Meanwhile, elsewhere, another battle had just ended.
The Sewer
"Whew~" A whistle rang out as 'Suguru Geto' arrived at the site of Mahito and Kento Nanami's fight.
Bang! A faint sound came from the rubble. A Mahito-shaped caterpillar crawled out from beneath the debris, then gradually returned to human form. Oh, completely naked, too.
"Hahahahaha! That Jujutsu Sorcerer was nothing like he looked. He went completely wild!"
"You two really went at it."
Mahito sat on the ground and looked up at 'Suguru Geto,' like a little kid reporting on his schoolwork. "That guy was interesting. I learned a lot~" The thought made his grin grow even wider.
"Even if I'm crushed to pieces, I won't die as long as I maintain the shape of my soul." He raised his foot and examined it; it hadn't fully recovered yet. "I can also keep my cursed energy consumption within what I can replenish myself. And there's no risk, no matter how I reshape my own soul."
"Next time, I'll try something a little bolder." Mahito excitedly examined a finger he had turned into a blade, as though he had discovered a new toy.
After a while, he said, "Geto, give me some clothes."
"No. Where's the jujutsu sorcerer you fought?"
"No idea. He said he was retreating for now, but he might still be under the rubble~"
"...I just met that special grade cursed speech user. She's quite a wary student. Aren't you going to go meet her?"
"Really? I think her name was Takechi. Then I might as well pay her a visit myself~"
"What?! You and Taketori went to Junpei Yoshino's house?! That's not really..."
"It's fine, it's fine. We're going to have dinner first~"
"Dinner?! I'm coming over right away, too. If anything feels wrong, please run immediately."
After finishing his call with the forgotten Mr. Ijichi, Yuji Itadori flashed me a peace sign. "All done!"
I flashed one back. "Yay! Let's go!"
Watching the two of us interact, Junpei Yoshino's smile faded a little.
On the other end, Ijichi hung up with a miserable expression. Even if Junpei Yoshino is connected to the culprit behind this incident, they should be fine with Taketori there... But I've completely failed as their supervisor!
It wouldn't be so bad if the laid-back Mr. Gojo found out, but if Mr. Nanami, the adult of all adults, scolds me, I might actually cry! Hurry! I don't want to cry in front of other people at my age!
Ijichi yanked down the handbrake, ready to floor it straight to Junpei Yoshino's house to rescue them. Then his phone displayed an incoming call from Kento Nanami.
Right. Time to get yelled at. Ijichi closed his eyes in despair.
"...It's me. I'm sorry."
"Hm? I just sent you my location. Sorry for the trouble, but could you come pick me up? I need to return to Jujutsu High first and have Miss Ieiri treat me."
"Huh? Treat you...?"
"It's fine. The injury isn't fatal."
"Thank goodness." Ijichi was already about to wave his arms and dance with relief. "I'll meet up with Itadori and the others right away, then come to you."
"Hm? You aren't together? And who else is there?"
"...Itadori and Taketori went to Junpei Yoshino's house for dinner."
"...? Never mind. Come pick me up first."
Kento Nanami hung up, took off his glasses, and leaned weakly against the wall. That cursed spirit was still a child. It probably hadn't been long since he had come into being as a curse, and he was growing ravenously.
The special grade cursed spirit who had fought Mr. Gojo had already learned Domain Expansion. If this one remained alive, he would probably reach that stage before long.
Unless he exorcised him soon, the situation would become irreparable.
Kento Nanami held his wounded abdomen, straightened his clothes, and headed out.
After finishing their mission and letting their assistant supervisor know, Nobara Kugisaki and Megumi Fushiguro wandered the streets.
"What do you think Itadori and Edano have been busy with lately? They barely even come to training anymore."
"No idea."
"...Hah. Might as well not have asked."
"Hey, wait, Fushiguro! Isn't that Edano?! The one next to her looks like Itadori! Oh, there are two other people with them?" Nobara Kugisaki stopped, grabbed Megumi Fushiguro, and pointed as she called out.
Megumi Fushiguro looked in the direction she indicated and saw a girl skipping along, pulling a boy whose black hair covered half his face. Beside them was Yuji Itadori, with his conspicuous head of pink hair.
"Fushiguro, what are you standing around for? Let's go say hi!" Before she had even finished speaking, Nobara Kugisaki left Megumi Fushiguro behind and rushed toward the girl. He followed close behind.
"Edano!"
Hearing the familiar voice, I turned to look. Sure enough, it was Nobara Kugisaki, with Megumi Fushiguro following behind her.
"Oh, Nobara, Megumi! What are you doing here?"
"Fushiguro and I just finished a mission, and then we ran into you!"
"Yeah. What are you and Itadori...?" Megumi Fushiguro was asking who these people were, whether we were on a mission, and how much we could say about it.
"These are some new friends Edano and I made!" Yuji Itadori threw an arm around Junpei Yoshino's shoulders. "We're going to their house for dinner!"
"Oh~ Hello! I'm Nobara Kugisaki, these guys' classmate!"
"My name's Megumi Fushiguro. I'm their classmate, too."
"My name's Junpei Yoshino. Nice to meet you." Edano's classmates all seem like really nice people, too...
"I'm Nagi Yoshino, this boy's mother." Nagi Yoshino rested a hand on Junpei Yoshino's shoulder. "Since we've run into each other, why don't you come over for dinner, too?"
"Yay! Fushiguro and I were just wondering what to have for dinner!"
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"
"Oh, not at all! The more the merrier. Our Junpei likes having people around, too!"
"Megumi, don't worry. I'm here, aren't I?" I leaned closer to Megumi Fushiguro and whispered in his ear.
"...All right," Megumi Fushiguro agreed quietly, then raised his head to thank her. "Thank you, Auntie. Sorry for the trouble."
"It's no trouble. I'll go buy a few ingredients first!" Nagi Yoshino lifted her shopping bag as she prepared to head off.
Yuji Itadori hurriedly raised his hand. "Auntie, I'll go with you! I can help carry things!"
"All right. Thank you, Itadori. Junpei, you come along, too!" Nagi Yoshino winked to show that she had noticed we had something to discuss, then took Junpei Yoshino with her as well.
"What's wrong, Megumi? You haven't said anything for a while." We wandered aimlessly down the street, and after some time, I was the first to break the silence.
"Is this your mission? Is this what you've been working on lately?"
"Ha... Not exactly. Junpei got caught up in that movie theater incident, so we came to ask him a few questions."
"...All right. I know this might be unnecessary, but please be careful, both you and Itadori." Don't come back covered in injuries like you did at the Juvenile Detention Center.
Nobara Kugisaki squeezed between us. "All right, all right. Why talk about this when we're off the clock? Shouldn't we buy something to bring to Auntie's house? Having this many people over really is a lot of trouble for her..."
"Oh! You're right! And I forgot the souvenir I promised Mr. Gojo!"
"Huh? That guy actually asked you to bring him a souvenir?!"
"After all, Edano's the only person in all of Jujutsu High who would bring Mr. Gojo a souvenir." With an expressionless face, Megumi Fushiguro punctured Satoru Gojo's image-one that had never actually existed.
Before you continue