An exchange

Early the next morning, Masamichi Yaga brought Sukuna his custom-made school uniform, told him there were no classes that day, and left.

"Seriously, if there aren't any classes, why did you have to wake me up?" Sukuna scratched his hair irritably. It had been a long time since he had slept so comfortably.

After all, he had barely needed any rest before. He only occasionally closed his eyes to relax for a while, but this time, he had actually fallen asleep.

And it had been an excellent, completely dreamless night's sleep. Even after being woken up, he felt he could go back to sleep for another few hours.

There were no classes today anyway, so he didn't need to go to a classroom. He could just sleep in his dorm until he got hungry, then go eat fried chicken and drink cola. Just thinking about that kind of life felt wonderful.

He put that thought into action and simply closed his eyes.

"Satoru, stop sleeping. Time to get up. Let's go spar." Suguru Geto patted Satoru Gojo's bed.

As first-year students at Jujutsu High, they didn't usually have many classes beyond a few basic academic subjects.

But those classes were easy enough to pass without much effort. The exams weren't strict anyway.

When they had no missions, they were free to arrange most of their time as they pleased. Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo liked sparring on the athletic field.

"Ah!"

Satoru Gojo stretched extravagantly, climbed out of bed, and casually put on a pair of sunglasses.

At this point in his life, Satoru Gojo mostly wore sunglasses and rarely used bandages. After all, bandages really detracted from his good looks.

Just then, the door was suddenly pulled open, and a girl rushed inside. "Guess what the teacher just told me!" Shoko still had a lollipop between her lips.

Shoko Ieiri looked excited, just like a girl who had picked up some gossip and wanted to keep her friends guessing.

"Oh? Shoko, it's rude to barge into the boys' dorm like that."

Suguru Geto greeted her with narrowed eyes.

"Hmph."

Shoko ignored his comment. After knowing him for so long, she already knew exactly what kind of person Suguru Geto was. She kept looking at the two of them with eager, excited eyes.

"What is it?" Satoru Gojo walked straight up to her. Standing at six foot three, he was somewhat imposing in front of Shoko Ieiri.

Shoko looked up at the jerk in front of her and stomped hard on his foot when he wasn't paying attention. After all, even Satoru Gojo couldn't keep [Limitless] active all the time.

Clearly, she had guessed right. The next moment, Satoru Gojo hopped back to sit on the bed, pointing at her with a wounded expression like a woman who had been abandoned.

Suguru Geto cooperated this time, asking with a smile, "What else did the teacher tell you?"

Now that someone had finally asked, Shoko couldn't hold it in any longer and immediately said, "Sukuna is a Special Grade Sorcerer!"

After saying that, she looked at them excitedly, waiting to see their shocked expressions. But she was soon disappointed.

Both of them immediately stopped what they were doing. Even Satoru Gojo's exaggerated expression seemed to freeze.

Satoru Gojo: "..."

"Hahaha!" Suguru Geto finally broke the silence, clutching his stomach as he laughed and kept pointing at Satoru Gojo.

"Satoru, Shoko took you for a complete idiot! Hahaha!"

Satoru Gojo stood up, his exaggerated expression gone. First, he snatched Shoko's lollipop away, then leaned down and "gently" patted her head.

Seeing Satoru Gojo behave so uncharacteristically, Shoko finally realized just how stupid she had been. She had actually tried sharing her intel in front of a sorcerer with the Six Eyes.

Her face instantly flushed red (●-●). Then she started whistling as if nothing had happened, not even getting angry when she felt Satoru Gojo mess up the bun she had tied that morning.

Don't get angry! she repeated silently. He had no idea how difficult it was for a short-haired girl to tie a perfect bun.

She glared fiercely at Satoru Gojo, then shut the door and scurried away. Although she was in the wrong here, she never bothered reasoning with idiots.

Only Suguru Geto, his eyes half narrowed, and a kindly-looking Satoru Gojo remained in the room. "Let's go. We'll practice hand-to-hand combat today."

Strong hand-to-hand skills were naturally essential for an excellent jujutsu sorcerer.

"Nope, nope. I'm going to buy Kikufuku. Go practice on your own, Geto." Satoru Gojo shook his head, making it clear he didn't want to go.

"Come on, come on."

Suguru Geto didn't want to let such a good sparring opportunity slip away, so he dragged Satoru Gojo by the arm toward the training room.

With Suguru Geto pulling him along by the arm, Satoru Gojo could only pretend to agree for now. "Fine, I'll come along this time."

"Good, good." Seeing that Satoru Gojo had agreed, Suguru Geto released his arm.

But with his eyes half narrowed, he failed to notice Satoru Gojo deliberately falling a few steps behind.

"Satoru, how do you think Shoko learned [Reverse Cursed Technique]? I've told her to work on explaining herself properly. I can't understand a thing she says."

