-YUTA-

At Tokyo Magic College, Mitsuki was known as the "Dead File." Not because she was weak—on the contrary, her "Absolute Zero" technique allowed her to freeze her opponent's cursed energy, turning battle into a mathematical problem. The problem was, Mitsuki herself was empty.

Three years ago, during an incident in her hometown, she lost her younger sister. The pain was so unbearable that Mitsuki's psyche simply burned out. She wasn't angry or arrogant—she was functional. She ate, slept, and cursed, but her face remained motionless, like a mask, and her voice flat, without a single intonation.

"She's like an unopened envelope," Maki grumbled, twirling her spear. "Strong, reliable, but there's nothing inside. Even Inumaki, with his onigiri ingredients, is more emotional than her."

“Mustard,” Toge confirmed sadly.

Yuta Okkotsu, recently returned from abroad, often watched Mitsuki. He knew what it was like to have your heart become a prison. But if Rika was his prison, then silence was Mitsuki's.

One evening, Yuta found her on the roof. She was simply watching the sunset. Yuta approached and handed her a can of soda.

"It's cold," he said. "You should like it."

Mitsuki took the jar. Her fingers touched his hand—icy, lifeless.
— Thank you, Okkotsu-san. Why are you here?

"I wanted to talk," Yuta sat down next to me, dangling his legs. "Maki says you're the best tactician in the class. Panda says you never make mistakes in your calculations. And I... I just wanted to know what your favorite color is."

Mitsuki blinked. The question was illogical.
"Colors have different wavelengths. Aesthetic preference requires an emotional response. I don't have one."

Yuta didn't back down. He started coming every day. He brought her strange things: a scented eraser that smelled like strawberries; a sketch of a crooked tree he'd drawn himself; an old cassette tape with the sound of rain.

"Are you trying to fix me?" she asked one day after Yuta had spent half an hour trying to make her laugh with a story about Gojo-sensei.

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