Bun Was Late

When Suguru Geto walked into the classroom, Satoru Gojo lifted his chin.

"Morning, Geto~"

"Morning."

Suguru Geto moved a desk beside the empty spot next to Satoru Gojo.

Then he sat down beside Satoru Gojo, took his textbooks out of his bag, and stacked them in subject order.

His movements were methodical, every book aligned perfectly.

The very picture of a model student.

Satoru Gojo glanced at him, his gaze sweeping over Suguru Geto from behind his sunglasses before settling on the empty desk that had just been moved beside him.

"You're pretty early today."

"Habit."

"Good habit."

Suguru Geto paused in the middle of turning a page for less than half a second, then continued as though nothing had happened.

Satoru Gojo was already smiling.

That smile spread slowly and precisely, the curve of his lips carrying a smug hint of "I know everything."

Rather than saying a name, he slowly drawled out the nickname.

"So it really is Meat Bun. Shoko's going to cry~"

Suguru Geto said nothing.

Satoru Gojo shifted his chair to the side, leaving plenty of room beside him.

The movement was natural, almost casual, but he adjusted the size and angle of that empty space just right.

Not too cramped, not too far off to the side, right beside Suguru Geto, and perfectly placed to catch the first ray of sunlight through the window.

"Sunbathing feels so nice~"

Suguru Geto glanced at him.

Satoru Gojo grinned back, his eyes curving behind his sunglasses.

Shoko entered the classroom just as the bell rang.

She had switched lollipop flavors today. It was mint, the stick poking out of the corner of her mouth and bobbing slightly with her steps.

Her uniform was immaculate, buttoned all the way to the top, her collar neat and her cuffs uncreased. She looked excessively put-together.

Like plain water.

She scanned the two people already seated in the classroom, her gaze lingering for a few seconds on the three adjoining desks in the front row. Without greeting them, she walked straight to the empty seat behind Suguru Geto and sat down.

Great. I don't have to sit next to that bastard.

Textbook open, first page turned to, lollipop shifted to the left corner of her mouth, pen in her right hand. All set.

Eight o'clock sharp.

Masamichi Yaga walked into the classroom.

Today, he had changed into a dark gray cardigan over a black turtleneck. His overall palette was a little softer than yesterday, but only a little.

His steps were steady and forceful, his leather shoes striking the wooden floor with an even, oppressive rhythm. The stack of lesson plans in his hand was thick enough to make any student realize one thing.

He was not here to make small talk today. He was here to teach.

The dull, tedious hours had arrived.

"Turn to the first page."

The three of them opened their books.

Satoru Gojo glanced down, then raised his hand.

"Sir, I read this yesterday."

Masamichi Yaga's expression did not change. "Then read it again."

"I memorized it."

"Then review it."

"I memorized all of it."

"Then help the student beside you review."

Satoru Gojo turned to Suguru Geto.

Suguru Geto stared straight ahead, expressionless. "I don't need help."

Satoru Gojo turned toward Yan Si's seat instead.

Empty.

"Bun's late."

There was a cheerful anticipation in his voice, as though the late arrival was not a classmate but today's entertainment.

The classroom door opened the moment he finished speaking.

Yan Si stood in the doorway.

He had washed his face, but had not quite dried off the water, leaving a few damp traces at his temples. His long hair was tied into a low ponytail with a black elastic, loose enough that a few stray strands had escaped and rested against his neck.

His uniform shirt was buttoned up to the second button from the top.

That was as far as he could go. The next button meant feeling constricted, and that feeling was Yan Si's sworn enemy.

His jacket was draped over his shoulders rather than properly worn, its empty sleeves dangling and swaying gently as he moved.

He looked much fresher than he had eight minutes earlier, but the laziness that seeped from his very bones had not diminished in the slightest.

He stood in the doorway, backlit by the corridor light, his silhouette outlined in casual indifference.

He was chewing something, and holding something too.

Suguru Geto took a closer look.

It was that red bean bun.

The bun was held between his teeth, its plastic wrapper already torn open to reveal a corner of dark red bean filling.

Biting one end, Yan Si walked in from the doorway, his pace inversely proportional to his talking speed. He ambled over to the seat Suguru Geto had saved for him and plopped down.

Then he took the bun out of his mouth, looked at Masamichi Yaga at the lectern, then at the bun in his hand, and earnestly posed his first official question of the day.

"Sir, can we eat in class?"

"No."

"Oh."

Yan Si stuffed the entire bun into his mouth and chewed away.

His movements were so smooth, his expression so unabashed, that it was as though nothing had just happened.

Masamichi Yaga: ...

Satoru Gojo leaned over and lowered his voice until only the two of them could hear. "Isn't that way too disrespectful to the teacher?"

"Huh..." Yan Si answered in a whisper too, still chewing. "I feel like I'm pretty respectful of teachers and their teachings..."

Satoru Gojo looked thoughtful. "Then I'll do that from now on too..."

He glanced at Suguru Geto.

"Exactly. It's not like there's anything to do in class anyway. Might as well use it to eat..." Yan Si agreed as he chewed.

Suguru Geto faced forward without looking aside, the fingers turning his pages as steady as a precision machine.

The next second.

Bam-

Masamichi Yaga delivered his iron fist of love.

Satoru Gojo clutched his head, looking like a cat that had been squashed flat.

[Points +2]

Yan Si held his head and protested, "That hurt... Unscrupulous teacher..."

"Quiet." Masamichi Yaga let out a long breath, tapped the lectern, and wrote the first heading on the blackboard in chalk.

His handwriting was square and forceful, its strokes carrying a rhythm honed by years of teaching.

"Today's first class is Introduction to Jujutsu Fundamentals. Chapter one: the nature and classification of cursed energy."

Yan Si finished the bun he disliked and opened his book, his purple eyes scanning the first page.

He was fast, but not in the same way as yesterday, when he had flipped through it out of sheer boredom.

This time, his gaze actually lingered on the words. Not for long, but long enough to read them.

Satoru Gojo leaned back in his chair, his eyes curving slightly behind his sunglasses.

School life sure is interesting~

Much better than being at the Gojo Clan...

Masamichi Yaga turned to face the students, his chalk hovering in midair.

"Cursed energy is the concentration and manifestation of negative emotions within the human body. Ordinary people's negative emotions naturally dissipate, but whatever cannot dissipate accumulates and settles, eventually forming curses. Jujutsu sorcerers are people who can actively control this energy."

Satoru Gojo raised his hand.

"Speak."

"That definition is too basic. Can we skip it?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because the student beside you hasn't learned these fundamentals."

Satoru Gojo turned his head.

Yan Si was indeed still turning the pages.

He was very fast, almost turning each page after a single glance.