The morning air smelled faintly of the sea and pine. Jujutsu High was quieter than usual—the chaos from yesterday had left everyone tired, sore, and a little more wary of what I could do with portals.
I stretched on the courtyard stones, Kaito sitting beside me, munching on a granola bar. "You really pushed it yesterday," he said. "I mean… who even does that?"
I grinned sheepishly. "Guess I got carried away."
Yuji jogged over, exhausted but grinning. "Yeah, no kidding. I swear Sukuna is gonna have a field day commenting on that."
Sukuna, of course, snickered from inside Yuji. "…And he should. That little human is reckless, but intriguing."
I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the feedback."
Just then, Gojo appeared out of nowhere, sunglasses glinting as always. "Okay, Ren. I've got a little… extracurricular for you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Extracurricular?"
He nodded. "You're ready to test your portals in an actual tactical scenario—but not against cursed spirits this time. Something… a little different. You'll be coordinating villains and students together."
Kurogiri appeared at my side, floating calmly, Shigaraki and Dabi behind him, both looking slightly… skeptical.
"Wait," I said. "You want us to work together?"
Gojo grinned. "Exactly. A controlled exercise in cooperation. Think of it as… cross-universe diplomacy."
I blinked. "…Cross-universe diplomacy? That's… terrifying."
Yuji laughed. "Sounds like my kind of chaos."
Gojo snapped his fingers. Suddenly, a training map appeared in the air—a virtual recreation of a small city block, full of obstacles, alleys, and buildings.
"You'll have to navigate the terrain using portals, coordinate attacks, and protect a target. Heroes, villains, and sorcerers will all be moving unpredictably. Think of it as… a live tactical simulation," Gojo explained.
Toga giggled somewhere behind me. "Ooh… this sounds fun!"
I groaned. "…Of course she does."
Kurogiri floated to my side, looking surprisingly calm. "You'll need precision," he said. "You can't just teleport randomly this time. You'll have to think strategically."
I clenched my fists. "…Challenge accepted."
The exercise began immediately. I opened a portal beneath a moving obstacle, sending it flying safely into a pile of dummy barricades. Yuji teleported through another portal, punching a villain-simulated target while I redirected a cursed energy spike from a Kyoto student toward a harmless trap.
Bakugo was paired with Shigaraki. Their bickering alone was causing minor tremors in the terrain, but somehow, the chaos worked in our favor.
Suddenly, Toga darted toward me mid-portal, squealing. "Heehee… let's see if you can catch me!"
I groaned, but smirked. "…Fine. Game on."
I linked portals fluidly, redirecting her harmlessly past the target zone while simultaneously positioning Yuji, Kaito, and Denki for optimal defense. Even the villains seemed impressed, if only silently.
By the time the exercise ended, the entire "city block" had been traversed multiple times. Everyone was exhausted—but it worked. Heroes, villains, and sorcerers had functioned as a single chaotic unit, guided by portals, coordination, and pure adrenaline.
Gojo floated down, clapping lazily. "Perfect. That's the power of controlled chaos. Ren, you're a natural… but don't let it go to your head."
I smirked, brushing dirt off my jacket. "Yeah… yeah, I'm learning to control it."
Kurogiri nodded, finally smiling faintly. "Interesting… you may have more potential than I anticipated."
I looked around at my group—friends, allies, even villains—and realized something:
For the first time, everyone was on the same side, even if just temporarily.
And that… felt powerful.
Toga, still giggling, whispered behind me, "Can we do this again tomorrow?"
I shook my head, laughing. "Yeah… probably."
But inside, I knew one thing: this was only the beginning of the weirdest, most chaotic team-ups imaginable.
And somehow… I was loving every second.