City Lights | Jujutsu Kaisen

Chapter Thirteen

"GO, YUTA, GO, GO!" [Name] yells in anticipation.

It had been almost four weeks since Yuta's arrival at Jujutsu High. Since his first day, he now seemed to have found a goal. However, not much had changed since then. He was still timid around the rest of his classmates. And he still lacked physical strength.

It was apparent that he did not know jujutsu, nor the strength needed for the body to handle it.

[Name] noticed how tired he got from training, even if it involved doing the most basic thing. Knowing how exhausting working with Maki could be, she didn't want to judge too much. Still, she understood how it felt, despite the advantage she had at her arrival at the school. Despite not knowing anything about jujutsu, she still had some combat training.

Even so, his situation was much different from hers. From what she had heard, he had trouble standing up for himself, which meant he dealt with his past school problems differently than she had.

This is why she chose to offer him her help. She committed to helping him train, despite her hate for early mornings and the precious hour of sleep she enjoyed having before class. She believed the sacrifice was justified to spare herself the discomfort of watching his repeated defeats during sparring sessions with classmates. The pity from witnessing his frequent falls in training was overwhelming for her.

Today was the fifth day of his training with her. Yuta had completed three laps around the track, and [Name] had observed his progress since the first. After each lap, she would check the time with Panda and noted that Yuta was completing each lap more quickly, sometimes even a minute faster.

From a distance, she observed anxiously for the arrival of the new kid. She had placed a bet with Inumaki, saying that if Yuta would finish this lap before four minutes, he'd pay her.

He was approaching the finish line that [Name] had established. She observed the change in his posture from the beginning of the race, he was slumping and sweating, yet it didn't concern her. Her anxiety was focused on the possibility of losing her money to Inumaki again.

Her eyes sparkled with joy as she witnessed Yuta crossing the finish line. Ignoring how his body collapsed to the ground immediately after. She leaped up to join Panda and Inumaki, who were seated on the grass.

"I win! Pay up," she said with an outstretched palm to the white-haired boy who sat on the grass.

"Bonito flakes," he told her, with serious eyes.

"Huh? Why not!"

He had crossed the line before Panda could yell the time.

"Actually, [Name], you lost...look," Panda said before facing the stopwatch he held in his paw towards her.

With squinted eyes, she read the time on the stopwatch. He had crossed the line two seconds later than what she had bet on.

"No..." She said in disbelief.

She turned her head back to Inumaki, "I demand a rematch!"

He stared back at her with a blank expression, and his hand rose to point toward his left.

She turned her head to the right to see Yuta, who had somehow moved from the track field to the grass next to Panda. He sat cross-legged as his chest rose heavily. She stared at the tired boy who then flinched from their stares.

"Fine. I'll race you instead," she told Inumaki.

Her words caused his eyebrows to rise. She knew he wouldn't agree to that offer without a decent prize.