Shouldn't We Change How We Address Each Other?

Half an hour later, an ambulance-like vehicle and several cars pulled up outside the entrance to the underground passage. Assistant supervisors and Window personnel were transporting the injured.

Those with severe, critical injuries were sent directly to the ambulance-like vehicle, while those who were merely unconscious and had yet to wake up were moved into ordinary cars.

At that moment, the group of four sat quietly in the chairs of an abandoned shop nearby, watching the scene unfold.

"Looks like it was necessary to call in a few more assistant supervisors. Otherwise, if we had handled all that ourselves, who knows how long it would've taken?"

Gojo Satoru sighed as he lifted his drink and took a sip, his expression full of relief.

Geto Suguru nodded as well, but immediately turned his gaze toward Toho Che, who was sitting beside them.

"By the way, Toho, are you really okay? Your complexion looked awful earlier."

The person being asked froze for a moment, then shook his head.

"I'm fine. I just lost a fair amount of cursed energy and blood. It's nothing serious. After Ieiri gave me some basic treatment, there's no need to worry too much."

At that, Gojo merely rolled his eyes.

"It's not just some minor problem. You couldn't even walk on your own earlier. The two of us had to carry you up here."

Shoko Ieiri, who had not participated much in the conversation, glanced at him as well.

"Honestly, in my opinion, you should be lying in that vehicle right now, getting sent to the hospital we work with alongside those people. Since there's still room, you'd better get over there quickly."

Hearing those rather sharp words, the three of them froze and looked at her together. That made the girl realize what she had just done, and she quickly turned her head away.

Seeing this, the three exchanged looks, their eyes carrying faint smiles.

For some reason, after this mission ended, Shoko Ieiri seemed more willing to join their conversations. She had even started making blunt remarks. That was a good sign.

After all, if everyone kept being polite and distant with one another, how could their relationship ever progress?

Moreover, during this mission, they had seen many different sides of each other. But what Geto Suguru was most curious about was still that matter.

"So, what exactly were you thinking back then? You were willing to let that cursed spirit hurt you just to forcibly restrain it. Weren't you afraid of suffering some irreversible damage?"

At his words, even Shoko, who had turned away, quietly shifted her gaze back, as though she wanted to hear his answer.

"Of course I was afraid. But there was no other choice."

Toho Che paused only briefly before giving his answer.

"After all, Ieiri and those ordinary people who couldn't fight back were behind me. If I had dodged, wouldn't they have been in danger? So I had to do it."

Although he spoke firmly, Geto Suguru paused before continuing to press him.

"Even if this may sound unpleasant, what kind of thoughts made you decide so resolutely? Those ordinary people might wake up and never even know what you did for them. Was it really worth it?"

Looking into his complicated, searching eyes, Toho Che knew that Geto was probably using this question to seek certain answers.

For example, why did jujutsu sorcerers have to protect humans? Why did jujutsu sorcerers have to go through such things?

These questions would remain a thorn in his heart for a long time, constantly provoking his emotions and thoughts, pushing him closer and closer toward the abyss of collapse.

Of course, he could have used lofty platitudes to counsel Geto Suguru—things like having power was precisely a reason to protect others, or that the gentleness of the strong was salvation for the weak.

But he could not, and would not, do that.

"If I have to put it into words, it's simply because I want to. I don't want to see innocent people get hurt, and I don't want to see people I know suffer misfortune. There's no grand justification, no noble ideal. That's all."

Feeling the pain radiating through his body, he set the drink can in his hand aside and looked toward the people who had been rescued in the distance.

"There's too much pain and darkness in this world. I want to change it, but my strength still isn't enough to support me in doing that. So for now, I can only start with what I'm capable of."

Listening to his weak yet resolute voice, the eyes of the three watching him all flickered.

In the past, they had not known much about this classmate. Only now did they realize that he carried such grand ideals and aspirations in his heart.

"What you said sounds pretty passionate, but if we hadn't been there, you probably would've lost your life today. Then you wouldn't have had any chance to fulfill that dream. Try not to be so reckless in the future."

Though his words had stirred something within him, Gojo Satoru merely tossed the drink can he had accidentally crushed aside and complained as if speechless.

Geto Suguru did not respond right away either. He merely lowered his head and looked at his clothes, stained red with blood and covered in dust. A few seconds later, he raised his head and looked at Gojo Satoru with smiling eyes.

"By the way, you did pretty well this time too. At first, I thought you'd just throw out Blue at maximum output and blast that entire underground area flat. I didn't expect you to choose a more cautious approach."

