Ieiri Shoko: I Came at the Wrong Time

Suguru Geto froze at the sudden question.

No one had ever asked him that before, and no one had ever cared.

After all, Jujutsu Sorcerers dealt with exorcisms. The taste didn't matter.

But for some reason, Suguru felt like crying.

He gave a bitter smile. "Yeah... it's awful. I'm not sure if this is the right way to describe it, but it tastes like... a rag that's been used to wipe up vomit. It's disgusting."

"But there's nothing I can do about it."

As he spoke, Suguru was about to put the Cursed Spirit orb in his mouth.

"Wait."

Gojo Sawa suddenly stopped him, then took a jar of honey from his coat.

He opened it and poured honey over the Cursed Spirit orb several times, until its entire surface was coated.

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

"Try it again?"

Gojo Sawa handed the Cursed Spirit orb to Suguru.

Suguru swallowed the honey-coated orb whole.

The disgusting taste, like a dirty rag, vanished, replaced by the cloying sweetness of honey.

In that instant, Suguru felt his beliefs crumble.

So this thing was that easy to deal with? Did that mean all the suffering I went through before was for nothing?

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

Suguru nodded miserably. "It seems... it actually works."

"Then why are you crying?"

"I'm upset!"

Tears streamed down Suguru's face. "If I'd known a little honey could block the taste of the Cursed Spirit orb, why did I force myself to swallow it all those times?!"

Gojo Sawa and Gojo Satoru's mouths strained downward as they dredged up every sad memory they could think of.

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

"Hahahahaha..."

"Geto, you idiot! Hahahahaha..."

Suguru Geto: "..."

Having you two as friends sure is a blessing!

Tokyo Jujutsu High.

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

Ieiri Shoko looked at Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto, baffled.

"Yeah! Once I learn it, I'll be able to surpass my big brother!"

Gojo Satoru said excitedly. Conventional training had never been enough to catch up to Gojo Sawa, so he wanted to take a different route and use Reverse Cursed Technique to overtake him.

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

"I see~"

Ieiri Shoko thought it over. "All right, I'll explain it to you. Reverse Cursed Technique is..."

Ieiri Shoko swayed her head and traced a few circles in the air with her finger.

"You just go whoosh, then heh, and whoosh-heh~"

Seeing the utterly bewildered looks on Satoru and Geto's faces, she could practically see smoke coming from their fried CPUs.

Ieiri Shoko blinked. "You don't get it? You have no talent!"

Gojo Satoru: "..."

Suguru Geto: "..."

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

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

Gojo Sawa appeared between them like a ghost, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

Gojo Satoru jolted. "Ahahaha, big bro!"

"It's nothing, it's nothing! We're just talking with Shoko and learning from her. We absolutely weren't planning to learn Reverse Cursed Technique and then beat you up, big bro! Ahahaha..."

Tsk!

With Shoko's teaching method, I'd be amazed if you two could learn it while standing on your heads.

Gojo Sawa grumbled inwardly, but on the outside, he wore a smile that could kill.

"Looks like your youth isn't burning hot enough yet, little bro! Come train hand-to-hand combat with me! Geto, you too!"

"Me too?!"

In the end, Satoru and Geto couldn't resist Sawa and were dragged off to experience the burning passion of youth.

"Let's make a bet. You two can take me on together and see if you can beat me!"

"What's the stake?"

Gojo Sawa grinned. "There's a comic convention happening on the first floor of the department store in Funo District!"

"!!!"

Gojo Satoru was instantly reminded of his embarrassing past.

Suguru Geto was confused. "What do you mean?"

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

"No way, no way! That's so humiliating! It'll haunt me for the rest of my life!"

At that, Gojo Sawa brought out the Special Grade Cursed Tool, Playful Cloud.

"Geto, if you two can beat me, I'll give you this Special Grade Cursed Tool!"

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

But honestly, because of the unique nature of Limitless, he wasn't suited to fighting with a weapon.

Suguru Geto, on the other hand, was a perfect fit for Playful Cloud. And Sawa knew Geto had been coveting it for ages.

"Really?! You'd better not regret it!"

The moment he saw Sawa bring out Playful Cloud, Geto changed his tune. "Satoru, Sawa's great at hand-to-hand combat, but if we team up, we might have a chance!"

"You've already COSplayed as a maid catgirl. What's one more time?"

"But if we win... don't you want to see Sawa dressed as a girl and COSplaying?"

At that last remark, Satoru was suddenly fired up.

The two exchanged a look. "Yeah! Let's beat him up!"

"True Martial Style: Cloud-Piercing Thrust!"

"True Martial Style: Falling Leaf!"

"Secret Technique: Rapid Punch Barrage!"

All three rushed forward at once, then collided in a flurry of punches and close-quarters combat!

Sawa was the best hand-to-hand fighter of the three, and at first, he managed to suppress Satoru and Geto.

But as the fight went on, the two grew more and more in sync, until they were evenly matched with Sawa.

Satoru in particular had improved visibly, advancing from "Mokuroku" to "Kaiden" in hand-to-hand combat over the past few weeks.

Just then, Sawa seized an opening in Satoru's attack and rushed in, locking his arm.

On the verge of losing, Satoru gave up defending and wrapped his arms around Sawa's waist.

"Geto! Hit him while you've got the chance!"

Suguru Geto rushed over and swung a fist at the back of Sawa's head.

But thanks to the Six Eyes' all-around vision, Sawa had already spotted Geto. He ducked sharply to dodge the attack and grabbed Geto by the pant leg with his other hand.

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

BAM!!!

The three of them crashed to the ground in a tangled heap.

Sawa had Satoru and Geto pinned, so the two of them simply gave up and wrapped their arms around him in return.

The three stayed locked together, none of them able to move.

"This means I win, right?"

"Who says? You're pinned by the two of us too!"

"This stalemate is pointless. Why don't we all let go at the same time?"

"Fine. I'll count to three, then we let go together!"

"Sure!"

"Agreed!"

"One, two, three, let go!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

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

"Shut up! You didn't let go either!"

"I saw through your true colors ahead of time! Damn it, don't tickle my feet!"

"..."

Ieiri Shoko yawned, bored.

"How are those three idiots doing?"

As she spoke, Shoko got up and headed toward the dojo.

The moment she walked in, Shoko froze.

Gojo Sawa, Gojo Satoru, and Suguru Geto were tangled together in a heap, their positions looking rather strange and intimate.

There was an unmistakable air of philosophical tension ♂.

Ieiri Shoko blushed and hurriedly backed out of the dojo.

"Sorry, sorry! I came at the wrong time. Carry on!"