Ieiri Shoko: I Came at the Wrong Time

The sudden words left Suguru Geto frozen in place.

No one had ever asked him this question before, nor had anyone really cared.

After all, sorcerers dealt with exorcism; taste was irrelevant.

But for some reason, Suguru Geto felt like crying.

A bitter smile crossed his face. "Ah... it's awful. I don't know if that's the right way to describe it, but the taste is like... a rag used to wipe up vomit—disgusting."

"Still, there's no helping it."

With that, Suguru Geto moved to swallow the cursed spirit orb.

"Wait."

Gojo Sawa suddenly stopped him, then pulled a jar of honey from his pocket.

He opened the lid and poured it over the cursed spirit orb until its entire surface was coated in honey.

Suguru Geto's expression shifted from curiosity to shock, and finally to utter self-doubt.

"Try again?"

Gojo Sawa handed the orb to Suguru Geto.

Suguru Geto swallowed the honey-coated orb whole.

The original rag-like nausea vanished, replaced by the cloying sweetness of honey.

In that instant, Suguru Geto felt his entire belief system crumble.

So this was all it took to solve it? Had all my past suffering been for nothing?

Sawa and Satoru leaned in and asked, "How is it?"

Suguru Geto nodded with a grimace. "Seems... it actually works."

"Then why are you crying?"

"My heart hurts!"

Tears streamed down Suguru Geto's face. "If I'd known coating it in honey would block the taste, then what was all that gagging and forcing it down for?!"

Gojo Sawa and Gojo Satoru strained their mouths downward, frantically running through every sad memory they could think of.

Don't laugh! Hold it in... can't hold it!

"Hahahaha..."

"Geto, you idiot! Hahahaha..."

Suguru Geto: "..."

Having you two as friends is my blessing!

Tokyo Jujutsu High.

"Reverse Cursed Technique? You want to learn that?"

Ieiri Shoko looked at Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto, finding it a bit odd.

"Yeah! If I learn this, I can surpass Big Brother!"

Gojo Satoru said excitedly. In regular training, he was always outdone by Gojo Sawa, so he wanted to take a different path—use Reverse Cursed Technique to cut corners and overtake him.

Suguru Geto raised his hand. "I'm curious about Reverse Cursed Technique too, and I want to see if I can learn it!"

"I see~"

Ieiri Shoko thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll explain it to you. Reverse Cursed Technique is..."

Ieiri Shoko swayed her head, drawing a few circles in the air with her finger.

"It's like whoosh and then hey, whoosh-hey~"

Seeing Satoru and Geto completely baffled, their CPUs seemingly smoking from overload, Ieiri Shoko blinked. "Don't get it? No insight!"

Gojo Satoru: "..."

Suguru Geto: "..."

Do you even hear yourself? That made absolutely no sense, right?!

"Satoru~ Geto~ What are you doing???"

Gojo Sawa's figure appeared like a ghost between them, draping an arm over each of their shoulders.

Gojo Satoru jolted. "Ahahaha, Big Brother!"

"Nothing, nothing! Just learning and exchanging ideas with Shoko. Definitely no bad thoughts about learning Reverse Cursed Technique and then beating Big Brother up! Ahahaha..."

Tch.

With Shoko's teaching method, if you two actually learn it, I'll wash my hair standing on my head.

Gojo Sawa grumbled inwardly, while his face wore a smile that radiated "nuclear goodwill."

"Looks like your youth isn't hot-blooded enough, little bro! Come train in physical arts with me! You too, Geto!"

"Me too?!"

In the end, unable to sway Sawa, Satoru and Geto were forcibly dragged off to experience the burn of youth.

"Let's make a bet—you two come at me together, and see if you can beat me!"

"What's the wager?"

Gojo Sawa grinned wide. "The department store in Funo District is hosting a comic convention on the first floor!"

"!!!"

Gojo Satoru instantly recalled his dark history.

Suguru Geto didn't understand. "What does that mean?"

Satoru leaned in and whispered the explanation into Geto's ear. Geto's expression shifted from shock to horror.

"No way, no way—that's too embarrassing! It'd be a stain on my entire life!"

Hearing this, Gojo Sawa pulled out the special-grade cursed tool, Playful Cloud.

"Geto, if you two win, I'll give you this special-grade cursed tool!"

Ever since he got Playful Cloud, Sawa had tried using it many times himself.

But honestly, due to the unique nature of the Limitless technique, he wasn't suited for armed combat.

On the other hand, Suguru Geto was a perfect fit for Playful Cloud, and Sawa knew the guy had been eyeing it for quite a while.

"Really?! Don't you dare back out!"

Seeing Sawa pull out Playful Cloud, Geto immediately changed his tune. "Satoru, even though Sawa's physical arts are strong, if we team up, we might have a chance!"

"You've already cosplayed as a maid catgirl—what's one more time?"

"And if we win... don't you want to see Sawa in a cross-dressing cosplay?"

At those last words, Satoru was instantly pumped like he'd been injected with adrenaline.

They exchanged a glance. "Yeah! Let's beat him!"

"True Martial Style: Cloud-Piercing Thrust!"

"True Martial Style: Falling Leaf!"

"Secret Art: Rapid Punch Barrage!"

Three figures shot out simultaneously, followed by the visceral clash of fist meeting flesh—close-quarters brawling!

Among the three, Sawa had the strongest physical arts, and at first, he did suppress Satoru and Geto.

But as the fight dragged on, the two grew more and more in sync, eventually matching Sawa blow for blow.

Satoru in particular—his physical arts had recently advanced from "Mokuroku" to "Kaiden," and the improvement was plain to see.

Just then, Sawa seized an opening in Satoru's attack, lunging forward to lock his arm.

On the verge of losing, Satoru abandoned defense entirely and wrapped his arms around Sawa's waist.

"Geto! Hit him while you can!"

Suguru Geto rushed in, throwing a punch at the back of Sawa's head.

But Sawa, relying on the Six Eyes' omniscient field of vision, had already spotted Geto. He ducked sharply, dodging the blow, and grabbed Geto's pant leg with his other hand, yanking hard.

Geto lost his balance and, before hitting the ground, instinctively grabbed onto Sawa's thigh.

Bam!!!

The three of them tumbled together, crashing to the floor in a heap.

Sawa had Satoru and Geto locked down, but the two, throwing caution to the wind, grabbed hold of Sawa in return.

The three of them were stuck like that, none able to move.

"So does this count as my win?"

"Says who? Aren't you locked up by us too?"

"Staying like this is pointless. How about we all let go at the same time?"

"Fine. I'll count to three, and we release together."

"Deal!"

"Agreed!"

"One, two, three, release!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"You two bastards, I knew you wouldn't let go!"

"Shut up! You're no different yourself!"

"I saw through your true colors ahead of time! Holy shit, don't tickle the soles of my feet!"

"..."

Ieiri Shoko yawned, a little bored.

"How's the battle going for those three idiots?"

With that, Shoko stood up and headed toward the dojo.

The moment she stepped inside, Shoko froze.

There were Gojo Sawa and the other two, tangled together in a hug, their poses looking incredibly strange and ambiguous.

A faint vibe of philosophical♂ energy hung in the air.

Ieiri Shoko's face flushed red, and she scrambled to back out of the dojo.

"Sorry, sorry, I came at a bad time. You three, carry on!"