They continued training together while also getting to know each other better. Haruki's skills improved, but he still couldn’t use cursed energy. The custom uniform he ordered also arrived, in black to match his hair and overall air around him. “Looks good on you,” she said, circling him and touching his hair.

“Thanks.” [She is really nice.]

She stopped in front of him and stared into his eyes. “Hey, do you want to be my mission partner? Normally, you would be going on missions with the other 1st years to build up your skills, but I am sure if we ask the higher-ups, they should agree for us to be a team. What do you think?”

[Me, working with her? Won't I just get in her way? Saying no will probably make her sad, though ... Well, it should be fine, right?] He tilted his head as he thought, holding his chin.

“You don’t want to?”

“............Alright, let’s do it.”

She smirked happily, taking a step closer to him. “Great, we are going to make a great team, I can just feel it.”

Since it was still early, they decided to train a bit more before making the request. Maki handed him a training stick, and they stood across each other on the field, both looking ready to charge as they both took steps closer.

[He has improved a lot. I can only see a few openings in his guard compared to when he started. He is a quick learner. Not only that, the moves he pulls are also pushing me to new heights. We are the perfect duo.]

Haruki attacked first with a normal thrust, which Maki redirected to the side and moved in to land a punch. But he was quick to react, jumping back. [I haven’t been able to land a hit on her even once, that needs to change.] He thought, watching Maki spinning her stick, waiting for him to advance.

He lowered his guard and baited her with a finger, telling her to bring it. “You are baiting me, huh? Well, I will bite regardless.” She dashed at him, raised her stick, and swung it down towards his head, which he took head-on. “Why didn’t you dodge?”

“It’s simple, I wanted you to get close enough.” He charged at her and put his arms around her body, tightening his grip. “You see, partner, I have been doing some physical training in my room, and although your raw strength is still above mine, I can still do this.” He tightened his grip and began lifting her up in the air with the intention to do a suplex, but halfway there, Maki broke out by brute force and punched him to the ground.

“Dammit, your strength is so unfair.” He complained while taking her hand to get up.

“Sorry about that. I wanted to let you go through with your attack, but halfway it looked like it would have hurt like hell.”

“Haha, true, guess it was an extreme move, shall we go again?”

“Yeah, let’s go a few more rounds.”

After an hour of Haruki being beaten up, they finally stopped and headed to the vending machines for drinks. “That was great training as always,” she said, handing him his drink. “Yeah, I can feel myself growing stronger. It was a good idea to watch you train that day.”

“You know you looked like a creep back then, right?”

“I mean, I was just watching, though. So how was I a creep?”

“I am not sure, maybe it’s your dark hair and amber eyes? You just looked strange sitting there watching a girl train. I don’t mean to say you are a creep though, it was just a misunderstanding.”

“It’s fine. I was the one in the wrong anyway.”

After talking for a bit more, they finally headed to the principal’s office to ask for permission. At the building, they found Gojo leaving with a strange look on his face. He didn’t even bother to say hi to them and just walked by.

“Strange, did something happen? He would usually tease us with an annoying smile.”

“Not sure.” [My guess is that it's because of Yuji’s death, but I should not worry about that now.]

They entered the building finding Yaga also having many thoughts on his mind. “Excuse us sir, we would like to talk to you about something,” Maki said, knocking on the door.

“Oh, Maki and Haruki, come in. What can I help you with?”

“We would like to form a team. When I receive missions, I want Haruki to come with me and vice versa. Is that possible?”

“Hmm, it's not impossible, but the reason we make 1st-year students go on missions is to build up their experience. Taking on 2nd-year missions might be too much for them. What does he have to say about all this?” He asked, taking a look at Haruki.

“We already went through all the details, sir, including the risks. I am well aware this might be too much for me, but I still want to pair up with her.”

[He has that look again. I see, guess he really connected with Maki. Very well then.] “Alright, you can pair up. In fact, I have the best mission for you two right now, here.”

He handed them a flyer having all the information regarding the mission. “It's a simple mission, just deal with the grade 3 curse in that location.”

“Thank you, sir. We won’t disappoint you.”

They bowed and exited the room. “Haaah, I hope agreeing to their request was the best decision. I don’t want to lose another student.”

Maki and Haruki wasted no time as they immediately headed to the location to complete their mission. “Thanks for lending me a weapon, it's really nice,” he thanked, looking at the cursed sword she gave him.

“No problem, use it as many times as you want, but don’t break or lose it.”

“Cool.”

While leaving, Nobara and Megumi spotted them from afar. “Huh, isn’t that Maki and the new transfer student?” Nobara asked, squinting her eyes.

“Yeah, guess they are going out, maybe on a mission?”

“Is that even allowed, a 2nd year and 1st year going on a mission together?

“Who knows, maybe they asked for permission. Anyways, we have our own things to worry about…..Do you want to talk about Yuji?” He gives a side eye, noticing how her face twitched at the mention of his name.

“No thanks.”