"I can't believe you talked me into this," she groaned as she followed Gojou to the dorms where she would be staying alongside Megumi and Yuuji.
"Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School," Gojou rambled on about the school's history, with Mina only half listening as she looked around.
"You guys couldn't have made the name any shorter, could you?" she said dryly.
"You'll be staying with the other first years," Gojou continued, pretending as if he didn't hear her.
"However you aren't exactly a first year, especially in terms of your abilities, but from what I saw you don't seem to be fully aware of them," he said as they walked down a passage that overlooked a garden. She frowned.
"Were you watching us the whole time!" she demanded.
"Yea, what about it?" he pulled a face. She rolled her eyes at his childishness.
"How old even are you," she said sarcastically.
"I'm 27 years old," he puffed proudly. She merely rolled her eyes at his immaturity.
"From what I saw, your current skill set is impressive Mina, especially that barrier you can summon. In fact, it's quite similar to my infinity," he told her. She stopped walking.
"There it is again. You said something about this 'infinity' before. What is it?" she asked, curious.
"Touch my hand." Gojou held out a hand in front of him, beckoning her closer. She blinked.
"What?"
"Touch my hand," he repeated.
Eyes narrowing, Mina reached forwards-
-and was met by a wall of resistance.
"Huh?" she said stupidly, causing him to chuckle.
"This is my infinity. It looks like you aren't able to move your hand any closer, but in fact, you are moving, just incredibly slowly." She nodded, understanding what he meant.
"So that's why It's called infinity," she guessed.
"Bingo! Now what you can do is similar, except you block everything without slowing it down." He looked at her.
"Are you able to focus the barrier to your body, or are you only able to project it?" he asked.
"To be honest I only found out I could do it the other day," she confessed. Gojou looked thoughtful.
"With some training, you'll be able to focus it on protecting your body as well. I wonder what else you'll be able to do with the right training," he mused.
"You saw me use Multiply and Shadow Pockets in that backstreet the other day?" she asked. He nodded.
"Nice work with that cursed spirit by the way." She smiled at that.
"Thanks."
Gojou suddenly stopped, nearly causing Mina to knock into him.
"Crap," he muttered.
"What?"
"I was supposed to take you to meet the Principal," he said, slapping his forehead.
"Why?" she asked.
"You, like Yuuji, are a special case, and the Principal himself wants to see you in person," Gojou replied.
"Ugh, is he one of those 'elders' you mentioned?" Gojou shook his head.
"Nah, he's one of the good ones."
Gojou led her down a stone path and into one of the buildings.
It was dark inside, save for candles which gave the room an eerie atmosphere.
"Late twice in one day Satoru, that must be a personal record," came a deep voice up ahead. Mina was surprised to find a man sitting making dolls. Ugly looking dolls.
"That's Principal Yaga Masamichi," Gojou told her, ignoring the Principal's glares. She felt awkward all of a sudden.
"Hi," she said half-heartedly. She thought she saw Gojou suppress a snort at that.
"What did you come here for?" Yaga demanded. She frowned.
"Um, Gojou kind of pressured me into coming here, but I have no problem helping you people out," she shrugged. Yaga placed down the sewing needle.
"Why do you want to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer?" he asked.
"I don't really, Gojou just said he'll help train me while I look the thing that I need."
"And what is that?" he demanded.
"None of your business old man," she retorted, irritated at his tone. Gojou couldn't suppress his chuckle this time as a vein popped in Yaga's forehead.
"You are concealing the truth," he guessed. She shrugged.
"And how are we supposed to trust you?" he asked, but she was getting pretty sick of this interrogation.
"Listen here old man, this last month has been pretty rough for me and I don't need people like you making me feel like a criminal," she spat. She turned to leave but Gojou blocked her path as Yaga rose from his seat.
"The threats Jujutsu Sorcerers face daily mean nothing to you? Enough that we are not allowed to distrust someone powerful and unknown?"
"Fair enough, but what are you getting at? Are you saying I'm not allowed to keep secrets?" she demanded.
"Prove to us that we can trust you."
"Actions speak louder than words."
"But words still hold meaning. Tell us more about who you are."
Mina felt a headache beginning to form. She massaged her temples.
"Listen-" she cut off as Yaga raised a hand, causing one of the larger dolls to start moving towards her.
"These are my cursed dolls, dolls which I have infused with my curse. It will attack you until I find your response satisfactory." She rolled her eyes.
"Whatev-" faster than she believed possible, the doll sprinted towards her and punched her squarely on the jaw, sending her flying into one of the wooden beams.
"A person's true nature reveals itself during a crisis," she heard Yaga say.
"You are pissing me off old man," she scowled, dodging the dolls next punch.
The doll began moving faster and faster, landing blow after blow. She cursed under her breath as she dodged its attacks.
"I am an experiment made by those who hunger for power like starving dogs, I barely managed to escape from them by coming here, but they are eventually going to capture me again so I need to find something which will allow me to destroy them once and for all. And part of it is somewhere in this world, most likely in this country. I will get it at all costs or die trying because there is no way I am going back to that hell," she shouted out in frustration.
In her anger, she splayed her hands out in front of her blindly, watching in smug satisfaction as the doll collapsed into ashes.
Yaga blinked.
"You passed. Satoru, show her to the dorm. Explain the security and everything else to her too." Yaga looked at the pile of ash on the floor, what remained of his cursed doll.
