December 7, 2007, was Satoru Gojo's eighteenth birthday. He was now an adult in every sense of the word.
The rebellious boy "insisted" that his classmates join him for a small gathering at a hot spring inn to celebrate his birthday.
Early December wasn't cold enough for that yet. Shoko rolled her eyes and listed several problems that could arise from a rush of blood to the head.
"It's my birthday! Doesn't that mean I get the final say?"
Satoru Gojo said it with perfect confidence, leaving everyone else speechless.
He created a group chat and excluded only Miwa Riona. He couldn't have made the snub more obvious.
When asked why, his answer was, "I don't like that overly formal way she talks."
Maybe he preferred getting yelled at. Satoru Gojo might have been a masochist.
Masamichi Yaga wanted nothing to do with it. He closed his eyes and announced a day off from classes. Eikura Yohei, who taught the second-years, took the hint and canceled classes for the day too.
Miwa Riona knew nothing about any of this and happily went back to spend time with her Lord Tetsuya.
The inn was nestled in the mountains on the outskirts of Tokyo and had natural hot spring baths. Satoru Gojo felt that, now that he was an adult, he could get away with all sorts of mischief, so he splurged and booked the entire place.
That was why Miwa Chisei found Satoru Gojo rather agreeable that day.
When Shoko Ieiri and Miwa Chisei entered the bath, they heard a noisy commotion on the other side of the tightly woven bamboo partition.
"Geto, yours is huge."
"Yours isn't small either, Satoru."
Shoko Ieiri frowned at those words and instinctively reached over to cover Miwa Chisei's ears.
Miwa Chisei tilted her head