Be my student

Some time later, a black luxury sedan pulled up beside the inn outside Sendai Cultural Street.

"Mr. Gojo, what exactly is going on? You weren't very clear over the phone."

A thin man wearing a suit and black-rimmed glasses hurried out of the car.

Although his eyes looked tired, he gave an overall impression of brisk competence.

"Basically, I'm going to Ginza for sushi with this young man here, Dai Li."

"But he doesn't have any ID, so he can't take the bullet train."

Satoru Gojo turned his head slightly and lifted his white bandages with one hand, revealing his deep blue eyes.

He gazed at Dai Li almost tenderly.

"What are you doing, staring at me like that?"

"Oh, nothing."

Satoru Gojo waved a hand to indicate that he had nothing in mind, then spoke directly to Ijichi:

"Ijichi, sorry for the trouble, but could you drive us there? If you're free, you can join us."

"All right."

"But is that okay? Didn't the higher-ups ask you to handle a Special Grade incident?"

The man Gojo called Ijichi agreed without hesitation. The two had a superior-subordinate relationship.

"I'm handling it right now."

"Then that means this young man is..."

Ijichi looked at the young jujutsu sorcerer beside Gojo, already guessing his identity and why Gojo was treating him to a meal.

"Yep. The one who fought Suguru Geto is this young, unaffiliated jujutsu sorcerer right here."

Satoru Gojo held out his hand toward Dai Li, palm up, as though introducing a product.

"But it wouldn't really be appropriate for me to sit in on that discussion, Mr. Gojo."

"It's fine, it's fine. He's a nice guy."

"No, that's not the issue..."

Considering his position and the importance of the matter, Ijichi hadn't intended to get involved.

"Whatever works. Get in, Dai Li-kun."

Ignoring Ijichi's concerns, Satoru Gojo opened the car door and climbed inside, inviting Dai Li to join him.

"What an unpleasant way to address someone."

Dai Li remembered how Suguru Geto had addressed him.

That guy called me that too. I guess these two really are best friends.

"You don't like it? Then Dai Li-san works. Or Dai Li-chan."

Ugh, Satoru Gojo is way too familiar. We only just met.

Dai Li was getting a little tired of Gojo's chatterbox personality. Although he knew a great deal about Gojo and had even defended his reputation online, he wasn't a diehard fan.

I'm not actually Kasumi Miwa. To put it in Kento Nanami's words:

I trust his strength, but I don't respect him as a person.

After seeing Ijichi take the driver's seat, Dai Li climbed in too. The black leather seats felt soft and comfortable.

Dai Li sat on the far right, leaving an empty seat between himself and Satoru Gojo.

"Feeling shy?"

"No! You're way too familiar with people. Am I supposed to sit right up against you?"

"Are we really that close already?"

Gojo's extroverted personality was certainly something to behold.

"I think this is a good chance to get closer. Besides, your reactions are entertaining."

Satoru Gojo enjoyed teasing people, especially someone who put on a serious front like Dai Li.

"You're the strongest Special Grade Sorcerer. Could you stop being so childish?"

"Unfortunately, that's just who I am. Did I shatter your illusions?"

I thought he only clowned around like this with his friends, though I don't actually dislike it.

Still, I can't help wanting to call him out.

Dai Li pressed his lips shut, deciding not to keep playing off Gojo before their formal conversation began.

I need to keep up a reserved, slightly stern persona. If we keep talking, all my composure will be gone.

Deep down, Dai Li still longed to become a mature, dependable adult. He was at the age of transitioning from boyhood to adulthood, so those awkward feelings were hardly surprising.

The black luxury sedan then drove smoothly ahead. Satoru Gojo kept his eyes fixed on Dai Li, while Dai Li avoided looking directly at him.

A few hours later, the sedan reached Ginza. The cultural district here was somewhat different from Sendai's and more spacious overall.

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation, Mr. Gojo. This may be a little presumptuous, but I have a question."

"Have you informed the higher-ups that you intend to speak with him privately?"

The higher-ups in Jujutsu Society were deeply concerned about this incident, so Ijichi needed to clarify Gojo's intentions.

"Not yet. I'll tell them once I've gotten the full story."

"What Geto did, and why Dai Li ended up fighting him in a place like that."

"But we're here now. Let's talk over sushi."

