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He turned his head and looked toward the courtyard at the end of the corridor. There stood an old cherry tree, most of its blossoms had fallen, leaving only a few stubborn clusters still blooming, swaying gently in the afternoon breeze.

A familiar voice came from afar, audible throughout the entire corridor—"Xia You! Are you having lunch?"

It is the fifth insight.

Xia Youjie sighed, tucked the book into his sleeve, and straightened up. He took a few steps, then stopped, without turning back.

"I've come to check on the practical skills class this afternoon."

"casual."

The footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor. Youren watched him disappear around the corner; that figure was subtly different from the Xia Youjie she remembered.

My shoulders and back aren't as tense anymore, and my steps lack the same alertness as before, as if I were always ready to turn into battle. It's like someone who has finally put down a heavy weight; my walk is much lighter now.

Yuuto turned around and walked in the opposite direction. The sunlight at the end of the corridor spread out in front of him, warm and pleasant.

The afternoon practical skills class was held in the training field on the east side of the playground.

The sun shone brightly, casting a thin golden glow on the grass. The air carried the warm scent of sun-dried grass, mixed with the slight dampness of the soil. Several new trees beside the training field had sprouted tender green buds, rustling in the wind.

Yuujin Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro were warming up in the center of the field, stretching their wrists and ankles. Nobara Kugisaki sat on a bench by the field, tying her shoelaces and humming some unknown tune. Panda wasn't there; apparently, Principal Moth had finally caught up with the report he owed that morning and was now being forced to finish it in his office.

Dog-Curl leaned against the shade of a tree, slowly munching on a rice ball, muttering "salmon" indistinctly, seemingly talking to no one.

Yuuto walked to the sidelines and stood still, holding a bamboo sword in his hand—he never used a real sword to teach, for fear that he would lose control.

"Today's training focuses on controlling the rhythm of combat." He glanced at the people on the field. "Pair up in twos and practice freely. The requirement is to maintain a stable output of spell power and not to deplete all your power right away. If you deplete your power, stop. If you stop, you admit defeat."

Itadori and Fushiguro were the first to step into the center of the arena. The two stood facing each other, Itadori's fists clenched, and dark red light emanated from his body from his magical power; Fushiguro had his hands in his pockets, with a talisman for a spell held between his fingers.

"start."

Itachi charged forward first. His style was always direct and brutal—his punches whistled through the air, and the ground was left with a shallow dent the moment his right foot struck the ground. Fushiguro Megumi didn't take the punch head-on; he dodged to the side, the talisman in his hand drawing a pale blue trajectory in the air, and a shikigami appeared from the void, crashing into Itachi's side.

Tiger Staff was caught off guard and staggered a couple of steps before regaining his balance.

“After your offensive rhythm is disrupted, you need to adjust your breathing and center of gravity before reorganizing your offensive.” Yuuto’s voice rang out from the sidelines. “You just threw a punch with all your might. After it missed, your body was in front and your center of gravity was behind. If your opponent seizes that opening, you won’t be able to turn the tide.”

Itachi gritted his teeth, steadied himself, and resumed his stance. This time, he didn't go all out, but instead probed with each punch, using shorter bursts of force to maintain his balance.

On the other side of the court, Kugizaki Nobara faced off against Inu-maki Thorn. Kugizaki's hammer slammed down with tremendous force, while Inu-maki kept retreating, occasionally muttering "sluggish" or "doesn't move," disrupting Kugizaki's attack rhythm. Kugizaki chased him all over the court, cursing and swearing, while Inu-maki ran at a leisurely pace.

Footsteps came from the direction of the playground entrance.

Yuuto turned his head to look, squinting slightly. Miwa Kasumi walked over from that direction, wearing a light-colored thin jacket, her long sky-blue hair shimmering softly in the afternoon sunlight. She carried a thermos in her hand, walked to a bench by the field, sat down, placed the thermos beside her, put her legs together, and quietly looked towards the training field.

Yuuto nodded at her. She smiled slightly in response.

The training continued on the field. Yuuto's attention was briefly distracted, but he quickly regained it. He could feel Kasumi Miwa's gaze on him, not a fixed stare, but a more relaxed look, as if just confirming that he was there. He relaxed his shoulders and back a little and continued to observe the sparring on the field.

Halfway through the training session, footsteps could be heard again from the other side of the field.

Momo Nishimiya jogged over from the dormitory building, her light blonde twin ponytails bouncing in the wind. She was carrying two fruit bento boxes and stopped to catch her breath when she reached the edge of the field. Seeing that Kasumi Miwa was already sitting on the bench, she clicked her tongue softly, then sat down at the other end of the bench and placed one of the bento boxes next to her.

"You're late," the tricycle said.

“I’m not late.” Nishimiya Momo placed another bento box next to her in the middle. “I just ran into the songstress teacher on the way and asked her a couple of questions.”

"What did you ask?"

"She asked me if I could move her class to the morning, because she wants to sleep in the afternoon."

Miwa shook her head and didn't say anything more. Nishimiya Momo turned her head and glanced at Yuuto on the training field. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the bento box next to her before she looked away.

Not long after, another person arrived.

