The school day should have ended peacefully. For most students, it had.
For Yuu Takahashi, it ended with a cursed nail an inch from his forehead.
"I asked you a question," Nobara Kugisaki said sweetly, standing only a step away. Her hammer spun lazily in one hand while her other clenched a nail between two fingers, ready to launch.
Yuu stood frozen against the wall, arms raised halfway in surrender.
"I was just talking to Mei Mei!" he defended, voice cracking slightly. "It wasn't flirting!"
"You smiled," she said flatly.
"I smile a lot! That's just… my face."
> System Alert: Danger Level Escalating. Subject: Nobara Kugisaki – Mood: Jealous – Current Technique Focus: Hairpin Blood Tracker – Emotion Surge Detected: 87% Yandere, 13% Reasonable. Use that 13%.
"A smile isn't a sin, Nobara," Yuu tried again, speaking gently. "I respect you. And I definitely don't want to make you mad."
Her hammer paused mid-spin. She tilted her head.
"That so?" she asked, voice low.
Then her cursed energy spiked.
Yuu braced himself—only for the nail to snap straight into the wall next to his head.
Thud.
She stepped closer, close enough that he could smell the faint floral perfume laced with iron and cursed residue.
"I just don't like the idea of you looking at other women like that," she said. "It makes my skin crawl."
> Affection Increased. Nobara: 91% Yandere Bond. Possessiveness: Surging.
Yuu coughed awkwardly, heart pounding. "It's not like I—"
She reached up and ran her nails gently down his jawline, and he flinched—not from pain, but from how sharp her cursed energy felt, like she could slice open his thoughts.
"I'm not angry," she whispered. "I'm just… protective."
He had no idea how to answer that.
A second later, the tension shattered—because the hallway behind her exploded.
Gojo (the female one) floated in from the rubble cloud, her blindfold fluttering like a battle flag.
"Heyyy~ I sensed drama," she sang. "Yuu-chan, you okay? Or is Nobara sharpening her nails with your spine again?"
Nobara didn't look away. "Leave."
Gojo grinned. "Aww. But I like watching my favorite boys get emotionally dissected. Especially when it's this juicy."
Shoko Ieiri arrived next, yawning as she appeared from a portal of smoke. "Can you two calm down? You're damaging the hallway."
Utahime stormed in with a clipboard. "And the rules! No cursed combat between students unless supervised—"
"Is this supervised now?" Gojo asked, amused.
"...Yes," Utahime admitted reluctantly, sighing.
Yuu backed against the wall as all four women formed a rough semi-circle around him.
> System Alert: HAREM CONVERGENCE – PHASE ONE INITIATED – Yandere Sync: Partial – Emotional Collision Risk: 99% – Time to First Explosion: 30 seconds
"Okay, wait," Yuu said quickly. "Let's not all talk at once. Nobara's just a little upset, but I swear it's all a misunderstanding."
Nobara turned to face the group, hammer spinning again. "It's not. He keeps drawing women in like he's some gravity well of cursed romance."
Shoko folded her arms. "She's not wrong."
Gojo smirked. "Jealousy suits you, Noba-chan."
"You want to see jealous?" Nobara snapped.
"Girls," Utahime said, stepping between them. "Let's not forget he's the one pulling all this chaos toward him. Maybe we should interrogate Yuu instead."
Yuu paled. "Oh no."
> System Suggestion: Initiate Defensive Flirt Technique – Activate Charm Disarm Lv. Max – Redirect attention with controlled compliment barrage
Yuu swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay, okay! Look—I think you're all amazing. You're strong, intelligent, and... yes, attractive. But this isn't a competition. I'm just trying to survive here without getting impaled."
The air froze.
Then:
Gojo giggled. "Awww, he called us amazing."
Shoko rolled her eyes, but her cheeks had a faint flush.
Utahime muttered something under her breath and looked away.
Even Nobara blinked, then turned to hide a faint smile.
> Yandere Threat Level: Stabilizing – Bond Growth: Moderate – Explosion Averted: For Now
Suddenly, the lights in the hallway flickered.
Yuu tensed. "Wait… where's Rika?"
> System Warning: Dimensional Presence Detected. – Rika Orimoto Status: Observing. Jealousy Rate: Critical.
"Oh no."
The floor beneath him trembled. A cursed symbol formed in a circle, glowing with red energy.
Rika's voice echoed from thin air, gentle but laced with madness:
"Yuu… I saw you smile. For them."
> Rika Orimoto Manifestation Incoming – Target: All Rivals.
Gojo turned toward the glow, her smile vanishing.
Shoko drew a cursed scalpel from her sleeve.
Utahime's cursed whip materialized in her hand.
Nobara spun her hammer with a curse-charged flick.
Yuu's voice rose in panic. "Can't we talk about this like—"
The hall erupted into cursed light.