Awakening (3)

Toji Fushiguro's pupils trembled. He had no idea why Chinatsu would save him. After all, not only had he failed his mission and lost to her, but he had actually killed her little brother...

Just as that thought crossed Toji Fushiguro's mind, Satoru Gojo, who lay on the ground nearby, slowly climbed to his feet just as Chinatsu had, pulling off the same back-from-the-dead trick for a second time.

Seeing Toji Fushiguro so shocked that he couldn't speak, Chinatsu immediately guessed what had stunned him. She couldn't help lowering her head and chuckling softly.

As Chinatsu laughed, Satoru Gojo, who wanted to go wild but had nowhere to vent, slipped both hands into his pockets and slowly walked over to her.

"Sis, you beat me to it again."

"How else would I qualify as your big sister?"

Chinatsu and Satoru Gojo chatted right in front of Toji Fushiguro, seemingly ignoring him completely.

Only minutes earlier, they had been enemies-enemies who had nearly beaten one another to death, not friends having a harmless little tussle.

A bleeding heart?

That description suddenly popped into Toji Fushiguro's mind, but almost immediately, he shook his head and dismissed the possibility.

In the end, he couldn't contain his confusion any longer. He turned to Chinatsu and asked.

"You... why did you save me?"

At Toji Fushiguro's question, Chinatsu turned to look at him, while Satoru Gojo turned to look at her. Although he had no interest in whether Toji Fushiguro lived or died, he was genuinely curious about why his sister had made that decision.

Had she gone soft?

Satoru Gojo didn't believe those words could ever apply to his sister. There had to be a reason.

Under their gazes, Chinatsu paused briefly, then raised both hands, holding up one finger on each.

"Do you want the truth or a lie?"

"The truth."

Toji Fushiguro chose the truth without the slightest hesitation. He wasn't in the mood to choose a lie and let Chinatsu amuse herself at his expense.

Switching into truth-telling mode, Chinatsu planted one hand on her hip and sighed helplessly. Under their intent gazes, she gave an honest answer.

"Hmm... I just like you?"

"Then give me the 'lie' instead."

Toji Fushiguro's face practically said, Do you really take me for an idiot? Beside Chinatsu, Satoru Gojo's face twitched slightly as he told her to stop messing around.

Chinatsu felt helpless. These days, nobody believed you even when you told the truth.

"The lie, huh? The lie is that I plan to overthrow the corrupt Jujutsu Society in the near future and carry out sweeping reforms. One or two powerful people won't be enough to achieve that, so I want to recruit strong, like-minded people."

Chinatsu shrugged and delivered her prepared answer for lie-telling mode.

Of course, although she called it a lie, it was actually true as well. Overthrowing the corrupt Jujutsu Society and reforming it really was Chinatsu's goal.

It simply had nothing whatsoever to do with saving Toji Fushiguro. Since the answer didn't match the question, it counted as a "lie."

Yet Toji Fushiguro genuinely took that lie to heart, even lowering his head to consider it seriously.

The Zenin Clan he had been born into was a microcosm of the corruption within Jujutsu Society. There was arguably no one who despised the current Jujutsu Society more than he did.

"You... are you confident you can do it?"

"Reforming Jujutsu Society will still be difficult. But if we're only talking about overthrowing it, I think you already know the answer."

"True."

Looking at Chinatsu and Satoru Gojo before him, Toji Fushiguro unconsciously raised a hand and pressed it against the spot where Hollow Purple had pierced his body.

By now, thanks to the positive energy Chinatsu had output through her Reverse Cursed Technique, the wound that would have killed him in less than a minute had healed completely. If not for his ruined clothes, there would have been no way to tell from his body alone that part of it had been blasted away.

The power to destroy everything, and the power to heal everything, too. What a monster.

Still... surprisingly, I don't dislike her.

"If you really decide to move against Jujutsu Society in the future, you can come find me. I'll help. But if you want me to join Jujutsu High, I'll have to decline."

Chinatsu naturally didn't press him. In fact, she had never even considered dragging Toji Fushiguro into Jujutsu High. That would have been far too outlandish.

Just as the three chatted like friends, a huge, fleshy worm cursed spirit suddenly charged out from the distance, opening its gaping maw at Toji Fushiguro.

Toji Fushiguro reacted instantly. He grabbed his cursed tool, the Soul Liberation Blade, and unleashed several swift, precise slashes, cutting the worm cursed spirit to pieces.

Suguru Geto arrived on the scene holding Playful Cloud, the Three-Section Staff. He had intended to call out to Chinatsu and Satoru Gojo that he was there to help, too.

But as he drew closer and took another look, he immediately sensed that something was off about the atmosphere. Three enormous question marks practically appeared above his head.

Wearing a goofy grin, Satoru Gojo hurried over to Suguru Geto and explained what had just happened as concisely as possible, using the shorthand they shared as best friends.

Seeing that things seemed safe, Riko Amanai and her maid, Misato Kuroi, also came out of the Jujutsu High building, one after the other.

Seeing that Riko Amanai had made her own choice without meeting a tragic fate, Chinatsu couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.

Before Riko Amanai appeared, she had been afraid that the chain reaction she had set off might have led Riko to agree to the merger after all.

As long as she didn't merge. As long as she didn't merge.

Although this would surely set off some new developments, Chinatsu could already imagine herself, Satoru Gojo, and Suguru Geto being summoned by some higher-up in Jujutsu Society in the near future, then being grilled about this and that.

It would be a bit of a hassle, but compared with Riko losing her life, that trouble was nothing.

Chinatsu and the others discussed plenty more at Jujutsu High. Just to be safe, Suguru Geto accompanied Riko Amanai and her maid, Misato Kuroi, home to keep them safe.

Meanwhile, Chinatsu and Satoru Gojo headed for the Tombs of the Star Corridor within Jujutsu High, where Tengen lived, ready to meet the immortal sorcerer who had lived for over a thousand years face-to-face.

As for Toji Fushiguro...

The phone in his pocket buzzed. When he checked the screen, he found a call from an executive of the Time Vessel Association, probably wanting to ask whether he had completed the assassination.

In silence, Toji Fushiguro blocked the number, switched off his phone, and slipped it back into his pocket.

"What should I do next? Whatever. I'll go home and check in for the first time in a while..."