Special Grade

In his familiar dorm room, Sakurada Niji blinked his slightly dry eyes, and the things in his field of vision finally came into focus.

"A familiar ceiling," Sakurada Niji murmured to himself.

Sakurada Niji shifted toward the edge of the bed and slowly turned his head, only to see a pair of long legs standing beside it.

What mask is he wearing this time... what a childish prank.

"All right, I know you're tall. Quit showing off and move." Sakurada Niji had already guessed that Satoru Gojo was the one blocking his view, and that he was planning to prank him. After all, the moment he woke up, he had felt something strange about his clothes. That bare, slightly chilly sensation around his legs definitely wasn't from his Jujutsu High uniform pants.

When Satoru Gojo didn't respond, Sakurada Niji impatiently raised his gaze.

*-*

The instant he saw that face, Sakurada Niji's mind went blank. His body instinctively combined Flash Walk with Flash Step, moving him from the bed to outside the dorm in an instant along a trajectory that flagrantly defied physics.

"Pfft-sorry, I shouldn't laugh. That was a really nasty prank, Satoru..." Suguru Geto watched Sakurada Niji land from the air in a bizarre pose, dressed entirely in women's clothes, and failed to hold back his laughter, though he did apologize afterward.

"Full marks~" Shoko put away her camera. She had just recorded Sakurada Niji's entire trajectory. Honestly, it was very practical, but its visual appeal didn't quite suit human tastes. It had a unique beauty that seemed to defy humanity itself.

"Sorry... Niji-chan..." Shoko had held Utahime back just so they could wait for this moment, and Utahime hadn't managed to suppress a laugh. Then realization struck her. As someone frequently subjected to Satoru Gojo's pranks, she finally understood how other people felt when they watched her. Once she came to her senses, she felt terribly guilty.

"This isn't even a question of how nasty it was... that thing physically repulses me..." Once Sakurada Niji recovered, he immediately used Flash Step to snatch the camera from Shoko. He spoke while checking its videos and photos, ultimately leaving only a few relatively attractive pictures on it.

Satoru Gojo came out of the dorm then. He wasn't wearing a mask; he had simply drawn a few stitch marks across his forehead to cosplay Kenjaku.

"You should be grateful I haven't mastered Cursed Technique Reversal yet, or you'd have been dead just now," Sakurada Niji snapped at Satoru Gojo, who stood at the dorm entrance wiping the stitches on his forehead with a wet wipe Shoko had handed him.

"Huh... it won't come off..." Satoru Gojo said as he rubbed.

At his words, everyone grew somewhat solemn and took up fighting stances. Only Utahime had no idea what they meant.

"He shares their memories and cursed technique. Aside from the stitches on his forehead, which he can't conceal because of a binding vow, we have no way to tell him apart." Suguru Geto drew Playful Cloud from behind his back and spoke gravely.

"So, for now, stay right where you are. You're not going anywhere until you wipe your forehead clean and prove you're Satoru Gojo," Sakurada Niji told "Satoru Gojo" coldly.

"Click, click." After speaking, Sakurada Niji raised the camera he had snatched and casually took a few pictures of "Satoru Gojo frantically scrubbing his forehead with a wet wipe," then returned it to Shoko.

"...It really won't come off! Damn it... no, wait! Look, there's black ink on the wet wipe! It really was drawn on! Believe me!" Satoru Gojo spread the wet wipe against his chest and pointed at the black ink stains as he defended himself.

"I don't believe you. That has to be part of your disguise. Do you guys believe him?" Suguru Geto asked with a perfectly serious face.

Shoko and Sakurada Niji shook their heads in unison, indicating that they didn't believe him either.

"Damn it! Someone's taken over Satoru!! When did it happen?!" The time had come for the performance to begin, and Sakurada Niji delivered a magnificent opening.

"Impossible! That's Satoru, the strongest! You bastard! How did you do it?!" Suguru Geto forcibly suppressed the smile tugging at his lips and opened the space of Cursed Spirit Manipulation. His two special-grade cursed spirits emerged from behind him and stood on either side like guardian deities.

"Click, click." Shoko was still taking pictures. She felt the scene was worth preserving.

Utahime also realized they were just fooling around and didn't take it seriously. She merely moved behind Shoko to look at the images on her camera.

"I've got it! A way to prove you're Satoru Gojo! Cut off that patch of skin on your forehead, then grow it back with Reverse Cursed Technique..." With an utterly serious expression, Sakurada Niji offered this "reliable" solution to "Satoru Gojo," who was still trying to wipe away the "stitches" on his forehead, and even tossed him Fufū.

Satoru Gojo caught Fufū, seemingly getting a little caught up in the act himself. Looking eager to try, he drew the blade and was about to slice at his forehead...

"What are you doing?!" Masamichi Yaga arrived at the "trouble zone" and put a stop to the farce.

