On Mahiko's end, the girls had just laughed themselves into exhaustion and were now slumped over a table in the mall's café, catching their breath.
"Hahaha... I can't, I'm going to die laughing..."
Here's what had happened.
Mahiko hadn't originally planned to torment Maki Fushiguro for that long. Her intention had been a simple little prank — grab that bikini swimsuit, make Maki put it on, and watch whatever expression bloomed across her face.
Just one look. That was all.
She meant it. She swore that was the only plan.
But.
The expression Maki had worn when she stepped into that swimsuit — that flustered, resistant, crimson-faced look of pure mortification — had been absolutely too perfect for words.
It was exactly that: a dark-haired girl with her head bowed, hands flying up to cover her exposed skin, deep-green eyes filled with helpless embarrassment and confusion. And layered on top of all that, the sheer, undeniable beauty of Maki Fushiguro's body itself —
The moment Mahiko saw it, it was like a bolt of lightning through her brain.
Like a switch had been flipped. Like the dormant soul of a Grade-A sadist had just woken up inside her.
And so this innocent, adorable, pure-as-snow blue-haired little girl had proceeded to subject our poor straight-haired, dark-eyed JK to a prolonged, one-sided, utterly merciless campaign of [Bullying].
From the bikini to a high-slit evening gown. From a fluffy panda onesie to the infamous rubber chicken mascot costume — Mahiko had swept through the entire mall, scooping up every weird, pretty, sexy, and unhinged outfit she could find, and had deposited each and every one of them onto Maki Fushiguro for a fitting.
Every time Maki emerged from the fitting room, the expression on her face was different — and every time, it only made Mahiko more enthusiastic.
Maki had wanted to refuse.
She was perfectly capable of refusing.
If literally anyone else had made her try on this parade of ridiculous outfits, she would have gotten angry ages ago. But the tragic reality was that the one making the requests was an innocent, sweet, pure little blue-haired girl.
The moment that girl pulled out her puppy-dog eyes, Maki became completely powerless.
Every single time she'd tried to refuse, she'd opened her mouth to say so — and then met those expectant, pitifully hopeful, shining eyes looking back at her. And every single time, the words of refusal had simply... dissolved before they could form.
So that was how it went. Mahiko "bullied" her, thoroughly and relentlessly, for a very long time.
The rubber chicken costume look had even been captured on camera by Nobara Kugisaki, who'd promptly sent the photo off to Satoru Gojo and Yuji Itadori.
"Delete that photo right now! Unsend it!! Unsend it!!" In the café, Maki Fushiguro was gripping Nobara Kugisaki's arm and shaking it furiously.
Nobara had already finished laughing — but being shaken like that set her off all over again.
"Stop making me laugh..." Nobara clutched her stomach, tears streaming down her face. "It hurts, it actually hurts..."
"I'm not trying to make you laugh! I'm being completely serious with you right now!! ..."
The two of them were creating chaos over there.
Meanwhile, the mastermind behind all of it — little Mahiko — sat primly to the side, eating her café dessert cake in tiny, delicate bites, perfectly still, wearing an expression of complete and total innocence, as if none of this had anything to do with her.
Well. What could she say.
She hadn't originally intended to go to so much trouble to bully Maki Fushiguro. But it just couldn't be helped — when Maki was being pushed around, that shy, pitiful, helpless expression of hers was simply too delicious to resist.
Caught between not wanting to wear the embarrassing outfits, and being unable to refuse for the sake of satisfying a certain pure-and-innocent little girl's wishes — and then, once she was wearing them, being completely unable to suppress the tide of mortification, left with nowhere to look, nowhere to go, face red to the tips of her ears... pulling her gaze away... covering herself up.
Pfft. Hahahahaha.
It was genuinely so entertaining.
Mahiko was discovering for the very first time that teasing someone could be this fun.
This was way too good.
Hmm. If she truly did become a full-blown sadist from this point forward, then it was entirely Maki Fushiguro's fault. Yes, that's right. All of it was Maki Fushiguro's fault.
Therefore, the fact that Maki Fushiguro was being bullied was also Maki Fushiguro's own fault, and had absolutely nothing to do with her.
Mahiko speared another bite of cake with great confidence and righteousness, and popped it into her mouth.
And so, the Cursed Spirits and the jujutsu sorcerers sat together in the café and chatted for a while longer.
Maybe... ten-odd minutes or so.
Then Maki glanced at the time on her phone and raised an eyebrow. "Come to think of it, it's gotten pretty late — I think we should head back."
Nobara checked the time too and nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right."
So they all rose from their café seats, gathered their things, and walked together to the mall entrance.
"We'll head out first, then." Nobara grinned and waved at Mahiko. "We have to hang out again sometime!"
Mahiko bounced on her heels and waved back enthusiastically. "Yes yes yes! Nobara-nee, I'll message you on socials!"
They'd already exchanged accounts a little while ago. The first time Mahiko had met Nobara Kugisaki, she hadn't had a phone, so it hadn't been possible then.
But now she had a phone, so they could.
Maki Fushiguro also glanced back at Mahiko.
She hesitated for a moment — then finally gave a small nod. A farewell.
The three students from Jujutsu Tech turned and headed off, disappearing into the distance before long.
Mahiko watched them go, her gaze lingering for a few seconds. Then she stretched out in one long, luxurious full-body stretch.
"Well then — shall we go too?" She turned to look at the two Cursed Spirits at her side, and started walking forward.
It had to be said — today's girl had been very, very happy.
Even setting aside certain reasons that pertained to a particular old letch, she had still been happy.
In truth, this was almost the first time — since transmigrating into this world — that she had genuinely gone out and had fun with friends. The first time she had genuinely, for a little while, pushed her survival concerns and the complicated web of schemes and schemes-within-schemes to the back of her mind.
Today had really been wonderful.
The girl felt relaxed. She felt warm. She strode forward with easy, open steps.
Out on the street beyond the mall, the streetlamps had come on, their warm amber glow pooling across the pavement. Pedestrians drifted past in ones and twos, and the air carried the cool edge of an early autumn evening.
Shopping bags swayed gently in the night breeze. Hanami walked on her right, Jogo on her left. The three of them cast long shadows behind them under the streetlights.
Then she suddenly heard someone call out behind her.
"Hey." It was Jogo.
Mahiko blinked, and turned around.
Jogo stood a few steps back, hands shoved into her pockets. The new over-ear headphones she'd bought hung around her neck, and with the light behind her and Hanami both, their backlit silhouettes made it hard for Mahiko to read Jogo's expression.
All she could make out were Jogo's eyes — glowing faintly red in the dark.
The look in them seemed... serious. Genuinely serious.
Mahiko instinctively let go of her relaxed state. "What's wrong?"
"Mahiko..." And the white-haired girl fixed her gaze on her, red pupils burning bright in the shadows, voice low but every word distinct. "You... actually love humans, don't you?"
At those words, Mahiko couldn't help but freeze.
Love humans?
Me?
____
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