A fellow transfer student

"Shoko, why hasn't he woken up yet?"

"How should I know! I've healed all his injuries. He exhausted his cursed energy, sure, but after sleeping this long, he should be awake by now..."

In Jujutsu High's Infirmary, Shoko Ieiri irritably waved Satoru Gojo away as though she were shooing a fly.

"It's not like I asked you to wait here. If you're bored, go do your missions!"

"Ehhh~~ No! I wanna wait until Kaze wakes up~~"

"Suit yourself."

Satoru Gojo's singsong voice echoed through the Infirmary. Shoko Ieiri was used to his occasional bouts of wheedling like a high school girl, and walked out without a change in expression.

"Since you're here, I'm going for a smoke."

"Shoko, you should take better care of your lungs!"

"I have Reverse Cursed Technique."

"Honestly, using Reverse Cursed Technique like that... If it had a mind of its own, it'd probably cry, wouldn't it?"

Shoko Ieiri ignored Satoru Gojo's needling and left as though she hadn't heard him.

Of course, she only dared to smoke and drink like this because she had Reverse Cursed Technique's powerful healing to rely on. As long as someone was still breathing, she could save them. Her ability was hers to use however she liked!

Only after Shoko left did Satoru Gojo's smile fade. He stared at Aikawa Kaze, unsure whether the boy was unconscious or merely asleep.

Yesterday, he had already had the Gojo Clan investigate him. The boy's life... Far from being full of twists and turns, it had been as smooth and uneventful as any ordinary person's. They couldn't find any sign of contact with Jujutsu Society.

But that was impossible. The boy knew quite a lot about Jujutsu Society, and could even deploy a "domain." Although he claimed it belonged to someone else, he had still been the one to use it.

Naturally, Satoru Gojo couldn't feel comfortable leaving someone so powerful, whose allegiances remained unclear, alone with the much weaker Shoko. He could only patiently wait for him to wake up.

Most of the boy's injuries had been minor, and he had only passed out from exhausting his cursed energy and stamina. By all rights, he should have woken up long ago.

"I'm so bored. I really want some Edamame Fresh Cream Kikufuku... But leaving this guy alone at Jujutsu High would be way too dangerous."

"I know! I'll wrap you up like a mummy and take you along! I can say you're a life-sized mummy figure!"

No sooner had the idea struck him than Satoru Gojo eagerly began rummaging through the cupboards. After finding a stack of bandages, he excitedly started winding them around Aikawa Kaze's head.

"...May I ask what you're doing?"

Roused by a faint feeling of suffocation, Aikawa Kaze slowly opened his eyes and stared expressionlessly at Satoru Gojo, who was holding bandages and wrapping his head.

Ah, my throat hurts. My head hurts even more.

The sight of Satoru Gojo reminded him of the big white cat he had just spent ages haggling and arguing with.

White hair, blue eyes, tiny sunglasses...

Apart from one being a person and the other a cat, they're a hundred percent identical.

This world's world consciousness really did seem to love Satoru Gojo. Unfortunately, the resemblance infuriated him and made him want to punch the man.

Of course, Aikawa Kaze only entertained the thought without acting on it. He couldn't get through Limitless yet, after all.

I'll mark this grudge down twice for now.

He couldn't hit the world consciousness, so its darling son Satoru Gojo could shoulder his old man's debts as well.

"Oh, Kaze, you're awake! Looks like your dear Gojo Sensei's treatment really worked~~"

Little flowers seemed to float behind Satoru Gojo as he happily gave Aikawa Kaze a thumbs-up.

"No need to be polite, no need to thank me. It's a teacher's duty!"

"Oh, good. I don't like exchanging pleasantries anyway." Aikawa Kaze nodded and asked, "Was Sakura taken home? What about explaining what happened?"

"Relax, relax. Your dependable Gojo Sensei already had Ijichi take care of all that."

Satoru Gojo casually waved a hand. His gaze looked equally casual, but beneath it lay careful scrutiny and appraisal.

"So, isn't there something Kaze-chan ought to tell me?"

"..."

Aikawa Kaze shuddered at the nauseating nickname. But he knew perfectly well that correcting Satoru Gojo would accomplish nothing and only invite more teasing, so he resisted the urge to protest.

After a moment's consideration, Aikawa Kaze spoke in all seriousness.

"Although you took care of Sakura and treated me, we never discussed a price. From a rational standpoint, I therefore don't believe I'm required to pay an exorbitant commission fee."

"???"

"Of course, out of humanitarian and emotional considerations, I could share the delicacy I've been saving in my refrigerator with you."

