Jujutsu Kaisen: False Dawn

Misunderstandings and Malfunctions - Chapter 62

Ren slammed his door shut with just a little too much force.

Three days. Three whole days.

And what did he have to show for it? Absolutely nothing.

He let out a long sigh as he walked through the halls of Jujutsu High, the sound of his footsteps echoing lightly. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his uniform pants, and his brows were furrowed with the weight of frustration.

"Ugh," he muttered under his breath, "Three days of this and nothing to show for it. I tore down the Level 2 Spiral of Red Cursed Circuit, thinking I could rebuild it better... but now I'm just stuck at Level One with no clue where to go."

It wasn't that Ren didn't understand his technique—he understood it too well. That was the problem. He was trying to improve something so unique, so singular in nature, that there was no precedent to follow. No one had ever used anything like "Red Cursed Circuit" before. There were no blueprints, no comparisons. He was trying to create a new language of cursed energy without a dictionary.

He gritted his teeth.

"Binding vows might be the key," he murmured, "but no combination I've tried has done anything but drain my cursed energy. And the hand signs..."

That was an entirely new headache.

"Conceptually? Handsigns make sense. Functionally? They're like coding—a kind of 'if this, then that' trigger. But implementing them?" He ran a hand through his uncut hair, tugging lightly in frustration. "I have no idea how to do it. None. It doesn't help that the books gloss over the practical part like it's some ancient art no one wants to talk about..."

He reached the training field and paused.

There was someone already there.

Maki.

She moved with sharp precision, her spear dancing in clean arcs through the air, her feet shifting with practiced balance and force. Her breath was steady, her eyes focused. Her movements didn't waste a single beat.

Ren narrowed his eyes. "...Why the hell would I talk to her? She doesn't know anything about cursed energy."

But then again…

"...At least it's worth taunting her. Not like I'm doing anything else right."

He sauntered closer.

Maki didn't stop, not until he was just close enough to be annoying. She glanced at him with a quick, sharp flick of her head.

"Keep going," Ren said, smirking. "I swear I won't study your movements."

His tone was amused—teasing. It caught her completely off guard.

Maki scowled. "Study me? No chance!"

She stopped swinging and headed to the shade, clearly not in the mood.

Ren watched her go, his red stitch lazily coiling around the cap of the water bottle sitting beside her bag.

A little flick of his finger—and zip! The bottle slid across the ground and landed in his hand.

Maki turned sharply, blinking in surprise.

"Huh?" she muttered, confused.

Ren held up the bottle. "Hmm. Can't see cursed energy without your glasses? Wow, you're really something else, huh?"

And then—he looked her up and down.

A slow, deliberate once-over.

Maki's jaw tightened. "What the hell do you want?"

Ren tossed her the bottle and said with a casual smile, "No, but it is interesting to me. I'd love to study your body someday. How are you so strong without cursed energy?"

Maki caught the bottle and froze.

Her eyes locked with his.

For a moment, neither said anything.

Because Maki heard something entirely different.

Study her body? What kind of guy says something like that? With a straight face?

But what Maki heard was a little different...

Maki, though, Ren said, "Hey girl, I think you're hot. Let me study you like a science experiment."

Her cheeks twitched slightly, and she took a half-step back, her posture shifting slightly—not in fear, but genuine confusion. "...What?"

Ren tilted his head. "What?"

She stared at him.

He stared back.

And then realization dawned on him, painfully slow.

"Oh," he muttered. "Wait. No. I didn't mean it like—ugh, whatever."

He turned away, cheeks tinged pink. "Forget it. Go swing your stick or something."

Maki just blinked, processing.

Inside her mind: Did that bastard just flirt with me? Or was he serious??

Ren, meanwhile, was internally groaning.

"I was talking about Heavenly Restriction," he grumbled under his breath. "Not that she'd get it..."

Kai2, hidden deep within his shadow, giggled in cursed fish language.