“What are you looking at?” Maki handed over the apple.
“Do you want it or not?”
Arata took the apple and took a bite.
The sweetness blossomed across his tongue.
The ward fell silent for a few seconds, save for the occasional caw of a crow outside the window.
“So…” Arata chewed the apple, speaking muffle-style.
“You watched over me all night?”
Maki didn’t answer.
Instead, she reached out, took the apple from his hand to take a bite herself, and then handed it back.
“Eat slower.”
Seeing this, Arata blinked in surprise before taking the apple again.
“Where are Toge and Panda?”
“Outside.” Maki glanced toward the window.
“Panda insisted on coming in, but Miss Ieiri blocked him.
Said too many people would disturb the patient’s rest, so Toge is keeping him company.”
“And Yuta?”
“Called away by Principal Yaga.” Maki’s tone was flat.
“He was the key figure in this incident, after all.
The higher-ups need an explanation.”
“What about you?” Arata looked at Maki.
“How are your injuries?”
“I’m not dying,” Maki replied shortly.
She paused, then added, “Thanks to a certain someone.”
Arata smiled but didn’t push the subject.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting patches of light across the floor.
Arata stared at them for a moment before suddenly speaking.
“Maki.”
“Yeah?”
“I…”
Before he could finish, the door to the ward was slammed open.
“Arata-kun!!!”
An excessively cheerful voice exploded, followed by Satoru Gojo’s grinning face–the upper half covered by bandages–poking into the room.
“I heard you’re awake!
Your teacher came specifically to see you!”
Arata’s expression froze.
Maki turned her head toward the door, her face a mask of indifference.
Gojo sauntered in, followed by a helpless-looking Panda and Toge Inumaki, who was silently flipping Gojo off in protest.
“You’re too loud,” Maki said expressionlessly, scanning Gojo.
“Take the noise elsewhere.”
“Aw, Maki-chan is so mean~” Gojo clutched his chest in an exaggerated display of hurt.
“Your teacher came all this way just to visit the wounded!”
“You came specifically to see if I was dead, didn’t you?”
“Now, now, don’t say that.
Your teacher cares about you deeply.” Gojo waved a hand dismissively and plopped down on the edge of Arata’s bed, crossing his legs.
“But since you’re awake, perfect timing.
Someone wants to see you.”
“Who?” Arata asked instinctively.
“Me.”
An unfamiliar female voice came from the doorway.
Arata looked up to see a tall figure leaning against the doorframe.
Her long blonde hair was draped casually behind her.
She wore a sleeveless, Chinese-style top and form-fitting jeans, radiating an aura of effortless freedom.
With her hands in her pockets and a half-smile on her lips, her gaze bypassed Gojo and landed directly on Arata.
“Yo, you’re awake.” She walked in and stood by the bed, looking down at Arata.
“You look a bit more spirited than the rumors suggested.”
Arata was stunned for a moment before the realization hit him.
Long blonde hair, nearly six feet tall…
wasn’t this Aoi Todo’s mentor, Yuki Tsukumo?
She appeared briefly in the Hidden Inventory arc and didn’t officially debut until Chapter 135.
In the original timeline, she and Choso acted as Tengen’s guards against Kenjaku.
But due to Tengen’s strategic blunders, her Simple Domain was stripped away, losing her key defense.
Later, Kenjaku used a small-scale Maximum: Uzumaki to pierce and bisect her, causing irreversible fatal injuries.
Before dying, she cleared Choso’s heart and moved him to safety, then turned herself into a black hole in an attempt to take Kenjaku with her.
Even then, she held back for Tengen’s sake, allowing Kenjaku to escape while she was consumed.
That event became one of Choso’s two greatest regrets.
Thinking about it, Arata had always been a “Cho-Yuki” shipper.
“Yuki…
Tsukumo?” Arata muttered instinctively.
“Oh?” Yuki raised an eyebrow, her tone piqued with interest.
“You actually recognize me?
Did Satoru mention me?”
“I didn’t,” Gojo interjected from the side.
“Not a word.”
Arata ignored him, staring at Yuki for a moment before setting the apple down.
“What do you want with me?”
“Satoru told me your understanding of techniques is very interesting,” Yuki said, her voice lazy.
“So I came back specifically to take a look.”
“Is a Semi-Grade 1 sorcerer who just crawled back from the brink of death really worth a special trip?” Arata tried to keep his tone steady.
“Semi-Grade 1?” Yuki’s smile deepened.
“Setting aside your ability to copy techniques, someone who can take a Maximum Technique head-on isn’t exactly ‘ordinary’.”
“Which is why I’m currently lying here,” Arata said, spreading his hands helplessly.
Yuki stared at him for a few seconds before bursting into sudden, unprovoked laughter.
“Hahaha!
You’re a fun one!”
Arata was caught off guard by the sudden outburst.
“Hey, hey, Yuki, don’t scare my student.” Gojo protested, though there wasn’t a hint of sincerity in his voice.
Yuki ignored him, focusing on Arata.
“How old are you?”
“Seventeen,” Arata answered honestly.
“Seventeen.” Yuki repeated the number, then her tone shifted abruptly.
“Hey, kid.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s your type of woman?”
The ward went dead silent.
Arata remained silent for two seconds, then stole a glance at Maki sitting beside him.
The corners of Gojo’s mouth curled up visibly.
Even with the bandages, you could feel the intense aura of gossip radiating from his eyes.
As for Maki…
Her expression didn’t change, but her ears turned red with remarkable speed, the color spreading from her lobes to her neck until her entire face looked like it had been dipped in paint.
“Very interesting.
I’ve got high hopes for you.” Yuki stood up and extended her hand to Arata.
“My technique is Star Rage.
It allows me to apply imaginary, limitless mass to myself or my shikigami, Garuda.
I’m sure you’ll find it interesting.”
“Thanks then.” Arata took a deep breath, reached out, and gave Yuki’s hand a brief, firm shake before letting go.
“That’s it?” Yuki observed his expression with intrigue.
“What does it feel like to copy someone’s technique?”
“Honestly, I don’t feel much of anything,” Arata scratched his head, telling the truth.
“But I need time to adapt.”
After Yuki left, the ward stayed quiet for a few seconds.
Gojo sat on the edge of the bed, swinging his crossed leg with a meaningful smirk.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Arata-kun, you’re something else.
Even Yuki came back just for you.”
Arata rolled his eyes.
“Can you please not use that tone?”
“What tone?”
“That…
tone.” Arata paused, unable to find the right word.
“Forget it, I’m too tired to explain.”
Panda leaned in, his furry face full of concern.
“How much longer do you have to stay here?
Yuta’s been non-stop talking about you.”
“I think I’m ready to be discharged.” Arata started to get out of bed, but the moment he moved, Maki slammed her hand down and pinned him back.
“Don’t move.”
“Oh.” Arata blinked and lay back down obediently.