Dai Li, Satoru Gojo, and Ijichi walked into the building, then took the elevator to the sushi restaurant.

From the understated white sign with black lettering outside to the elegant white interior accented with expensive plants, one glance was enough to tell that this was an upscale establishment.

"The tamagoyaki here is famous. The sea bream and tuna are pretty good too."

The three sat down in a private room. Its windows were clear, and from their high floor, they could take in the whole Tokyo skyline.

Since Gojo was paying anyway, Dai Li ordered most of the individual sushi items on the menu.

Oh, this dessert looks good too. I'll have one.

"I want this banana parfait too."

"You're paying, after all."

Because Gojo held a premium membership here, the food arrived in no time.

Dai Li eyed the sushi in front of him. Without bothering about courses or their order, he went straight through a round of sushi and was already mostly full.

"So, why did you fight Suguru Geto?"

Seeing that Dai Li had eaten enough, Satoru Gojo got down to business. Dai Li set down his chopsticks too.

"I was a little tired from traveling, so I found a household where I could rest."

"Unfortunately, Suguru Geto came to the same house to collect a cursed spirit. He thought the two people there were useless and kept wasting his time, so he wanted to kill them."

"He might have just said that to test me, but it doesn't matter. In the end, we fought."

Dai Li couldn't get a read on Suguru Geto's character. Perhaps even his boundaries were blurry.

"In the end, we wrapped things up with our strongest moves. Neither of us gained an advantage, so we called it quits and went our separate ways."

"That's all there was to it."

He made it sound easy.

"I see."

"Testing the abilities of a young jujutsu sorcerer he'd never met? That does sound like him."

"I understand the situation now. That'll do."

When Satoru Gojo heard why Suguru Geto had wanted to kill those people, his expression shifted slightly.

Even with the bandages covering his eyes, the faint smile that had been on his lips until then fell away.

Meanwhile, Dai Li continued taking big mouthfuls of his banana parfait.

"Let's move on to another subject."

After only a brief silence, Satoru Gojo brightened up again.

It was as though he had found some treasure.

"Is there something else?"

Dai Li answered casually as he ate his sushi.

"Dai Li, join Jujutsu High. I really like you."

"Cough, cough."

Gojo's sudden invitation startled Dai Li too.

So he specifically treated me to a meal to recruit me. He barely cared about the higher-ups' assignment at all.

"You can officially enroll in two months. You'll be part of the first class I teach."

"Quite an honor, right?"

"Leaving aside whether you'll teach me, what kind of invitation is that?"

"It's like Whitebeard saying to Ace, 'Be my son!'"

"Hahahaha! It is a little like that. I mean the part where I'm Whitebeard and you're Ace."

Dai Li had considered the possibility of Gojo inviting him, but he hadn't expected him to be so abrupt. Shouldn't he talk to me about my future and personal development first?

That's not how it works in dating sims. If you want me to join your school, you have to get to know me first, and then...

"Let me think about it a little longer."

He actually wanted to go very badly, but the persona he had just established wasn't nearly that eager, so he pretended to hesitate for a moment.

"You don't have any ID here yet, right? Once you enter Jujutsu High, we'll arrange one for you."

"Then I'll join."

Dai Li immediately took the opening Gojo offered him.

"That settles this matter, then. I'll report to the higher-ups right away."

Kiyotaka Ijichi, who had been listening all along, was pleased to see things resolved so neatly. As usual, he planned to help Gojo write the report and complete the assignment.

"Sure, no problem."

"But make sure you add one thing: from now on, Dai Li is my student. That should stop the higher-ups from getting any ideas about him."

"Understood. I'll include that in the report: Dai Li will enroll at Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High School as Satoru Gojo's student."

"Sorry for the trouble with the report."

As always, Satoru Gojo pushed his own work onto Ijichi.

"Since you've decided to join Jujutsu High, I have a question. Is that okay?"

"What do you want to ask?"

Dai Li had grown somewhat accustomed to Gojo's lack of tact. Whatever he asked next wouldn't surprise him.

"It's about your cursed technique."

"Judging by your current condition, you shouldn't be able to use much cursed energy, right? What exactly did you do? I'm very interested."

So that's it. I left cursed technique residue at the pachinko parlor and where I fought Suguru Geto. He used his Six Eyes to work out part of it, but he probably hasn't figured it all out.

"I borrowed my own cursed energy from two months in the future. It's that simple."