Jujutsu High dormitory.
In one spacious room, Tsukasa Hatayama stood fully geared up, broom in hand, happily cleaning the den he would call home for the next three years.
It was hard to imagine how comical it looked to see someone who exuded such wealth and refinement doing housework.
After all his bustling about, the dusty room looked brand-new, and the air drifting in through the doorway smelled wonderfully fresh.
"Love you, Mom. I'll call tonight to let you know I'm safe. Hopefully you won't scold your son for leaving without saying goodbye."
"Mwah~"
With tenderness all over his face, Tsukasa Hatayama kissed a photo of himself and his mother, then carefully placed it beside his bed, afraid he might accidentally drop and break it.
As for his father's photo, he roughly shoved it under his pillow, using his stern father's naturally intimidating expression to ward off evil.
The boy with a bun who had come to knock froze at this blatant difference in treatment, an uncertain thought surfacing in his mind.
This new student wasn't a mama's boy, was he...?
Tsukasa Hatayama paused while arranging his toiletries. Sensing someone there, he turned and met the eyes of the boy with a bun... the delinquent standing outside.
Seeing the cross earring and ear gauges each wore, both their brains stalled, and almost simultaneously, the same uncertain thought rose in their minds.
Was this guy a delinquent?!
But Tsukasa Hatayama quickly dismissed the idea, because the person standing outside was Suguru Geto, a man whose life had been a tragedy from beginning to end.
Killed by his best friend, then having his body taken over by Kenjaku after death-put him in a romance novel, and he would unquestionably be the tragic male supporting character.
"Do you... want to come in and sit for a bit?"
After several seconds of silence, Tsukasa Hatayama was the first to break their awkward staring contest.
Suguru Geto's mind raced. In the end, he gave a slight bow, offered a polite "Sorry for intruding," then took off his shoes and stepped inside.
Yet as he approached Tsukasa Hatayama, the cursed spirits within his cursed energy actually trembled from the depths of their souls, as though they had encountered their natural enemy.
How was that possible?
Deeply shocked, Suguru Geto hurriedly soothed the cursed spirits with his cursed energy, then scrutinized the delinquent boy crouching on the floor with a grave expression.
From the countryside to the city, this was the first time the cursed spirits he had subdued had reacted like this. The fear rising from the depths of their souls was suffocating.
Jujutsu High really was full of hidden talents!
If even this boy his own age could make him feel threatened, the remaining two students were bound to be formidable as well.
Tsukasa Hatayama stayed silent in confusion, staring back at the solemn-faced Suguru Geto without quite understanding.
I didn't offend him, did I? So why was he staring so hard?
Was Suguru Geto hungry and visiting the neighbors in search of food, but too embarrassed to ask, so he was trying to get the message across by staring?
Right, that had to be it!
The more Tsukasa Hatayama thought about it, the more sense it made. He put down his shampoo and hurriedly pulled a huge pile of snacks his mother had prepared from his suitcase.
He divided them in half, then offered one half to Suguru Geto.
To his surprise, Suguru Geto took a huge step back, alarm bells ringing, and raised both hands in a defensive stance.
Tsukasa Hatayama froze. "I just wanted to share some snacks with you. There's no need to get so worked up, is there?"
As he spoke, he waved the snacks in his hands, afraid Suguru Geto would misunderstand.
"Oh, I see..."
Suguru Geto awkwardly lowered his hands. Mortified, he blurted out his name, grabbed his shoes, and fled the room where he had thoroughly embarrassed himself.
Tsukasa Hatayama stared blankly at the empty room. Only when a thunderous door slam came from next door did he snap out of his daze.
He chuckled in bewilderment. He never expected Suguru Geto at the start of school to be so funny-nothing like the man in the original story who called everyone monkeys.
The current timeline happened to be Satoru Gojo's high school years, with thirteen years still remaining before the main storyline began.
Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were only fifteen now, the same age as him, and likewise first-year students who had just entered Jujutsu High.
Near nightfall, in the first-year classroom.
Tsukasa Hatayama slowly slid open the classroom door. Only four sets of desks and chairs occupied the spacious room, and his first impression was how empty it felt.
He paid it little mind, however, casually choosing a seat by the window. Propping up his pale face with one hand, he enjoyed the quiet and opened his panel.
The panel was simple, red all over, and resembled a floating tablet.
