Eat well, make a fat getaway

What happened next in the plot was no longer Kamo Xu's concern. He watched Satoru Gojo point a finger at Yuji Itadori, and the boy fell sound asleep.

"Oh dear, what am I going to do?" Satoru Gojo caught the unconscious Itadori with a show of distress, while his Six Eyes kept drifting toward Kamo Xu.

"This kid's about to be executed. If some kind soul joined me in putting pressure on the higher-ups, I'm sure he could survive~"

"Saving a life is worth more than building a seven-story pagoda. Now, where could I find such a powerful, kindhearted person~?"

Emotional blackmail. Shameless emotional blackmail. As soon as Satoru Gojo noticed that Kamo Xu cared about the boy, he immediately made him his target.

Who knew? If his gamble paid off, Kamo Xu might actually go back with him.

Unfortunately, Kamo Xu did not respond to Satoru Gojo's roundabout invitation.

"I'm not going back. Jujutsu High would never agree to let me keep getting stronger through my current methods."

Moonlight fell over the two of them. Half a year had passed in the blink of an eye, and he was still just as stubborn.

Once Suguru Geto chose a direction, he would sprint toward it without pause, afraid that stopping would mean losing sight of his goal.

But Kamo Xu would never stop. Whether he ran or walked, he would only keep moving forward. Until he achieved his goal, he would never pass up a single opportunity.

Any opportunity to become stronger...

Even if it meant going to extremes, even if he lost everything, even if nothing but suffering surrounded him in the end.

As long as the people he cherished could keep living as they always had, holding on to that precious happiness in this filthy, cruel world.

No matter how bitter or painful it was, he would gladly endure it...

"Satoru, I won't go out of my way to kill people, but the unconscious curses humans produce under extreme circumstances are nourishment for my growth, too."

Kamo Xu put the eye patch back over his left eye, covering that scarlet Cursed Eye.

Once he was done, he looked earnestly at Satoru Gojo.

"Cursed spirits or humans, it doesn't matter. If it's hatred, I'll take it all."

"Besides... do you really think those old bastards among the Jujutsu Higher-Ups would let a ticking time bomb like me grow stronger without restraint?"

He sighed. Time had flown by, and in the blink of an eye, the two high-spirited boys they had once been had become grown men pushing thirty.

Kamo Xu's actual age was even more staggering. Across his two lives, he had lived through sixty years, and time had shown him far too much.

The passing years brought change and understanding; the turning sun and moon spared no one.

The sudden upheaval had struck like a sledgehammer, catching him completely off guard.

The moment he lost his happiness, he truly had wanted to destroy everything.

He had thought about ending it all, and he had thought about giving up on himself.

Kamo Xu's hair had always been spiky. No matter how neatly he smoothed it down, a gust of wind would expose its true form-prickly and hopelessly disheveled.

It was unruly, as though born to reject any attempt to put it in order.

But his mother's final words were like the elastic holding the braid at the back of his head...

They bound the wild, prickly, unruly Kamo Xu tight.

In the end, he could only avert his eyes from Satoru Gojo's burning gaze. He could not go back.

"Gojo..." The change in address said it all. Kamo Xu would never go back with Satoru Gojo.

He moved away from Megumi Fushiguro and stood up.

Walking over to Satoru Gojo, he patted his shoulder, as though they shared an unspoken understanding.

Neither Limitless's defense nor Flowing Red Scale's blood manipulation came into play.

They already stood on opposite sides. Any effort or struggle would only be pointless.

Things they both understood needed no explanation, yet that very understanding made communication between them difficult.

Each knew what the other was thinking. Each knew why the other was doing this...

But that very understanding... had become the thickest wall between them.

One without even a single door or window...

"Take this boy with you and do your best. I might return to Jujutsu High later for something very important."

"Until you make good on that meal you owe Geto..."

We're still enemies.

Kamo Xu left, departing in the deepest hours of the night.

Satoru Gojo stood there supporting Itadori and watched for a long time, as though staring long enough might make that resolute figure turn back to look at him...

Heh... since when had I become so pathetic?

Just then, Fushiguro groaned awake. Holding his head, he slowly pushed himself up. "Ow, that hurts. What hap... Gojo-sensei?"

His gaze focused on the white-haired figure. It seemed things had been settled, and Yuji Itadori had been subdued...

"Sensei... what happened?" Megumi Fushiguro tried to stand, but his injured, foggy head refused to cooperate. A wave of dizziness and weakness forced the boy back onto the ground.

He simply gave up the pointless struggle and sat where he was to recover his strength, asking about Yuji Itadori's final verdict while he was at it...

"Without a doubt... execution~"

Satoru Gojo delivered the cruel answer with a smile. Megumi Fushiguro was not surprised, but he was not willing to accept that verdict either.

During Sukuna's fight with Kamo Xu, he had clearly seen Itadori regain control of his body after ten seconds. Maybe he really could control himself, or even take charge of his body!

Besides... he was the same age as him, and so kind it bordered on idiotic...

"I don't want him to die."

"Personal feelings?"

"Yeah, it's personal, all right? Please find a way, whatever it takes."

Satoru Gojo bobbed his head around, putting on an "Oh, this is difficult" act, but finally laughed when he saw Megumi Fushiguro's serious expression.

"All right. Since my adorable student is asking, I suppose I'll reluctantly agree~"

He hoisted Yuji Itadori onto his shoulder and gave a thumbs-up. "Leave it to me!"

With this unreliable man saying that, the matter was pretty much settled.

Satoru Gojo might be unreliable. Very unreliable. Extremely unreliable.

But he always did what he promised. In that respect, he was surprisingly reliable.

"Ah~ Time to retreat, retreat! Time to eat the Kikufuku I bought. I can't wait to taste those sweet, delicious little treats."

Satoru Gojo held out a hand to Megumi Fushiguro...

Megumi Fushiguro: ?

What? I'm not going to eat your Kikufuku.

When Megumi Fushiguro did not react, Satoru Gojo assumed he had not understood and extended his hand a little farther.

"The Kikufuku. I stood in line forever at Kikusuian to buy it, then gave it to Kamo Xu to hold. You were closest to him, so he must have given it to you, right? Keep pretending you don't know, and your teacher's going to get angry."

This bastard!

He went to buy souvenirs before coming here? When lives were at stake!?

Fuck you!

"Oh, they're not souvenirs. They're for me. You're not getting any~"

After saying that, he held his hand out again, but Megumi Fushiguro spread his hands, letting Satoru Gojo see for himself that there really was no Kikufuku on him or anywhere nearby.

Gone? How could it be gone...?

Fuck, no way...

Satoru Gojo's face suddenly fell. In disbelief, he turned toward the direction Kamo Xu had left.

The figure he had still been able to see just moments ago had now vanished completely!

"Kamo Xu, you bastard! I stood in line forever to buy those treats!!!"

Far away, Kamo Xu was sprinting north at full speed, clutching the bag of Kikufuku with another piece hanging from his mouth.

Time to bail, boys!

Eat well, make a fat getaway!