Yuki Tsukumo strolled out from the teaching building, her long golden hair cascading over her shoulders in leather boots, hands in her pockets, her strides large and relaxed. She walked to the edge of the training field, crossed her arms, and watched for a few moments. Itadaki had just been knocked away by Fushiguro Megumi's shikigami, rolling half a circle on the ground before getting up. Yuki Tsukumo raised an eyebrow, then turned and called out to Yuuto.

"Yuuto, shall we have barbecue tonight?"

Yuuto, who was correcting Itajitsu's sword-wielding angle, didn't even turn his head: "Who's treating?"

"My treat."

"You said you'd treat last time, but the bill came to five items."

"That's not called treating someone to a meal, that's called successfully shifting the blame."

Yuuto couldn't help but chuckle. He raised Itadori's arm two centimeters to help him maintain the correct sword stance, then straightened up and tilted his head slightly in the direction of Tsukumo Yuki.

"Okay, please."

Yuki nodded in satisfaction and walked over to the bench to sit down. Sanrun made room for her, and Momo Nishimiya moved her bento box closer to herself. The three of them sat side by side, watching the training on the field, occasionally whispering to each other.

On the other side of the playground, towards the school gate, Gojo Satoru and Natsumi Yuuki were walking side by side on the path leading to the teaching building.

Gojo Satoru was gesturing something, drawing a large circle in the air with his arm. Xia Youjie walked beside him, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his expression indifferent, but the curve of his lips was different from before—no longer the restrained one that seemed to be suppressing something, but a relaxed curve that was naturally his.

The sun began to set.

The sunlight gradually shifted from a bright white in the afternoon to a warm orange, bathing the entire training ground in a gentle hue. After their sparring session, Itadori and Fushiguro Megumi sat side by side on the grass, catching their breath; both were covered in dust.

Kugizaki Nobara finally caught up with Inuyama Toshiki, pinned him to the ground, and tapped him on the shoulder with the handle of a hammer. Inuyama lay on the ground muttering "salmon," it was unclear whether he was begging for mercy or saying something else. Panda ran over from the office building, shouting that he had finally finished writing the report, and almost tripped as he rushed into the playground.

Yuuto put down the bamboo sword in his hand and stretched his wrists. Miwa Kasumi stood up from the bench, put her thermos into her cloth bag, and walked over to him. Nishimiya Momo also came over, carrying the untouched fruit bento box, and handed it to Yuuto.

"They're all cold," she said.

"It can be eaten cold too."

"We still have to eat."

Yuki patted Yuuto's shoulder from behind, so hard that he leaned forward.

"That's it for today, that's it. The barbecue restaurant opens at five, it's perfect to walk there now." She turned around and called out to the others on the playground, "Anyone want to go? Pay your own way, I'm only treating Yuuto."

Tiger Stick was the first to jump up: "I'll go! I'll go!"

Kugizaki dusted off his pants: "I'm going too. Anyway, there's no meat in the cafeteria today."

Fukuro Megumi slowly stood up, saying nothing but showing no intention of leaving. Panda put his arm around Dog Roll's neck and said loudly, "I know a really good restaurant near the east gate of the school. Their thinly sliced ​​beef tongue with dipping sauce is amazing."

Dog Roll rolled its eyes back as he strangled it, repeating "salmon...salmon..." in broken sentences.

Gojo Satoru and Natsumi Yuuki had somehow arrived at the edge of the playground. Gojo Satoru, with his hands in his pockets, gestured with his chin toward Yuuto.

"Where are we going to eat? Take me with you."

“Then today’s bill is yours,” Yuuto said.

"What do you mean? I haven't done anything and I'm being labeled?"

"It's not a hat, it's a bill."

Gojo Satoru opened his mouth, then threw his head back and laughed. He turned to look at Xia Youjie, who shook his head slightly, whether out of helplessness or amusement, it was hard to tell.

The setting sun lengthened everyone's shadows.

Yuuto was flanked by Miwa Kasumi and Nishimiya Momo, his shadow stretched long and crooked on either side. Tsukumo Yuki walked two steps ahead, his strides large and unhurried.

Gojo Satoru and Natsuyu Suke walked in front, their shadows so close they almost overlapped in the setting sun. Behind them, Itadori and Fushiguro Megumi were arguing about whether to add minced garlic or hot sauce to the barbecue dipping sauce, with Kugizaki acting as the referee between them, and Inu-maki occasionally blurting out "salmon".

Yuuto lowered his head and took a bite of the bento box that Nishimiya Momo had given him. The fruit was already a little soft, but the feeling of the sugar spreading in his mouth was still pleasant.

He looked up and glanced at the backs of Gojo Satoru and Natsumi Yuuki walking side by side in front of him, then at the quiet silhouette of Miwa Kasumi beside him, and felt the warmth of Nishimiya Momo's fingers tugging at his sleeve on his right.

Spring is almost over, and the cherry blossoms will all fall within a few days.

But summer is coming.

The sun will get hotter, the grass on the training field will grow taller, and new footsteps will echo in the corridors.

Yu Ren walked in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by people on all sides, with light in front and behind him. Above him was the sky slowly darkening, and under his feet was the road leading to the barbecue restaurant.

For the first time, he felt that the word "end" could be warm.