A binding vow

Aikawa Kaze couldn't understand it, but he was utterly stunned.

After studying the two of them carefully, he finally realized that the timeline hadn't gotten mixed up.

Satoru Gojo was still the invincible Satoru Gojo, completely unscathed thanks to Limitless, while Suguru Geto had indeed already become a cult leader.

The evidence was the tattered robes he wore, along with those indescribable black things on his earlobes... earrings?

"You've already grasped a domain at your age, yet I've never even heard of you."

Satoru Gojo found that strange. The boy didn't seem like someone who had never had contact with Jujutsu Society, yet Gojo genuinely hadn't heard a thing about him.

With his age and ability, he shouldn't have been completely unknown unless he was some genius jujutsu sorcerer who had suddenly emerged from the ordinary population.

"It's not a domain."

Aikawa Kaze contradicted him instinctively, then thought for a moment and added something.

"It's not my domain."

"Oh?"

Aikawa Kaze fell silent and said nothing more.

Although he'd been quite fond of Gojo in his previous life, this was reality now. He didn't think he could simply apply his old impressions wholesale; they could only serve as a rough reference.

Besides, Suguru Geto was still here, and he seemed to retain some consciousness.

Before Suguru Geto launched the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, Satoru Gojo presumably still trusted him and hoped to save him.

Aikawa Kaze didn't dislike Suguru Geto, but that didn't mean he trusted him, and Satoru Gojo likewise still held out hope for his closest friend.

Still, at least with Satoru Gojo, he didn't need to be too wary.

-He couldn't beat him anyway.

More importantly, Aikawa Kaze had already felt Archer's power slowly draining away, leaving his body with that hollowed-out weakness again.

He did want to talk to these people, but definitely not now.

His nerves had been taut because of the hidden enemy, but once he saw that these weren't actual enemies, he had instinctively relaxed.

The instant before he felt his consciousness slipping away, Aikawa Kaze decisively chose to say the most important thing.

He was a jujutsu sorcerer, after all, and a promising student at that. With so many mysteries surrounding his cursed technique, Satoru Gojo couldn't possibly leave him alone.

That meant the only thing left to arrange was...

"Take Sakura... home first."

With that, the white-haired, golden-eyed boy closed his eyes and fell to the ground with a thud. His hair then returned to its original inky black.

His closed eyes concealed their color, but Satoru Gojo could guess without looking that they had probably returned to their original color as well.

"An ability like summoning something to possess him?" Satoru Gojo rubbed his chin, intrigued. "I've never seen this type before!"

He really should take him back for Shoko to examine. Perhaps the Gojo faction could even gain another capable recruit.

Satoru Gojo scooped up the unconscious boy, then narrowed his eyes at Suguru Geto, who was equally bedraggled and barely clinging to consciousness.

Suguru Geto didn't have Limitless to protect him. Although he had promptly released several cursed spirits to surround and shield him when he was targeted, they had only barely managed it.

Not even scraps remained of those cursed spirits.

Suguru Geto was still alive not only because of their protection, but also because Satoru Gojo had instinctively borne a large portion of the attack for him upon realizing it was stronger than expected.

"Aw, letting you go just like this feels like such a waste."

"Haven't you already taken enough photos of me?"

"Nope, that's nowhere near enough!"

Satoru Gojo shook his head.

As mentioned before, when Suguru Geto had first become a curse user and the higher-ups explicitly sent Gojo to hunt him down, he hadn't brought him back to stand trial. Naturally, he wouldn't do so now either.

But...

"Got it! I've decided. Geto, you owe me one. Got that?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you're lying here all alone, weak and pitiful, and I haven't kicked you while you're down and dragged you back!"

Satoru Gojo said it with absolute conviction. He genuinely thought he was being very reasonable.

Suguru Geto nearly laughed at how utterly justified he looked.

"You're still so naive, Satoru. But even so, I have no intention of making a binding vow with you over this."

Once established, a binding vow in Jujutsu Society had to be honored, and Satoru Gojo's demand was far too broad.

If they really made a binding vow over this, Suguru Geto feared it would become an obstacle to carrying out his "righteous cause."

"Huh?"

Satoru Gojo froze at that, his eyes widening in disbelief. He took off his sunglasses, revealing his beautiful, brilliant sky-blue eyes.

The Six Eyes stared wide-eyed at Suguru Geto, conveying their owner's shock in full, along with the hurt of being dealt such a blow.

"You're telling me... we need a binding vow? Has our relationship really deteriorated that far?"

Satoru Gojo was genuinely stunned, as well as a little hurt and aggrieved.

He had simply wanted Suguru Geto to agree to one request on instinct.

Although he couldn't use it now, nor could he use it to persuade Geto to abandon his "righteous cause," he instinctively felt... that having such a request might prove invaluable if they ever faced an irreversible situation.

Even now, after they had gone their separate ways, he still regarded Geto as his most important friend deep down, and he had never doubted whether Geto would keep his word.

That was why a binding vow hadn't even occurred to him. All he wanted was a promise.

Faced with those candid yet angry Six Eyes, Suguru Geto found himself at a loss for words. He even felt a little ashamed and guilty.

He hadn't expected Satoru Gojo to truly want nothing more than his spoken agreement. After all...

"I never imagined that, even after things have come this far, you could still trust someone like me."

"What are you talking about, Geto? Haven't we always been friends?"

Satoru Gojo clenched his fist and gave him a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I really want to beat you up right now."

"..."

Suguru Geto was silent for a long time before he sighed.

"Do as you like."

"Hmph. Then I'll take this brat to see Shoko."

Satoru Gojo vanished on the spot with Aikawa Kaze in his grasp. Suguru Geto stared blankly at the place where he had disappeared, and after a long while, a faint smile actually curved his lips.

Neither of them mentioned that promise again, but in their hearts, they had tacitly accepted this "binding vow" without a binding vow.

That "do as you like" was a concession to Satoru Gojo with two meanings: whether Gojo intended to take this opportunity to beat Suguru Geto up, or whether Suguru Geto owed Satoru Gojo a favor, it applied to both.

"Tch. You always used to say you couldn't win an argument with me. But looking at things now, clearly I'm the one who can't do anything about you, aren't I?"

Suguru Geto sighed and summoned a cursed spirit to carry him back.

It looked like he would have to spend some time recovering and keep a low profile for a while...