"Edamame Fresh Cream Kikufuku?"

"No, my special extra-spicy Mapo Tofu."

"Who wants something that terrifying?!"

Satoru Gojo puffed out his cheeks. He wasn't short of money, only sweets. Unfortunately, this kid seemed to belong to the spicy-food camp.

No, wait. He got me off track!

"Aren't you going to explain?"

"Explain what?" Aikawa Kaze blinked innocently. "I've known for a while that you're very interested in my cursed technique, but I don't believe I'm obligated to answer your questions, am I?"

"Really? Are you sure?"

At that, Satoru Gojo pulled over a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs.

"I used Blue at the scene to cover up the traces of your cursed energy. Do you know what that means?"

"..."

Aikawa Kaze fell silent. He realized he really had overlooked a few things.

He sat up, paying no attention to the bandages wound haphazardly around him, and thanked him earnestly.

"Thank you. Otherwise, I could have ended up in a great deal of trouble."

Jujutsu Society's upper ranks were full of old conservatives. If those old geezers learned that he had summoned a heroic spirit and deployed a "domain," they would probably label him dangerous.

Even if it didn't warrant a death sentence, he would likely be subjected to supervision and surveillance.

After all, in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, special grade cursed spirits each had domains, but very few jujutsu sorcerers had mastered that advanced skill.

Even Suguru Geto, a special grade sorcerer and curse user, hadn't mastered a domain!

Put that way, Satoru Gojo really had done him an enormous favor.

His deliberate cheekiness just now had partly been a small act of revenge for Satoru Gojo's prank, and partly because he had only just managed to reach common ground with the world consciousness.

Stalling a little would give that big white cat time to do something useful and "optimize" his background, making it easier for him to con-scratch that, explain things.

"I assume you've already investigated my background."

Aikawa Kaze wasn't quite sure how efficiently that white cat worked, so he avoided spelling things out too clearly. Still, he knew how to drop vague hints and let people fill in the blanks.

"My ability comes from my mother's side. It's a mysterious power from an ancient nation in the East. Of course, they apparently weren't very approving of my mother's choice, which is how things ended up like this."

Yes, that was the solution Aikawa Kaze had come up with.

No matter how capable Satoru Gojo was, surely he couldn't guarantee that he could investigate everything across the sea?

This way, whenever anyone asked about the many inexplicable things about him, his future unconventional ideas, or his various peculiarities, the answer would be "mysterious Eastern powers."

Go across the sea and verify it yourselves, if you can!

That also explained why "Aikawa Kaze" knew about Jujutsu Society despite never having had any contact with it.

He wouldn't need to rack his brains for explanations. If anyone kept digging, he could simply give them a meaningful smile suggesting that he "couldn't say." It saved him a lot of trouble.

Although Aikawa Kaze didn't actually like all that emphasis on bloodlines and families, people in this country, especially in Jujutsu Society, believed in it deeply.

Thus, after Aikawa Kaze explained that his mother was the daughter of a prominent family in an ancient Eastern nation, Jujutsu Society seemed to accept all his secrets as "perfectly normal."

They would naturally fill in the blanks themselves. Perhaps the things he couldn't discuss were confidential family matters or something similar.

Satisfied with the answer, Satoru Gojo was pleased.

He didn't really mind Aikawa Kaze having little secrets of his own. Besides, he had seen how hard Aikawa Kaze had fought to protect the little girl earlier. The boy had a good heart.

In that case, as long as he wasn't firmly aligned with the old conservatives, everything was fine.

After confirming that everything Aikawa Kaze had said was true, Satoru Gojo didn't delve much further. Instead, he grinned and extended an invitation.

"Look, isn't our Jujutsu High campus big and beautiful? The students are all friendly and fun, too!"

"If you enroll, not only do you get free room and board, we even guarantee you a job! While you're studying, you'll have plenty of internship opportunities and get to visit famous attractions all over the country. Tempting, right? Want to transfer to Jujutsu High?"

If Aikawa Kaze hadn't known the truth, he might actually have believed him.

Of course, in a certain sense, Satoru Gojo wasn't lying.

"I'm looking forward to studying at Jujutsu High, too, but I'll have to trouble you with the transfer paperwork."

Satoru Gojo made an okay sign, then suddenly seemed to remember something and adopted an amused expression.

"You're in luck, Kaze-chan! Being the only transfer student makes it easy to feel isolated and lost, right? But this time, you'll have a classmate transferring in with you!"

Thinking of the child who had already been hauled into a confinement room, Satoru Gojo couldn't help breaking into a grin.

This year is going to be lively, too!