Birthday and farewell

Time flew by, and before I knew it, another new year had arrived.

After this year, my body would be ten years old.

On my birthday, the Zenin Clan once again held a lavish banquet for me, inviting quite a few people from Jujutsu Society.

The Gojo Clan, the Kamo Clan, and other minor clans whose names I didn't know all gathered in the courtyard. They traded hollow compliments while casting furtive glances at the girl sitting beside Naobito Zenin.

Even Naoya Zenin couldn't sit in that seat closest to the clan head.

-the Zenin Clan's Young Master, in every sense of the title.

It wasn't like the year I had first awakened, when I could only make a brief appearance before being whisked away for protection.

This year, I could sit right in the middle of the banquet as a matter of course, listening to the disgustingly obsequious flattery all around me.

In a way, these old geezers were pretty shameless themselves. They could actually shower a ten-year-old child with endless praise just to secure a connection to the Zenin Clan.

It was nauseating.

Before long, the atmosphere caused waves of increasingly intense mental discomfort, leaving me in agony.

At last, I couldn't bear it anymore. I stood, said a word to my father in name only, and left the banquet.

Satoru Gojo happened to have said he needed to see me, so there was no reason to stay here torturing myself.

Bang-

The moment I stepped into the courtyard, a deafening sound exploded beside my ears.

I reflexively summoned the Divine Dogs, only to hear a voice I knew all too well say:

"Happy birthday!"

"The great Lord Satoru came all this way just to celebrate your birthday!"

Only then did I look up. Sure enough, there stood a certain blue-eyed, white-haired boy who was supposed to be out on a mission.

For some reason, even though I was only a year younger than him, I had barely reached 120 centimeters, while Satoru Gojo was already 140 centimeters tall.

"Gojo...?"

I hesitated.

"Didn't you go out on a mission?"

Satoru Gojo planted both hands on his hips, his nose practically pointing at the sky. "Who do you think I am? A measly grade-one mission was nothing! I finished it in no time!"

He turned his hands over, producing the present he'd prepared. "Here, your birthday present. There's a tin of candy in here that I really, really love!"

It was a newly released strawberry milk flavor, rich and fragrant, and a limited edition to boot.

Giving it away had pained him for quite a while.

I reached out to take it, then said without a change in expression, "Thank you, Gojo."

Then Satoru Gojo rummaged and rummaged through his pockets. After pulling out a huge pile of candy, he finally found a little box about half the size of his palm.

"Here, this one's from Geto."

After handing it to me, Satoru Gojo leaned closer and kept urging me on. "Open it! Open it! What did Geto get you in such a tiny box?"

When I opened it, I found a silver bracelet adorned with several small, deep-purple beads. They shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight and were truly beautiful.

I fell in love with the bracelet at once and couldn't wait to try it on.

Then the white-haired boy beside me piped up arrogantly.

"Ehh-Geto's taste isn't that great either... He actually bought something purple!"

I said, "..."

My fists clenched.

How much better could someone who gave me candy be?

I didn't even like sweets!

I fought down my anger. "Then what do you think it should look like?"

Satoru Gojo answered confidently, "If you ask me, he should've had a Kamen Rider bracelet custom-made, with all kinds of colors... Put that on your wrist, and everyone would turn to look when you went out-a hundred percent! Super cool, right?"

...I'd forgotten. At eleven years old, Satoru Gojo was right in the middle of his obsession with formulaic hot-blooded shows.

Should I be grateful you gave me candy?

I returned to my courtyard. The Divine Dogs wagged their tails excitedly, brimming with energy as they eagerly tore into the pile of gifts in the corner that others had sent to curry favor.

The sunshine was warm, the surroundings quiet. Everything seemed peaceful.

I thought the rest of the day would pass just like that.

Then, for once, Toji came to my courtyard.

"Toji?"

The man before me wore a careless expression. He sauntered over to my table, sat down, and even poured himself a cup of tea.

After finishing it, he said casually, "Young lady, I'm leaving."

Like a thunderclap out of a clear sky, his words sent violent waves surging through my heart.

He was... leaving?