Gojo Satoru rolled his eyes.

"If I'd been fighting that thing alone, I definitely would've done that. Finishing the mission in the quickest and easiest way would've been best. But there were ordinary people there at the time. How could I act so recklessly?"

Hearing those rare words of consideration for others, Geto Suguru was somewhat surprised.

At first, he had thought Gojo Satoru was just a troublesome child who acted without restraint because of his talent and bloodline, arrogant beyond measure. He had not expected him to have a soft side, one willing to care about ordinary people.

After hearing that, Shoko Ieiri, sitting at the edge, gave a certain someone a subtle look.

"I have to say, you're much more likable like this than usual."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? Am I that annoying normally?!"

Three voices rang out in unison.

"Obviously."

Gojo Satoru stared blankly at them, then revealed an expression of grievance and speechlessness.

"Hey, how can you guys do this? I was the one who saved you from danger just now. If it weren't for me, you'd probably still be fighting that thing."

Halfway through, he paused, seemingly searching his mind for the right words. Several seconds later, he spoke with some hesitation.

"This is what people call... smashing the bridge after crossing the river, right?"

Geto Suguru helplessly held his forehead.

"It's burning the bridge after crossing the river."

Shoko's remark was equally sharp.

"You took three seconds to think of it, and you still got it wrong. Did you learn Japanese from cursed spirits or something?"

Those piercing words made Gojo Satoru clutch his chest as if he had suffered a heavy blow.

"Shoko-chan, you usually don't talk much, but when you do, are you always this devastating?"

Hearing that strange form of address, Shoko Ieiri looked at him expressionlessly, as though she were looking at a talking household appliance.

"Please don't call me that, Gojo. We aren't that close."

"Huh? We're friends who have been through life and death together, aren't we? Isn't calling each other 'classmate' a little too distant?"

Hearing him, Geto Suguru nodded. Rarely, he stood on the same side as Gojo Satoru and looked toward Toho Che and Shoko Ieiri.

"That makes some sense. We're classmates, and we'll often be going on missions together in the future. Besides, after working together on this mission, we understand each other better now. Continuing to call each other 'classmate' does seem a little too distant, doesn't it?"

Hearing the two of them and looking at their expressions, Shoko Ieiri recalled everything she had experienced that night. Her originally firm resolve to refuse somehow loosened a little.

She sighed and relaxed her conditions.

"Fine. You can drop the word 'classmate,' but you may only call me by my surname."

"Huh? Shoko—"

Seeing that someone seemed about to call her that again, Shoko abruptly fixed her gaze on him, her voice full of seriousness.

"You should know that I'm your support medic. If you make me unhappy, then if you ever get injured and need my help, don't blame me if I get rough."

Hearing those words, brimming with threat, Gojo Satoru, who had wanted to keep pushing, could not help but shudder. Even Geto Suguru's smiling expression stiffened slightly.

Toho Che curled his lips at the side, but the effort of holding back his laughter tugged at his muscles, making him suck in a sharp breath.

"Fine, fine. Then... Ieiri."

Since she had put it that way, Gojo Satoru could no longer stubbornly pester her as before. But he turned an interested gaze toward the other side.

"Ieiri won't let us use her given name, so, Toho, you...?"

Seeing his expectant expression, Toho Che shook his head.

"'Classmate' does sound a little distant, but using given names directly feels a little too intimate. For now, let's address each other by our surnames, Gojo."

Seeing that Toho Che would not cooperate with him either, Gojo Satoru clicked his tongue. Still, he knew that their relationship had progressed about as far as it could in such a short time. If he insisted any further, it would probably only cause more trouble.

"Fine, Toho it is. You two really are something. Can't you be a little more close with me, like Geto?"

Geto Suguru narrowed his eyes in exasperation.

"Close? You really don't understand the situation at all..."

It was hard for him to call the way the two of them got along close. They felt more like... the kind of bickering rivals people talked about?

"Huh? If we're not close, why do you compete with me every day?"

"You're obviously the one who keeps causing trouble, okay?"

"Who's causing trouble here, huh?!"

Watching the two start bickering again at the mission site, Shoko Ieiri sighed helplessly, though her eyes held a trace of amusement that she herself had not noticed.

Toho Che, watching the scene, also smiled knowingly.

Although his wounds still ached faintly, for some reason, sitting among them at that moment and listening to their meaningless bickering made him feel incomparably at ease.

In the distance, the last car shut its doors, and the engine began to rumble softly.

The night breeze drifted in, seeming to carry a different kind of scent. He could not quite describe it, but... it did not seem bad.