[Name: Tsukasa Hatayama] [Sex: Look down and see for yourself] [Age: 15] [Cursed energy: Equivalent to one Nine-Tails] [Cursed techniques: Dark Manipulation, Orochi's Void (has side effects)] [Domain: Comprehension in progress] [Special ability: Mystic Eyes of Death Perception] [Special item: Perfect Hogyoku (no independent consciousness)] [Abilities: Ancient close-quarters combat (transcendent mastery), knife use (transcendent mastery), slash (Hōgyoku original), Cursed Pressure (Hōgyoku original), Rozan Rising Dragon (Hōgyoku original), Rozan Hundred Dragons (Hōgyoku original), Heavenly Devour (Hōgyoku original)]
Tsukasa Hatayama took it all in at a glance and nodded with some satisfaction. As the panel showed, his strength had clearly reached Special Grade.
What's more, he was a unique Special Grade with two cursed techniques-the first in history.
In fact, Orochi's Void was not his innate cursed technique. A one-use system had taken someone's ability and engraved it into his body as a cursed technique.
That ability's previous owner was the renowned Orochi from The King of Fighters, a god born from the will of Earth.
Anyone who had played The King of Fighters knew just how absurd Orochi's skills were. That shield that reflected everything was enough to drive you insane.
But the stronger an ability was, the more likely it was to come with side effects.
Perhaps Orochi had been sealed away for so long that the power of the void had become practically poisonous, forcing Tsukasa into a deep sleep every other month.
Those sleeps lasted ridiculously long. He would sleep for an entire month with no way to resist, and as a child, he had scared his parents half to death more than once.
Hospital examinations found absolutely nothing wrong. Eventually, they decided it was their ancestors descending upon him, bringing prosperity to the family through his slumber.
Fortunately, the Hōgyoku inside him gradually eliminated the side effects. By now, his sleeping periods had shortened from a month to half a month.
Speaking of the Hōgyoku, its abilities deserved a mention.
It could grant him inexhaustible cursed energy, refining it day and night like a cheat engine, endlessly evolving toward the next level.
As for the abilities listed on the panel, he came up with the ideas, and the Hōgyoku created them in forms compatible with this world's rules.
For example, Rozan Rising Dragon originally relied on Cosmo, but after the Hōgyoku modified it, it took a form powered by cursed energy and fist intent.
These were merely the Hōgyoku's minor functions. Its greatest power was making his body and soul undying and indestructible-commonly known as immortality.
Later on, even if he stood still and let Ryomen Sukuna hit him with World-Cutting Slash, Sukuna still wouldn't be able to kill him. There was no helping it-the Hōgyoku was simply too broken.
While Tsukasa Hatayama was lost in thought, a girl wearing Jujutsu High's skirted school uniform walked in with a cigarette between her lips.
Looking utterly unenthusiastic, she sat near the door, lazily sprawled across her desk, and began playing with an old-fashioned phone.
The crisp tapping of keys echoed through the classroom, making it clear that she was chatting with someone.
Just then.
Suguru Geto entered the classroom carrying two bottles of soda, wearing the smile of a model student.
When he saw Tsukasa Hatayama staring into space by the window with his cheek propped on his hand, the corners of his raised lips twitched. That afternoon's embarrassing incident replayed in his head.
To spare himself the irritation, Suguru Geto looked away as though nothing had happened.
But when he spotted the girl near the door playing with her phone, a cigarette in her mouth, the smile he had finally managed to restore twitched again.
Compared with that mama's boy wearing a cross earring, this girl looked even more like a delinquent.
Perhaps sensing Suguru Geto's gaze, the girl sprawled across her desk looked up suspiciously.
The first thing she saw was an odd-looking fringe, followed by the gauges in his ears, and then his twitching, handsome face.
With little interest, Shoko Ieiri removed the cigarette from her mouth and gave this odd-looking classmate a slight nod in greeting.
Afterward, she lazily slumped back onto her desk and resumed fiddling with her phone.
Suguru Geto looked away without giving it much thought. From sensing her cursed energy, he could tell firsthand that this girl was weak-she couldn't even beat a grade 4 cursed spirit.
This delinquent girl was seriously weak!
Despite the gentle smile Suguru Geto always wore, he was fiercely competitive at heart, holding firmly to the belief that he was weaker than no one.
(P.S. There are too many cursed technique skills, so I won't list them all, lest you dear readers accuse me of padding the word count.)
Before you continue