"Hello-"
"Pervert! Want to die?!"
Nobara Kugisaki swung her fist directly at Hayashi's face. Hayashi hadn't expected such a response, but he quickly reacted, dodging the punch.
Boom!
A muffled sound echoed as Nobara's fist hit the wall, causing a small crack to appear. Before she could continue attacking, Hayashi immediately shouted.
"I'm just your new neighbor, trying to say hello! I'm not a pervert!"
"Not a pervert?" Nobara suddenly realized her mistake, awkwardly retracting her fist and laughing sheepishly. She had definitely overreacted, and now it felt quite embarrassing.
Looking at Hayashi's face, he didn't seem like a pervert at all. In fact, he seemed a bit younger than her.
"Yeah, why would I be a pervert? Have you ever seen a pervert greet you with a 'hello'?" Hayashi was a bit flustered. He finally remembered who this girl was—it was Nobara Kugisaki, the future first-year at Jujutsu High.
Just as he imagined, she had a bold personality.
If Hayashi hadn't dodged quickly, anyone else would have been seriously injured by that punch, if not dead.
Thinking about it, Hayashi realized this girl was a bit dangerous—at least for now.
"Sorry about that. Lately, someone's been following me, so I've been on edge. I really overreacted." Nobara bowed in apology. Her punch had indeed been a bit too much—hopefully, she hadn't scared this boy.
The crack in the wall still remained, proof of what had just happened, and it was all caused by a woman's punch.
Hayashi looked Nobara up and down. Though she was quite good-looking, she didn't seem like the type to attract stalkers. And shouldn't Nobara be somewhere else at this point in time? Why was she in Sendai City?
"No harm done. I'm not hurt, anyway. My name's Hayashi, your new neighbor." Hayashi extended his hand, smiling.
"Nobara Kugisaki." Nobara also extended her hand, giving Hayashi a brief handshake. Only now did she realize just how tall Hayashi was.
After the initial awkwardness, the two exchanged smiles—Hayashi heading downstairs and Nobara going upstairs. This brief interaction marked their introduction to one another.
"That was so awkward," Nobara muttered to herself after returning home. She scratched her orange hair, placed her bag down, and splashed her face with cold water to calm herself.
It was only at this point that Nobara realized something strange. Though she had held back on that punch, it wasn't something a teenage boy should have been able to dodge so easily.
But Hayashi had dodged it effortlessly. That was unusual. Nobara observed that Hayashi had no Cursed Energy, so he couldn't be a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Maybe he'd just trained in self-defense or something?
"He's pretty brave to be living in a place like this," Nobara thought as she gazed out the window, lost in thought.
Hayashi had gone downstairs to avoid further awkwardness. His original intent had only been to meet his new neighbor. After taking a short walk around the building, he returned to his apartment.
What Hayashi hadn't expected was that Nobara would be living here. What a coincidence! Of all places in the large city of Sendai, they both ended up living in the same cramped building.
This building had five floors, each with six rooms. Hayashi lived on the fourth floor, and Nobara on the fifth. Given the surrounding environment and the building's history of supernatural events, Hayashi's sudden move here would surely seem suspicious to Nobara.
Still, her reaction had been a bit much. That punch left quite an impression on Hayashi.
"Well, I'd better build a good relationship with her. After all, we might end up working together in the future." Hayashi chuckled to himself as he took off his clothes and headed into the bathroom for a shower.
Upstairs, Nobara could hear the sound of Hayashi opening his door. After closing her book on Jujutsu techniques, she clenched her teeth. "I need to leave this place soon."
The next day.
Hayashi left the house for a run before dawn. Every morning, he ran ten kilometers to train his physical endurance. Strength training was also crucial, and Hayashi never skipped it.
Hayashi hadn't yet started school, so his daily routine was centered around training. In addition to working out, he spent time familiarizing himself with his Cursed Energy Armor.
During the day, he occasionally ran into Nobara, and the same at night, though their conversations were brief—just simple greetings.
Over time, Nobara's impression of Hayashi had changed. At first, she thought he was a typical shut-in, but she'd been wrong. She had seen him go out every morning for his training. Given that, it wasn't all that surprising that he'd dodged her punch.
Even so, Nobara still planned to leave the area once her business here was done. After all, her goals and ambitions were far beyond a small city like this.
Time flew by, and two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Hayashi packed his bag and headed to Sugisawa High School #3 to report for class.
By chance, Hayashi was assigned to a class right next to Yuji Itadori's—not the same class, but very close.
"Before class starts today, we have a new student from Kanagawa. Please come up and introduce yourself." The female teacher smiled at Hayashi from the classroom entrance.
As Hayashi stepped into the classroom, several female students covered their mouths in surprise, while others let out gasps.
"He's so handsome!"
"Mhm, and he's tall too."
"Yeah, he must be about our age, but how did he grow so tall?"
"Could you be a little more discreet? It's not about growing, it's probably good nutrition!"
The girls whispered amongst themselves, clearly curious and excited about Hayashi.
Meanwhile, the boys looked at Hayashi like they had just encountered a rival. Many of them seemed to harbor a slight hostility toward him.
Oh, or should I say, rivalry in terms of… dating prospects?
"Tch, he's only tall. What's the use of being tall? Did you see how he almost hit his head on the door when he walked in?"
"Exactly! With that height, he's probably not very agile. All show, no substance."
"Wow, look how salty you guys are. Can't open your mouths without spewing lemon juice?"
"Hey, Momoe, whose side are you on? How can you defend a new kid?"
"What, you got a problem with that?"
"Alright, everyone, quiet down. Let the new student introduce himself," the teacher said, raising her hand to signal silence. As a teacher, she could understand the buzz—Hayashi was tall and handsome after all.
Hayashi could clearly hear the students' chatter. In his previous life, he didn't have this kind of height or looks, so no one paid much attention to him in class. This time, though, he had become the center of attention, and instead of being annoyed by it, he was actually enjoying it.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Hayashi. I'm from Kanagawa. I'm 182 cm tall. I won't mention my weight, but I enjoy working out and listening to music. It's nice to meet you all, and I hope we get along!" As soon as Hayashi finished speaking, the students erupted in applause, especially the girls.
"Hey, Itadori, did you hear that noise from the class next door?"
"With all that racket? Of course, I heard it. Sounds like a welcome for the new transfer student, right?" Yuji Itadori tilted his head, resting his chin on his hand.
He had seen the new student around school before—a tall guy who looked fairly ordinary. But something about Hayashi felt different to Itadori. There was a strange feeling he couldn't quite place.
Itadori made a mental note to keep an eye on Hayashi.