nails bit into her palms.
From across the room, Akiyama Ren observed her with narrowed eyes. The air around him subtly shifted, his presence growing sharper.
"Want me to wipe out the Zen'in Clan for you?" he asked, voice calm but laced with cold finality.
Maki didn't even flinch.
"No. I want to crush them with my own hands," she replied, her tone unwavering.
Ren's expression softened. He couldn't help but admire that about her—the refusal to yield, the unshakable will to carve her own path.
She wasn't the most conventionally beautiful girl around, but her spirit—fierce, wild, and proud—was magnetic.
That defiance, that refusal to accept fate as dictated by bloodlines or curses… it was what made her special.
It was why Ren had chosen her.
Why, in this world filled with spirits, jujutsu, and ancient traditions, she stood out like a spark against darkness.
He stepped forward and took her hand. "Then I'll help you become stronger."
Maki looked up at him, her eyes softening. "Mm."
Her next mission was no simple patrol. It involved a confirmed Grade 1 Imaginary Curse Spirit—one of the more dangerous variants that manifested from twisted folklore: the Eight-Shaku Woman.
Even seasoned Grade 2 sorcerers hesitated to face such a foe alone.
"I'm coming with you," Ren said as he turned to head back to his room.
This time, Maki didn't argue.
She didn't want to rely on his power, but spending time with him—especially with the increasing number of curious, flirtatious girls under his roof—was reason enough to accept his company.
Besides, she wanted to share the battlefield with him. Not as someone in need of protection, but as a partner.
When Ren returned, dressed in black exorcist gear laced with reinforced sigils of his own design, he gave a few parting instructions to Sakura and the others before heading out with Maki.
The rest of the house watched the two leave with mixed expressions—envy, curiosity, and the unmistakable glint of competition in their eyes.
Once outside, Ren turned to her.
"Where's the spirit located? I can teleport us."
But Maki quickly grabbed his sleeve. "Let's take a car. Together."
Ren raised a brow but said nothing. He understood her intent.
Moments later, they were in a taxi bound for Kanagawa Prefecture. Maki sat close—too close to be mistaken for anything other than intentional.
As the city blurred by outside, she leaned into him, her head resting gently on his chest.
Ren allowed it, a faint smile touching his lips as he brushed her hair aside.
A moment passed. Then another.
"Ren…" she said softly. "Will we always be like this?"
He looked down at her. "Of course. Once you're mine, there's no escaping."
"I wasn't planning to," she replied with a small smile. "Even if you told me to leave, I'd follow you like a stray cat."
He chuckled. "As long as you don't betray me, there'll never be a reason to push you away."
That was Akiyama Ren—blunt, pragmatic, but honest. He never made hollow promises. But for Maki, it was enough.
She sat up, turned, and settled onto his lap, straddling him. Their eyes locked, and the distance between them vanished in a kiss—hot, hungry, unashamed.
The driver glanced at the rearview mirror, then quickly looked away, muttering under his breath. "Young people these days… they've got no brakes."
Over an hour later, they arrived in Kanagawa. After paying the fare, Maki leaned forward.
"Would you mind waiting here a while, sir? We'll need a ride back to Chiba. I'll pay extra."
"No problem at all," the driver beamed. "Take your time."
With a polite nod, Maki rejoined Ren, and the two headed toward the site where the Curse Spirit had been detected.
....
Kanagawa Prefecture, nestled just south of Tokyo, often showed up in pop culture and anime, romanticized as a picturesque, coastal getaway. But their current destination couldn't have been further from that image. Tucked deep within the mountainous outskirts of the prefecture lay a rural village, isolated and silent, home to no more than a hundred households.
Recently, however, that silence had turned ominous.
A series of mysterious deaths had gripped the village—young boys, all between the ages of twelve and fifteen, found lifeless in their homes. The medical reports listed no visible injuries. The true cause? Their life force, or shōki, had been entirely drained.
In response, the Jujutsu Alliance dispatched investigators, confirming the presence of a Grade 1 Imaginary Curse Spirit. The name? Yasakashakusama.
"She's an urban legend-type Curse," Maki explained as they hiked up a narrow woodland path. "The villagers described her as an unnaturally tall woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat, always accompanied by a strange, low-pitched 'po... po... po...' noise."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Sounds like something straight out of a late-night curse forum."
He didn't say it aloud, but the name sparked a peculiar memory from his past life—something between a horror video and... questionable internet content. He shook the thought aside.
As they reached the edge of the village, Maki stopped. She removed her cursed tool glasses and activated a refined version of herSpiritual Sight Technique—a gift from Ren's teachings, amplified by her growing understanding of non-traditional energy systems.
Her pupils briefly shimmered with faint blue light.
After sweeping the area, she frowned. "The residual fear here has completely saturated the ley lines. Negative emotions have turned into raw Cursed Energy… it's so dense, I wouldn't be surprised if this thing is on the verge of evolving."
Ren stepped closer and gently took her hand.
"Go. Fight with everything you've got. I'm right behind you," he said, voice steady.
Maki looked at him, her resolve deepening. "Roger that."
This was her chance.
Over the past few weeks, she had been studying under Ren—learning to convert ambient mana into structured magic circuits compatible with her Heavenly Restriction. While she couldn't manipulate Cursed Energy directly, the magical framework Ren introduced allowed her to bypass that limitation.
From the black tactical pack on her back, she pulled out her current primary weapon: Mist Splitter Reforged, a katana forged with spiritual metals and imbued with divine exorcism glyphs by Ren himself.
The twin-bladed Nagusa no Inazuma, her naginata, was too unwieldy for the tight terrain here, so she'd left it behind for this mission.
Drawing the katana with a clean metallic whisper, she formed a sword-finger with her off-hand and began chanting:
"Born from darkness, darkest of darkness,
All filth and decay—be exorcised, utterly!"
As she completed the incantation, a thick, black mist descended from above like spiritual ink, forming a Curtain around the entire village perimeter.