"Satoru, are you listening?" Hearing no response, Suguru Geto slowly turned his head.

"Satoru..."

It was silent behind him, and there was no one in sight. Clearly, Satoru Gojo had already slipped away.

"Hahaha, Geto's so easy to fool! Now I get to eat delicious Kikufuku! Yay!"

On a street somewhere in Tokyo, Satoru Gojo held a bag of the Kikufuku he had been craving for ages. The dessert shop was very famous, and people had always flocked there to line up.

But what could they do? He knew how to cut in line.

Looking utterly helpless, Suguru Geto eventually knocked on Sukuna's door. Sukuna, who had slept through the entire morning, was finally woken by the knocking.

"Who is it?! Knocking this early in the morning-how annoying."

Having had his pleasant sleep interrupted for no reason, Sukuna opened the door full of resentment. Before him stood a smiling face with strange bangs.

Seeing the future leader of the monkey-extermination cult before him, Sukuna shook off his lingering drowsiness.

"Hey!"

Suguru Geto greeted him first, but his eyes drifted toward a vase in the corner.

Sukuna noticed where Suguru Geto was looking, but he didn't care in the slightest. Breaking something was perfectly normal, after all.

Looking at the still-yawning Sukuna, Suguru Geto said amicably, "There aren't any classes today. Let's go practice hand-to-hand combat."

He even waved with a smile afterward, looking as friendly as could be.

"Isn't Satoru Gojo going with you?"

Sukuna couldn't quite understand it. Suguru Geto hadn't been very friendly toward him just yesterday. Why would he leave Satoru Gojo behind to practice hand-to-hand combat with him today?

"...Satoru ran off to buy desserts."

Hearing Suguru Geto's explanation, Sukuna understood perfectly. That was just how Satoru Gojo was right now. Expecting him to obediently do anything was impossible.

"Hand-to-hand practice? On the athletic field or in the training room?"

Sukuna glanced at Suguru Geto and felt that he was overestimating himself. How could a Special Grade Sorcerer who used [Cursed Spirit Manipulation] possibly beat him?

"Let's go to the athletic field, then. I'm afraid we won't be able to cut loose in the training room."

Suguru Geto was a little surprised that Sukuna had agreed so readily. He had only come to try his luck, never expecting it to be this easy.

A smile curled at the corners of Sukuna's mouth as he looked at the overconfident Suguru Geto. "Sure."

Then he turned his back and put on the uniform the school had provided. He had to admit, the people at Jujutsu High were pretty good with their hands. They had made it for him in just one night.

The two walked side by side and ran into Shoko on the way. Although she was a little surprised to see them together, she joined them as they headed toward the athletic field.

She figured she could help heal any injuries they might suffer. After all, Suguru Geto still hadn't managed to learn [Reverse Cursed Technique].

"Sukuna, could you tell me why you have the same name as your ancestor?"

Shoko finally broke the unbearably dull silence along the way, asking a question Suguru Geto wanted answered too.

Looking at Shoko, the girl with short brown hair before him, Sukuna held out a hand. "I can tell you, but you'll have to give me a lollipop in return."

Sukuna said it with a smile, instantly bringing Shoko and him closer.

"Sure, sure." Shoko placed a strawberry-flavored lollipop in his hand.

Sukuna promptly unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth, saying indistinctly, "'My ancestor's' real name wasn't Sukuna. In every generation, the heir to the position of clan head has their name changed to Sukuna, as a way of commemorating him."

He paused there and smiled before continuing, "But we've always passed it down through a single line, so there aren't any branch families."

Hearing this explanation, the two nodded thoughtfully. After all, that sort of thing was fairly reasonable in Japan.

What neither had expected was that Sukuna's lineage had continued in Japan through a single line all this time. They must have kept themselves well hidden.

Otherwise, even the Gojo Clan couldn't have been unaware of them. There might be some other reason behind his appearance this time, or Sukuna wouldn't have come to Jujutsu High. But Shoko didn't feel comfortable asking.

Sukuna could only give the two a thumbs-up for their overactive imaginations. This was nothing more than a lie he had cobbled together in a dozen or so minutes the previous night.

After all, a lie was easier to believe than an overly elaborate explanation.

Now that the ice had been broken, the three began chatting casually. Sukuna became particularly excited when the conversation turned to food.

That was because Shoko told him the cafeteria at Jujutsu High served fried chicken, saving him an extra trip outside to buy it.

Suguru Geto also told him the cafeteria sold cola. Once they started talking about fried chicken and cola, all his resentment over being forced awake that morning vanished without a trace.

Before long, the three arrived at the athletic field, talking and laughing. Only a handful of people were scattered across the vast field. There really weren't many people at Jujutsu High, after all.

"Then let's get some practice in!"