When he saw that faint blue light, Toho Tetsu's mood surged with excitement.
But he quickly forced that excitement down and headed for the Male Dormitory.
It wasn't something he could think about outside. Once he started, he'd get lost in thought and zone out, and people might mistake him for having a problem. He'd better wait until later.
The Dormitory Management Office was at the end of the first floor. The staff member on duty was a middle-aged assistant supervisor wearing glasses. When he saw Tetsu come in, he rummaged through a drawer for a registration form, checked the information on it, then took a key off the key board and handed it to him.
"You're Toho Tetsu, right? Your room's at the very end of the third floor. Bedding and daily necessities are already there, and your uniform's been delivered, too. If you need anything else, go to the Logistics Department tomorrow. The Dormitory Regulations are in the folder on the desk. Have a look when you get the chance."
He took the key, thanked the man, and went upstairs to the third floor.
Most of the doors on either side of the hallway were shut. Only the window at the far end let in the last of the evening sunlight.
He found the room at the very end and pushed open the door, then looked around the place where he'd be living for the next few years.
It was small, but had everything he needed. The bed, desk, chair, wardrobe, and everything else looked brand-new. The bedding had been folded neatly at the foot of the bed, and a folded student uniform sat beside the pillow.
He set his false identity documents on the desk, pulled out the chair, and sat down.
The room was quiet.
From the subway station until he'd stepped into the room just now, there had almost always been someone around him: Utahime, Yaga Masamichi, the old men in the interrogation room, the assistant supervisor, and the doctor.
Now, at last, he was alone.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment, then let out a long breath. Images from the hallway replayed in his mind.
"That light... there's no mistake. It really was the effect of my Cursed Technique. Thinking about it now, that online friend did say, 'If I gave you that Cursed Technique and sent you to the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, would you be willing?'"
As he tapped the desk, Tetsu recalled the Cursed Technique he'd designed.
Peach Blossom Love Song.
The essence of this Cursed Technique was to form bonds with other people and strengthen them, thereby assimilating, resonating with, or, to put it simply, gaining their traits.
Traits included Cursed Techniques, but Cursed Techniques weren't all there was to a person's traits.
Take Gojo Satoru, the strongest of the future, for example. If Tetsu formed a bond with him and raised it to a certain level, he'd gain both the Six Eyes and Limitless in full—not just Limitless itself.
And the degree he could unlock depended on the level of their relationship.
Lv1 was like being strangers who'd just met. At this stage, he couldn't copy anything; all he could see was the white light around the other person.
Lv2 was like being friends who'd known each other for a short time. At this stage, he could make the other person's traits his own, and the light around them would turn blue. But he could only use 50% of the trait's potential. That 50% was based on the trait's own maximum potential, not on how much the other person had developed it.
Lv3 meant they'd known each other for a long time and could trust each other to watch their backs. The light would turn purple, and he could use 75% of the other person's traits.
Lv4 meant they understood each other completely. They could be lovers, or close friends whose beliefs aligned so well that words weren't needed. The light would turn gold, and he could use 100% of the ability's full potential.
As for Lv5, it required their souls to be completely in sync, with each becoming an indispensable part of the other's life. At that point, the single-colored light would become a dazzling rainbow.
More importantly, he'd unlock an additional ability at this stage. It might be an enhancement of the original ability, or it might be a new evolution or transformation.
Didn't it sound pretty powerful at first?
But because of certain thoughts he'd had when designing the Cursed Technique, he'd also added a few extremely strict limitations.
The first was that there were no shortcuts to raising the bond level. If he had any ulterior motives or deliberately tried to raise it, the progress wouldn't increase at all.
The bond also had to be mutual. If he considered someone a friend but they saw him as nothing more than an ordinary stranger, his Cursed Technique would have no effect.
It was worth noting that abilities gained through bonds would be engraved into his body like instincts or circuits. He wouldn't have to worry about losing them if the bond level dropped.
Even with the subjective requirement of building a relationship, the Cursed Technique still seemed incredibly powerful and overpowered, didn't it?
Here came the real kicker: the second limitation.
He could only form bonds with women and raise their levels.
Didn't that make the Cursed Technique seem far less terrifying?
After all, when he thought about it carefully, the overpowered Sorcerers in the original story were mostly men. The few women who got much screen time had pretty lackluster track records, too. Those two restrictions did a good job of keeping the Cursed Technique's power in check.
Besides, when he designed it, he'd been thinking about the female characters he liked—not admired or respected.
That was different from how he felt about Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, and Itadori. He wanted to stand beside those women and move forward with them, leaving the past behind and stepping toward tomorrow.
To put it bluntly, he'd designed this Cursed Technique because his libido had taken the reins.
But back then, he'd only designed it to show an online friend, and he'd planned to use it in a fanfic. Who could've guessed he'd end up in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen with it?
If he'd known, he would've designed an even more absurd Cursed Technique.
But there was no way to know in advance.
At the thought, Toho Tetsu sighed with exhaustion. He recalled the blue light he'd just seen around Utahime. It was a sign that the bond between them had reached the second stage.
Although he still couldn't freely infuse his Cursed Technique with Cursed Energy to trigger its effects and check bond levels, each increase came with a subtle phenomenon that only he could perceive.
Still, did that mean... after he'd helped her through things, Utahime already considered him a friend?
At the thought, the corners of Toho Tetsu's mouth lifted in a faint smile. He put the false identity documents he'd received earlier into a drawer, stood up, and walked over to the mirror.
Ever since he'd crossed over into this world, he hadn't had a chance to see what had changed about him.
He'd noticed at the subway station that his voice was much younger and that the signs of age on his hands had faded, but he hadn't been sure exactly how much.
Only when he saw himself in the mirror did he freeze.
He wasn't as handsome as his reader friends, but he certainly didn't look like the man whose appearance had been worn down by the grind of office life before he crossed over.
Now he looked as though he'd returned perfectly to his high school days. His black hair was parted down the middle in a mullet, the slightly long ends resting against his neck. His face was on the slender side, and his dark eyes looked calm under the fluorescent lights.
He reached up to brush aside the hair over his forehead. The person in the mirror did the same. Staring at his younger self, he fell into a daze.
Even now, he couldn't understand why that online friend had so carelessly sent him to this world, restored his body to its younger state, and given him a physique suited to it.
He'd grown up in an orphanage in his previous life, and he didn't have any family he was desperate to return to. Even so, not knowing what that online friend wanted or was thinking left him feeling uneasy.
What if he woke up tomorrow and discovered it had all been a dream?
The thought sent a chill through him, but in the end, he could only stop thinking about it. No matter what happened tomorrow, he could only accept it. That was life.
He went over to the bed and flopped down.
Although he'd been unconscious all night yesterday and only woken up this afternoon, being questioned in turn by Yaga Masamichi and the higher-ups had left him mentally exhausted. So he decided to get some rest first.
After all, he'd have to get up early for training tomorrow morning.
He switched off the light beside him and closed his eyes. At that moment, he suddenly remembered the way Utahime had waved goodbye and the lightness of her footsteps.
A smile tugged at his lips. He pulled the covers over himself and rolled onto his side.
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