Consultant

Ze Zenin did not go with Satoru Gojo. Instead, he went to see Maki in the second-year classroom at Jujutsu High.

"Huh??"

A panda stared blankly at a girl with glasses and a long green ponytail. "You mean Ze Zenin is your actual older brother?"

Beside the strange panda stood a white-haired boy whose high collar covered his mouth, leaving only his eyes visible. A single phrase came from his mouth:

"Dried bonito."

"Really..." Maki stared at Ze Zenin standing in the classroom doorway, blushing a little with embarrassment. "Our hair might be different colors, but he really is my older brother."

Panda stared at Maki, then looked back at Ze Zenin to compare them. "I thought you two were just from the same clan. Who would've guessed?"

"Salmon."

Ignoring Panda's shock, Maki walked up to Ze Zenin with a blush and muttered quietly, "Big brother, why did you suddenly come here to see me? I wasn't planning to let anyone know we were related..."

"What does it matter? Are you afraid having a blood relative with zero cursed energy would hurt my reputation?" Ze Zenin smiled and patted Maki's head, but his voice carried absolute authority. "I'd like to see anyone in the Zenin clan-or all of Jujutsu Society-dare say anything."

"Mm..."

Maki nodded, her face red. Although she acted like a strong, independent woman around other people, it was hard not to act like a little girl around the brother who had raised her and her younger sister, Mai, since childhood.

"But let me tell you a little secret..." Ze Zenin whispered to Maki. "Mai might be coming here before too long."

"Then you sisters can have a proper spar..."

Suddenly, a pair of hands reached for Ze Zenin's waist and pinched him hard.

"Fuck!" Ze Zenin could no longer maintain his usual cool demeanor and cried out in pain. Just as the force of that pinch struck him as familiar, he spun around and found himself face-to-face with a woman with long brown hair, their faces mere inches apart.

"..."

The woman did not look angry. Her lips simply curved upward as she looked at Ze Zenin's face. "What's this? Is our busy man trying to steal a kiss?"

"Shoko?" Ze Zenin stared at Shoko, his face suddenly reddening. He did not know why, but sometimes he really could not stay calm around her.

Perhaps it was because of that summer, on that bench, when a thirsty boy had seen a girl offer him her drink with a radiant smile.

Just then, Satoru Gojo arrived nearby with Itadori, as did Suguru Geto with Nanako and Mimiko. Seeing the intimate scene, they immediately hid and began secretly watching how things unfolded.

Ze Zenin hastily stepped back, leaving a full person's width between himself and Shoko. He coughed and said awkwardly, "Shoko, your pinching skills haven't changed at all, huh?"

"You..." Shoko fixed Ze Zenin with a cold, displeased stare. "How long has it been since we last saw each other?"

"Uh... about a week?" Ze Zenin ventured weakly.

"A month." Shoko's expression darkened further. "Did you forget you promised to tell me the story of Spirited Away last time?"

"And here I even made a point of getting ready before coming over..."

Ze Zenin: "..."

He was doomed. He had spent the past month dealing with the backlog of documents at Jujutsu Headquarters and screening candidates for middle management. He had completely forgotten about telling Shoko the story.

Ze Zenin looked at Shoko. Her face was as delicate and lovely as it had been twelve years ago, and the beauty mark beneath her eye lent her a hint of allure.

He gave an awkward laugh, then pointed at Maki. "It's mostly because of my sister, Maki. The semester barely started, and she already got into a fight with a classmate. The school specifically called me in for a meeting..."

"Huh?" Maki stared at her brother as he spouted nonsense, as though seeing him for the first time. Since when did my brother start making things up like this?

For a moment, a certain white-haired bastard wearing a blindfold also came to mind.

Still, figuring her brother must have his reasons, Maki bit the bullet and said, "It was all my fault..."

Shoko glared at Ze Zenin, then pinched Maki's cheek. "It's one thing for him to lie to me, but you're going along with it too?"

Shoko strode forward, took Ze Zenin's hand, and led him out of the hallway.

Everyone quietly watching from the sidelines wore the look of spectators enjoying a juicy bit of gossip.

Watching Shoko and Ze Zenin walk farther away, Satoru Gojo could not help smiling. Those two... it's been twelve years already...

No, I've got to make that guy explain himself one of these days! I can't let those two keep dragging their feet like this!

Suguru Geto, meanwhile, looked thoughtful as he watched them. He seemed to remember learning somewhere that their relationship was more than ordinary. But where?

Nanako and Mimiko kept typing messages on their phones.

"Geto-sensei seems to have forgotten about Lord Zenin and Shoko too..."

"Geto-sensei's memory loss... it's like all he knows now is that his mission is to stay at Jujutsu High as a teacher."

"Even his relationships with Satoru Gojo and Lord Zenin haven't been as close since that day."

Behind Suguru Geto, the two girls kept their worried gazes fixed on his back.

He was their teacher... and their adoptive father!

Outside the classroom building

Ze Zenin looked guiltily at Shoko beside him and murmured, "Shoko, I really have been so busy lately..."

"Idiot!" Seeing that expression on Ze Zenin's face for the first time, Shoko lost the anger she had shown in the hallway. "Don't you think I know you? You wouldn't break a promise unless something important came up."

"But..."

"It's all right."

Shoko and Ze Zenin reached a bench. Both seemed lost in a daze, as though they had returned to that summer.

"Is there anyone you like now?" Ze Zenin could not help asking as he looked at Shoko's profile.

"Take a guess." Shoko playfully avoided answering. "Or could it be that you like..."

"You figured it out already?" Ze Zenin suddenly gave a mischievous smile, as though he had become the little goofball he used to be. "Have you been secretly watching me?"

You little punk... Satoru Gojo, watching from hiding, could not help feeling delighted. You've finally caught on. There's hope for these two at last.

A flicker of joy crossed Shoko's eyes. So he really does...

"There's actually something else I need to tell you." Ze Zenin abruptly changed the subject and said gravely, "The higher-ups have made a staffing decision. They're temporarily transferring me to Kyoto Jujutsu High as an adviser..."

"Huh? Why?" Shoko suddenly grew agitated, her expression tense. "Couldn't Geto or Gojo go instead?"

Satoru Gojo was equally shocked. "You, an adviser? What kind of joke-"

Realizing he had exposed himself, Satoru Gojo hurriedly covered his mouth. Under Shoko and Ze Zenin's cold, murderous stares, he forced an ugly smile. "Uh, well, I was just passing by. Carry on."

With that, Satoru Gojo hastily used Blue to teleport away from the trouble spot.

Ze Zenin: "..."

Shoko: "..."

Scumbag... That was the only thought in either of their minds.

Returning to the subject, Ze Zenin looked seriously at Shoko. "Gojo and Geto don't hold positions at Jujutsu Headquarters, and the higher-ups think Tokyo has too many Special Grade Sorcerers. Educational resources are skewed too heavily toward us..."

"And with the Sister-School Goodwill Event coming up in three months, they're sending me over specifically to give the students there some intensive training."

"It probably won't be for very long, so there's no need to worry."

Ze Zenin looked at Shoko again and smiled gently. "My guess is those old geezers feel too pressured by me and want to send me away for a bit of peace."

"But... I have plans of my own, too."

Shoko looked at Ze Zenin, then reached over and pinched the flesh at his waist again.

"Fuck! No, don't!"