Shadows Of The Honoured One

10. Returning to Normal

Chapter Ten:
Returning to Normal

Yumi POV

Three days had passed since the exchange event.

Three days of rest, recovery, and endless lectures from Shoko about the dangers of overexerting myself. Three days of Satoru hovering nearby, his presence a constant comfort even when he pretended not to be worried. Three days of the students sneaking into the infirmary to check on me, their faces a mixture of guilt and relief.

I was fine now. Mostly.

The exhaustion had faded, replaced by a lingering ache that reminded me of my limits. My cursed energy had replenished slowly, my body adjusting to the strain I'd put it through. Shoko had finally cleared me to return to my normal duties, though she'd made me promise to take it easy.

"Take it easy," I muttered to myself as I walked through the halls of Jujutsu High. "Easy for her to say."

The morning sun streamed through the windows, casting warm golden light across the wooden floors. It was peaceful, quiet—a stark contrast to the chaos of the exchange event. The school had returned to its usual rhythm, students training, teachers teaching, the world moving forward as if nothing had happened.

But I knew better.

The barrier, the curses, the targeted attack on Yuji—it had all been planned. Someone had gone to great lengths to separate Satoru and me from the students. Someone knew our weaknesses, our limits, our fears.

I pushed the thoughts aside as I approached the training ground. Today was about moving forward. About focusing on what mattered.

The students were already there when I arrived.

Megumi stood at the edge of the field, his arms crossed, his expression as stoic as ever. Kugisaki was stretching, her movements sharp and precise. The second years were scattered around—Panda practicing his strikes, Toge meditating in the corner, Maki sharpening her weapon.

And Yuji was in the center of it all, his pink hair glowing in the morning light.

He spotted me first, his face breaking into a wide grin. "Takahashi-sensei! You're back!"

The others turned, their expressions shifting from surprise to relief. Kugisaki raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a smirk. "About time. We were starting to think you'd abandoned us."

"I'm not that easy to get rid of," I said, a small smile playing on my lips. "Shoko finally let me out of her sight."

Panda laughed, his voice booming across the field. "She's been terrorizing everyone, you know. The medical wing has never been so organized."

"Salmon," Toge agreed, nodding.

Maki looked up from her weapon, her eyes meeting mine. "You look better. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I said, though the word felt inadequate. "Still recovering, but I'm good enough to teach."

Maki nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Good. We need to train. The exchange event was a wake-up call. We have a lot of work to do."

I studied her for a moment, noting the fierce determination in her eyes. She was right—the event had exposed our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities. It had shown us just how much we had to learn.