"Welcome to Jujutsu Tech," he said, holding out a hand for her to shake, which she shook hesitantly, half expecting him to launch another one of those cursed dolls at her.
"Um, thanks, I guess," she said. Gojou gave Mina a thumbs up as they left the building, earning a glare from her.
She could almost see the questions Gojou wanted to ask her, but mercifully he kept his mouth shut.
** ** **
They finally made it to the dorm she would be staying in, with Gojou handing her a uniform. She raised her eyebrow at it.
"I refuse to wear anything other than the clothes I am already wearing," she said stubbornly. Gojou pouted.
Just then, the door of the room next to hers burst open, a familiar pink haired boy emerging from the room.
"Mina! You're alive!" Yuuji shouted happily, jumping in excitement. She watched him warily. He reminded her vaguely of an energetic puppy.
The room next to his opened and a sullen-looking Megumi emerged. He gave her a small nod in acknowledgement. She waved back at them.
"Megumi, Yuuji, meet your fourth first year. Well, unofficial first year, but she's going to help in missions and receive training as well," Gojou beamed.
"Why do you look so happy about it," Megumi deadpanned.
"Whaaat? I'm always this excited about meeting new people." Megumi and Mina met each other's gaze and snorted. She nudged Yuuji.
"Yuuji, I heard about your suspended execution. I'm sorry," she said sympathetically. Yuuji nodded.
"It's fine. Besides, I've already decided how I'm going to die," he said calmly.
"Wait a second, you said in the fourth, who is the third?" Yuuji asked as Gojou began walking away.
"Oh yeah, we're heading out tomorrow to pick up the third-first year," he added.
She stood in the hall awkwardly with Megumi and Yuuji, unsure of what to say.
Yuuji invited them into his room to talk properly.
As she sat down on the bed beside Yuuji, Megumi watched her like a hawk.
When he found out that Gojou planned to train her he was surprised, given the level of energy she radiated, but Gojou explained to him that she couldn't control it properly.
"How did you manage to do that barrier," Megumi blurted. Yuuji too, looked interested. They both looked at her expectantly. She shrugged.
"It's new to me too, so I'm not really sure. Gojou said he's going to help me bring out my true potential but..." she trailed off.
"But what?" Megumi probed.
"You tend to find that some things are best left alone and buried," she shrugged. Yuuji shivered slightly at the haunted look in Mina's eyes. But she blinked and the look was gone. Just then, something caught her attention.
Mina raised an eyebrow, looking at Yuuji's picture of a woman on the wall.
"Who's that, your girlfriend? She asked. Megumi and Yuuji stared at her.
"Even I know that she's an actress, where have you been living? Under a rock," Megumi said incredulously.
"No actually, I'm not from this world." She stifled a chuckle at the looks on their faces.
"You're joking right," Yuuji laughed nervously.
"Nope." She laughed out loud as she watched Megumi turn pale and back slowly away from her.
"Are you an alien?" he asked warily.
"NO," she shouted, causing them to jump.
"Gojou already asked me that dammit." They both stared at her wide eyes. Sighing, she repeated what she told Gojou.
Megumi looked like he was having an existential crisis at the possibility of there being more worlds than the one he currently occupies. Yuuji looked confused when she tried to explain it to him further, so she gave up. They both got the grasp of it eventually.
"Can you show us how you summoned your katanas," Yuuji hopped up and down excitedly. Mina sighed exasperatedly, but she was secretly pleased.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed beside Yuuji as Megumi leaned against the wall, she summoned a Shadow Pocket to her side, reaching into it and pulling out one of her katanas.
"Whoa, that's so cool!" Yuuji exclaimed, his eyes wide. Megumi eyed the katana.
"May I see it," he asked, holding out a hand.
"Sure, but if you break it I'll break you," she said casually. Megumi ignored her and turned it over in his hands, amazed.
"So how does it work exactly?" he asked, handing it back to her carefully. She thought about it for a second.
"It's like I'm able to control pockets of space that only I can access. I can store objects in there, which is pretty convenient," she said, leaning back against the headboard.
"Can it also hold people?" Yuuji asked curiously.
"Hmm, theoretically yes, but I've never tried it before,' she shrugged. She picked up one of Yuuji's books and flung it into the Shadow Pocket, sealing it.
"Hey, I was reading that,' Yuuji whined. Mina rolled her eyes.
"I was giving a demonstration," she said, opening it again and pulling out the book, tossing it to him. He caught it easily and stuck his tongue out at her playfully. She rolled her eyes, catching Megumi's gaze as he stifled a small smile.
"Have you finished unpacking?" Yuuji asked her as he bustled about, placing clothes in the wardrobe and books on his desk.
"I don't really have anything to unpack,' she shrugged.
"Huh?"
"Well, I came in a bit of a hurry. Besides everything I need is in my shadow pockets," she scratched the back of her neck absentmindedly, feeling awkward with both Megumi and Yuuji looking at her weirdly.
"Weapons don't count," Megumi said dryly, earning him a sneer.
"Weapons are all I need to survive," she said.
Just that moment her stomach decided to emit a loud rumble. Yuuji laughed, earning a playful slap on the back of his head.
"I think we have some ramen in the kitchen, we can eat now," Yuuji said, getting up and heading to the door.
"What's ramen?"
This time both Yuuji and Megumi stopped in their tracks, looking at her incredulously. Yuuji grabbed her by the arm, tears in his eyes.
"Mina... there is so much we need to teach you," he said dramatically.
She just rolled her eyes.