"Mr. Yaga, they changed my clothes while I was unconscious because they wanted Shoko to record me. After taking my cursed tool, they started fighting over how to split the spoils." Sakurada Niji's face was expressionless as he reconstructed the events in great detail, as though simply stating the facts.

"How many times have I told you not to use your cursed techniques without reporting it first? Do you know the alarms have been going off nonstop?!" Masamichi Yaga gave Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto a loving iron fist apiece.

"All three of you have been promoted to special grade. Could you try acting a little more dependable?!" Masamichi Yaga lectured them.

"Mm, mm. Mmm~" The three gave perfunctory responses to Masamichi Yaga's lecture.

"All right, the official reports confirming your special-grade promotions have arrived. There's already a large backlog of missions, so come with me," Masamichi Yaga told them.

They nodded, their expressions turning serious as they prepared to follow Masamichi Yaga to the classroom for their assignments.

"Niji, go change first." Masamichi Yaga hadn't expected him to follow along dressed like that, so he had no choice but to remind him.

"Mm... got it." Sakurada Niji silently turned around and walked back toward his dorm, one step at a time.

Inside the classroom.

The three sat at the desks below, waiting for Masamichi Yaga to explain their missions.

Sakurada Niji took Fufū back from Satoru Gojo.

"Tap, tap." Masamichi Yaga tapped the blackboard.

"From now on, each of you will be responsible for clearing out cursed spirits of grade one and above within an assigned area."

"Satoru will handle eastern Tokyo, covering ten wards, including Edogawa, Katsushika, and Adachi."

"Geto will handle southern Tokyo and part of the central area: six wards, including Setagaya, Shibuya, and Ota."

"Niji will handle the six wards across northern and western Tokyo, plus Shinjuku in the central area, for a total of seven."

"When special grades appear outside Tokyo, you'll be sent to exorcise them. However, those missions will generally be assigned to Geto."

"When cursed spirits of grade one or above appear in your assigned areas, dedicated assistant supervisors will contact you and provide transportation."

"Also, the Jujutsu Association may assign you missions. Pay close attention to those."

"That covers the basics. Do you have any questions? If not, you're dismissed," Masamichi Yaga said.

"Nope~" The three shook their heads, then left the classroom in a flash.

Outside the classroom, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto walked ahead while Sakurada Niji lagged a little behind, occupied with his thoughts.

"Saku-chan~ What're you thinking about~?" Walking with his hands behind his head and his face tilted upward, Satoru Gojo suddenly turned back to ask Sakurada Niji.

Suguru Geto stopped too, looking at Sakurada Niji alongside Satoru Gojo.

"You two can both get around quickly, but from now on, I'll have to deal with motion sickness while riding around in cars every day for missions..." Just thinking about having to take a car for every mission, and spending most of his time in one, was already making Sakurada Niji feel carsick.

Why do jujutsu sorcerers even get carsick... I want to ride Rainbow Dragon...

"I can't just ride Rainbow Dragon around exorcising cursed spirits either~ It didn't matter in those remote places before, but the areas we're responsible for now are pretty densely populated~" Suguru Geto chuckled. He had thought Sakurada Niji was pondering something important.

"Huh~?! I should be able to use the long-distance teleportation I just developed, right?!" Satoru Gojo sounded a little impatient. He didn't want to waste time sitting in cars for those tedious missions.

"Well~ It's a new, undocumented cursed technique, after all. The Jujutsu Association will definitely need time to assess how dangerous it is before deciding whether you can use it freely," Suguru Geto explained to Satoru Gojo.

"For some reason, I suddenly feel a lot better~" Seeing that his two best friends would also have to travel by car for missions made Sakurada Niji feel much better about his own situation.

"Can't stand seeing us have it good, huh~! If that's what you want so badly, we can all ride together!" Satoru Gojo planted his hands on Sakurada Niji's head and pressed down furiously.

An opening! Limitless is down! Sakurada Niji roared inwardly. His chance for revenge had arrived!

Sakurada Niji was just about to send cursed energy into Satoru Gojo's body-but Satoru Gojo seemed to sense something and took both hands off his head.

"Saku-chan's so petty~ I only pushed a little~ And you're already trying to use your cursed technique~" Wearing an infuriating grin, Satoru Gojo began circling Sakurada Niji.

"Those damned Six Eyes..." Sakurada Niji said through gritted teeth.

Beside them, Suguru Geto smiled faintly, seemingly in a very good mood.

Just staying together with my best friends like this, slowly saving more of our family, teaching them properly, and helping them suffer fewer casualties... this is wonderful...

Suguru Geto lost himself in his ideals. In his ideal world, all jujutsu sorcerers were family. He and his best friends would clear out all the high-grade cursed spirits, while their family dealt with the low-grade ones, learning and growing along the way. In the end, everyone would be together, slowly getting better and better...