Ren paused his practice swing. He didn't turn around. "What are you getting at?"
Gojo flashed a massive, entirely unhelpful grin. "I'm saying the Kyoto sniper was staring at you in the courtyard yesterday. And she's definitely staring at you right now."
Ren glanced over his shoulder toward the dugout.
Mai was now leaning against the fence, her eyes locked directly on his back. The second he made eye contact, she flinched. She quickly crossed her arms tighter and aggressively glared down at the dirt. The tips of her ears were visibly pink.
Ren turned back to face the mound. His expression remained completely deadpan.
"Maybe it's a twin thing," Gojo mused, tapping his chin. "They share the same DNA. Maybe they share a psychic link for bad taste in guys? A shared biological imperative?"
"That is not how genetics work," Ren stated flatly.
"Who knows?" Gojo laughed softly. "But you are standing right in the middle of a very volatile, very heavily armed Zen'in landmine. How are you going to handle two angry sisters wanting a piece of you, Romeo?"
Ren just dug his back cleat into the dirt and raised the metal bat.
"I'm going to hit the ball," Ren said.
Out on the mound, Mechamaru threw the pitch. A nasty, high-speed fastball right down the middle.
BOOOOOOOMUUUNMM!.
The deafening crack of metal annihilating leather echoed across the entire field. The ball launched straight up into the bright blue sky, moving like a bullet as it easily cleared the distant tree line.
Gojo pulled the lollipop out of his mouth and let out a loud, obnoxious cheer.
Ren didn't even bother tracking the ball's arc. He casually dropped the bat into the dirt, stepped out of the box, and walked back to the dugout. Satoru clapped loudly from behind the chain-link fence, shouting, "Home run! The transfer student clears the board!"
Back on the wooden bench, Megumi was shaking his head in quiet disbelief, while Nobara gripped the fencing, aggressively yelling insults at the Kyoto team's pitcher.
Ren stepped into the shade of the dugout and sat down next to Panda.
The large cursed corpse nudged Ren's shoulder. "Nice swing. Didn't know you played."
"I don't," Ren replied flatly, resting his elbows on his knees.
Almost instantly, a sharp chime rang in his head, and the familiar blue holographic interface snapped open in his field of vision. The text glowed a bright, rewarding gold.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Casual Dominance]
Detail: Assert absolute physical superiority in a competitive event without relying on Cursed Energy.
[Reward: +500 System Points]
Ren stared at the floating screen, quickly pulling up his totals.
[Current Balance: 50,095 System Points]
He finally had the fifty thousand points required to upgrade his Grade 1 katana, Nightfall, into a Special Grade weapon. With a subtle swipe of his hand, he dismissed the blue light.
He had the points. Now he just needed a quiet place to manually imbue the blade with the Reverse Cursed Technique.
Ren stood up, grabbing his dark jacket off the bench.
Panda looked over. "Where are you going?"
"Vending machines," Ren said. "Gojo's yelling is giving me a migraine."
Panda nodded in deep sympathy, turning his attention back to the field where Satoru was currently arguing with Principal Gakuganji over a foul ball.
Ren slipped out the back of the concrete dugout. The shouting from the game muffled significantly as he rounded the corner, stepping into the cool, quiet shade of a massive oak tree where the drink machines were tucked out of sight.
He dropped a few coins into the slot and pressed the button for a black coffee. Just as the can clattered into the metal tray, the sound of crunching grass caught his attention.
Maki walked around the corner of the dugout. She didn't look like she was casually wandering; she walked with immediate purpose, her eyes locking onto him the second he was in view.
She stepped up to the machine next to him, dropping her own coins in. "You didn't even watch it land," she noted, hitting the button for green tea.
"I already knew where it was going," Ren said smoothly, bending down to retrieve his coffee.
Maki caught her cold can from the tray. She looked back toward the path leading to the field, verifying they were completely alone. Hidden behind the thick concrete wall and the massive tree trunk, they were invisible to the rest of the school.
Before Ren could even formulate a deadpan reply, Maki reached out. Her hand grabbed the collar of his jacket, and she pulled him in hard.
Ren didn't fight it. He set his coffee down on the top of the machine and met her halfway, wrapping his arms securely around her waist.
The kiss was fast, urgent, and heavy. Maki pressed him back against the metal of the vending machine, her hands sliding up his neck and tangling in his dark hair. Ren's hands slid up her back, pulling her flush against his chest, completely swallowing the space between them.
When they finally broke apart for air, Maki kept her forehead pressed firmly against his chin. Her chest heaved slightly, and her face was burning a brilliant, beautiful red.
"Ren," she said quietly.
"Yeah?"
She hesitated, her thumb absentmindedly tracing the fabric of his collar. "When was the last time we... actually had time alone? Properly."
Ren let his hands rest naturally on her waist, his thumbs rubbing soothing circles against her sides. "A little over a month ago."
She nodded, her cheeks flashing an even deeper shade of crimson. "Right. Our first time."
"Yeah," Ren said, his voice dropping into a smooth, comforting tone. "Between Satoru constantly throwing me at curses and you running the first-years into the dirt, we haven't exactly had a lot of free time to sneak away."
Maki shifted her weight, pressing herself even closer.
"My patience is completely shot," Maki muttered, her voice dropping into a rough, frustrated whisper. She finally looked up, meeting his eyes with a heavy, demanding intensity. "Between the tournament, Mai, and having to pretend we're just classmates all day... it's pissing me off. I'm too keyed up."
She didn't need to spell it out. The physical tension radiating from her body and the dark, focused look in her eyes said everything he needed to know.
Ren's grip on her waist tightened, a slow, genuine smile spreading across his face.
"I know exactly what you mean," Ren murmured, leaning down to press a soft, lingering kiss against her jaw. "I'm feeling the exact same way."