Before the Mission Gathering

After Toho Tetsu finished studying barrier techniques and settled dinner in the cafeteria, it was already 6:30. He returned to the dormitory, took out Fudōmaru, placed it inside a long black case that could block cursed energy, slung it over his back, then left the school building and headed toward the campus entrance.

Before long, he arrived at the school gate and saw the two people who had already been waiting there.

Shoko Ieiri was leaning against the side of the school gate, looking down at her phone. When she heard his footsteps approach, she glanced up at him and gave a small wave, as if greeting him.

Geto Suguru had also changed into his Jujutsu High uniform. However, when Toho Tetsu saw his pants, he froze for a moment.

Just a few days ago, they had clearly been ordinary uniform trousers, but now... they had somehow become the sort of billowing pants he wore during the Hidden Inventory Arc.

How should he put it? From his own perspective, they looked pretty ugly. But he was not particularly sensitive to fashion or styling, so it did not seem appropriate to comment on them directly...

When he saw him, Geto Suguru also raised a hand in greeting.

"Toho, you came so early?"

"I figured that even though the mission starts at seven, I should arrive early. But you two came pretty early too."

As Toho Tetsu spoke, he looked around. When he noticed a certain person had not arrived, he was not particularly surprised.

Given that guy's personality, if he could be late, he definitely would be. He would probably show up exactly on time.

Geto Suguru seemed to see through his thoughts and shrugged helplessly. Then his gaze fell on the long black case on Toho Tetsu's back.

"By the way... what's that on your back?"

Seeing that he was interested in his cursed tool, Toho Tetsu opened the case and took out Fudōmaru.

"It's the cursed tool I use in combat. Since I still don't know what my cursed technique is, I can only fight by strengthening my body and using cursed tools."

Looking at the plain, unadorned long blade in his hand, Geto Suguru nodded thoughtfully before offering some reassurance.

"Right, I think you mentioned your cursed technique problem before. You don't need to rush. When my Cursed Spirit Manipulation first awakened, I didn't understand what was going on either. It took me several months to get a basic grasp of how to use it, and only then did I start subjugating cursed spirits."

Halfway through, he sighed with some emotion.

"Still, given your talent for learning, you'll probably master your own cursed technique soon enough. You likely won't need my experience at all."

Faced with such praise, Toho Tetsu merely shook his head. Then he discussed cursed technique development with him. Although he knew perfectly well what was going on with himself, he still had to keep up appearances. That way, when he told Jujutsu High later, it would not arouse suspicion.

As she listened to the two discuss cursed techniques, Shoko Ieiri lowered her eyes to look at her own hand. Her expression became inexplicably complicated for a moment before she lowered her head again.

Amid their conversation and waiting, the time reached seven o'clock, and Gojo Satoru indeed appeared right on time.

"Good evening. You must have been waiting for me for ages, right?"

He walked toward the three of them with a smile, but halfway there, he suddenly stopped. He stared at Geto Suguru's pants with an odd expression, then said what Toho Tetsu had wanted to say but could not.

"Geto, what the hell is up with those pants?!"

He slapped the wall beside him hard as he burst into delighted laughter, as though he had seen something incredibly amusing.

This made Geto Suguru, who had just been discussing cursed technique development with Toho Tetsu, twitch at the corner of his mouth and furrow his brow tightly.

"Gojo, everyone is free to dress as they like. There's no need for you to criticize me..."

Though he said that, he lowered his head to inspect them with a lack of confidence after finishing. A hint of confusion and bewilderment showed between his brows, as though he had been quite satisfied with the pants until now.

Meanwhile, Gojo Satoru's smile did not stop at all.

"But those pants are way too weird, aren't they? Did you deliberately design them like that so you could secretly stuff cursed spirits inside and confuse people? Or are you planning to keep random junk in there?"

Geto Suguru's face darkened further.

"You bastard..."

Watching the two start bickering again, Toho Tetsu could not help shaking his head helplessly. Beside him, Shoko Ieiri looked at them as though they were idiots.

Fortunately, Yaga Masamichi soon arrived at the school gate. The two who had been fooling around instantly separated. Seeing that their clothes were somewhat disheveled, he frowned.

"Even if you're only heading out on a mission, you need to pay attention to your appearance. What kind of look is this, always roughhousing? Fix your clothes!"

Only after watching them straighten out their clothes did Yaga Masamichi summon the Assistant Supervisors. Before long, two black sedans pulled up at the school gate, and he explained.

"Because the environment for this mission is fairly complicated, two Assistant Supervisors will accompany you and help carry out the mission. Get in the cars immediately. You'll receive the Assistant Supervisors' information once you arrive."

After saying that, he looked at Toho Tetsu.

"Toho, you have relatively extensive mission experience. There are still some missing details about this mission. When you get there, examine the site with the Assistant Supervisors and assess the situation."

Toho Tetsu nodded without a second thought at Yaga Masamichi's request. Just as he was about to head toward the first car, he saw two figures dart into it from either side. Gojo Satoru even rolled down the window, leaned out, and waved at him with a grin.

"We're taking this one. You can ride with Ieiri."

It was actually foreseeable that the two would tacitly seize the first car. After spending the past few days together and living in the boys' dormitory, their relationship with each other and with Toho Tetsu had improved quite a bit.

But Shoko Ieiri had always treated them with a detached indifference. Though she never missed daily interactions or classes, they always felt there was still quite a distance between them and her. So, to avoid the awkwardness of riding together with her, they deliberately claimed the same car.

As for whether Toho Tetsu would feel awkward sitting with her... that was not something the two, who had already begun showing the traits of problem children, needed to consider.

Watching their swift movements, Toho Tetsu narrowed his eyes slightly. But in the end, he could only turn and walk toward the second car.

When he opened the door and saw Shoko Ieiri seated on the right side of the back seat, he was still considering whether he should call a separate car.

Seeing him standing there in a daze, Shoko, leaning against the window, spoke softly.

"What are you waiting for? Get in. We need to head to the mission site."

Since he could not hear any rejection or avoidance in her words, Toho Tetsu thought for a moment before sitting on the left and closing the door. Still, he deliberately kept a bit of distance from her.

Only then did he notice that the Assistant Supervisor driving in the front was actually a senior he recognized well.

"Ah, Kinoshita-senpai, you're driving us again?"

This Assistant Supervisor named Kinoshita Akane was a Jujutsu High graduate. She had driven them back when he and Utahime had gone on their first mission, and he had given her a crepe then.

She had accompanied them on missions several more times afterward. Over time, they had become somewhat familiar with each other, and they could occasionally chat whenever they met.

"What a coincidence. Still, I didn't expect you to have another mission so soon. Haven't you only been resting for a few days?"

"It can't be helped. As Jujutsu High students, handling missions is part of what we're supposed to do."

"You really are pretty hardworking..."

Because Supervisor Kinoshita started chatting with him, the atmosphere inside the car was no longer so awkward and quiet.

Shoko, who originally had not known how to interact with Toho Tetsu, secretly let out a breath of relief. Then she turned her gaze toward him. Seeing him chatting so happily with the Assistant Supervisor in the front seat, she could not help feeling a little curious.

In many people's eyes, Assistant Supervisors occupied an awkward position. They were necessary, yet their role did not seem all that significant. While many people did not ignore their contributions, they did not think much of them either.

Yet this mysterious classmate actually treated them like friends. Why was that?

There was a saying that went well: when a woman became curious about a man, things started getting serious.

Clearly, Shoko Ieiri had not realized that.