Two more sets of footsteps approached from behind the group, unhurried, steady, and firm. Everyone turned to look-Yoshinobu Gakuganji and Masamichi Yaga walked toward them side by side, one stern-faced, the other grave. The two principals' arrival weighed down the already delicate atmosphere.
Gakuganji's gaze swept over the crowd before settling on the pink-haired boy giving him an awkward smile. His steps stopped abruptly, as though he had been nailed to the spot.
Sukuna's vessel? What was going on? Wasn't he dead?
The wrinkles on his old face seemed to deepen severalfold in an instant. His eyes went wide, his lips parted slightly, then closed again, and his Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't get a single word out.
"Ah! Principal Gakuganji!" Satoru Gojo's cheerful voice rang out beside him. "What a relief! I was worried you might drop dead from the shock, but it looks like I didn't need to worry!"
Nobara Kugisaki and Megumi Fushiguro paid no attention to Satoru Gojo's antics. Their eyes stayed fixed on Yuji Itadori, as though trying to confirm that the person before them truly existed.
Kugisaki pressed her lips into a thin line, her jaw taut. Fushiguro's expression remained calm, but something flickered in his eyes.
"Don't you have something to say?" Kugisaki's voice was a little hoarse, but she bit out every word.
Yuji Itadori looked at Kugisaki, then Fushiguro, before finally lowering his head. His hands hung at his sides, his fingers curling slightly before relaxing again. After two seconds of silence, he looked up, his eyes filled with apology and a tentative hope that feared rejection.
"I didn't actually die." His voice was quiet but steady. "I'm sorry I kept it from you."
"All right, everyone!" Masamichi Yaga suddenly raised his voice. He strode forward and hooked an arm