LADY AOKI || JUJUTSU KAISEN

二十五

Anzu stood in the mirror, perplexed by her attire. Tightly-fitting white pants, a brightly coloured jersey to go over a dark blue undershirt, and running shoes.

"Pants?"

"Pants." Nobara glanced over her shoulder with a wry smirk. "Foreign concept?"

"No." Anzu shot back, embarrassed by the amused grin from the other girl in the room.

"To be fair—" Maki raised her arms and stretched away the morning sleepiness. "Skirts are cool too, more freedom to kick people." She kicked at the air for good measure, perfectly balanced.

Zenin Maki, a fourth grade sorceress, Anzu almost wanted to swear. Maki was at least a second grade in her eyes, if not first. Jujutsu sorcery was one factor, yes, but physical prowess had always been a criminally underrated piece in determining one's grade. Take Anzu herself for example—

'Anyone can fight with a blade.' A voice came from the back of her head, unimpressed and a little too haughty for Anzu's liking. 'Bandits, pirates, samurai. Though, not anyone can harness and use cursed energy. The Zenin girl's grade was determined upon her ability to do so, which, is not much regardless of how skilled she is."

"But fourth is plain mean, I started off as third and I didn't even know how to use my technique." Anzu complained out loud, drawing a sceptical look from Maki. "It's clearly out of spite."

"You can talk to her?" Nobara's eyes widened in surprised.

"Sometimes, but Lady isn't very talkative." She picked up a flag and examined it curiously.

"Well if she can hear you," Maki clicked her tongue, gripping it firmly as she hefted it up over her shoulder. "Then she can feel free to sit back and watch as I become head of the clan. I don't care what grade I am, she'll eat her words, they all will."

What amazed Anzu was that Maki's words weren't at all arrogant. She wasn't bluffing or stroking her ego, she fully believed in her capabilities and her strength to be able to do what needed to be done. In contrast, Anzu often struggled with understanding her handmaiden's teachings of submissiveness and obedience while her mother and Lady both made it clear they were to be regarded with respect and dignity. They were like Maki, and while her mother was no warrior or sorceress, Anzu still remembered the numerous stories telling how Aozora Genkei ruled the clan but his wife was the one who ruled him.

'You could do with learning from her.' Lady mused. 'Whether she dies early or she achieves all she desires, it's the ones like her who will refuse go down with her sword sheathed. Too often you shy away from a fight, like a coward.'

"Anzu." Nobara's voice startled her out of her thoughts, and Lady's presence diminished. Anzu looked up to see her and Maki standing in the doorway, waiting for her to join them, and the three girls jogged out onto the field for a spirited game of capture the flag.

The morning of their gathering was heavy and brooding, with the staff occupied by the previous day's events and the students recovering from injuries. Luckily, casualties were light, and to Anzu's surprise, Todo of all people managed to erect the mood with nothing more than a few simple but motivating words.

They were attacked, yes. It was terrifying, yes, and people died. All the more reason to train harder and get stronger in order to defend oneself should the incident repeat.

She inhaled the morning air and stretched with the rest of students while her eyes travelled from person to person. Yuji seemed bright and energetic as always, Inumaki a little fatigued, and Miwa was a chattery ball of excitement. Mechamaru was nowhere to be seen, as Panda destroyed his body, but Anzu searched for him nonetheless. He'd anticipated her visit earlier, his heavily-bandaged face was passive and his greeting monotonous when the door slid open in the dead of night.