Let's Gossip a Little

Thanks to Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto's antics that morning, Eikura Yohei announced that the afternoon classes would be changed to self-study.

Kento Nanami was reading intently in the classroom, and his composure struck Miwa Chisei as rather unusual.

After all, Jujutsu Sorcerers tended to have such flamboyant personalities.

Eikura Yohei had called Yu Haibara over to help organize the storeroom. An enthusiastic, agreeable kid was naturally a favorite with teachers.

Miwa Chisei couldn't quite focus on the General Studies material in her textbook. It was all about Jujutsu Society, and its so-called history had brazenly erased the Miwa family. She seriously questioned the textbook's credibility.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kento Nanami glanced at the girl sitting one seat away. From the side, through the gap around her sunglasses, he could see that she seemed to be resting with her eyes closed.

The classroom was exceptionally quiet that afternoon, with only the sound of pages turning. After all, its two occupants were usually rather taciturn.

Soon, that peace was shattered.

A certain habitual truant yanked open the first-year classroom door and swaggered over to Miwa Chisei, planting one hand on her desk with a roguish air.

"My dad said to come to the Gojo Main House for dinner."

Kento Nanami wasn't one for gossip, but at that moment, he couldn't help pricking up his ears.

The voice roused Miwa Chisei, who had almost drifted into a trance. She yawned as she processed Satoru Gojo's words.

"Why?"

"How should I know? Probably something to do with your father."

Miwa Chisei's thoughts wandered. In her memory, Satoru Gojo's father was a very proper man, almost rigidly so.

Satoru Gojo's father hadn't been particularly close to her own father. Their connection mostly came from ties passed down through generations, with the injunction that "the Gojo Clan and the Miwa family must remain on friendly terms" sustaining the relationship between the two families.

Unlike the steadily dwindling Miwa family, the Gojo Clan had always held considerable sway in Jujutsu Society.

After all, the birth of the "Six Eyes" represented the pinnacle of this era.

Still, Miwa Chisei couldn't help wondering why no one from the Gojo Clan had shown any interest in the funeral rites after her father's death.

"Got it."

"I'll give you the address."

"Aren't you coming too?"

Satoru Gojo shook his head and replied with a grin.

"Dad didn't say I had to come, so you're going on your own."

Miwa Chisei was speechless. How did this guy's mind work? He plainly just didn't want to go home.

For once, Satoru Gojo didn't give Miwa Chisei much trouble. He slipped his hands into his pockets and sauntered out.

Kento Nanami, who wasn't the gossipy type, hesitated for a while before deciding to ask a little out of "concern for a classmate."

"Are you close to the Gojo Clan, Miwa?"

At Kento Nanami's calm question, Miwa Chisei simply shook her head.

"Our fathers had some connections, I suppose. Satoru Gojo and I don't get along."

That much was obvious. After all, Satoru Gojo looked as though he really wanted to punch Miwa Chisei. Still, that guy was always picking on people, so it hardly counted as school bullying.

Although Kento Nanami kept his eyes on his book, he continued talking to Miwa Chisei.

"Getting entangled with the Three Great Families is a lot of trouble."

That made Miwa Chisei glance at him. Most people's first reaction upon hearing the name of the Three Great Families was, Oh, so they're from the Three Great Families.

But this was the first time a Jujutsu Sorcerer had told Miwa Chisei that getting entangled with them was troublesome.

"You sound like you speak from experience, Nanami."

"Not experience. More of an instinct."

He's really something, Miwa Chisei marveled. Kento Nanami had a reassuring presence that made her want to confide in him.

But that would probably be too abrupt.

So Miwa Chisei closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Only when classes ended at five that afternoon did Kento Nanami stretch. He looked admiringly at Miwa Chisei beside him; she had slept for roughly two hours in almost exactly the same seated position.

Would you call that exceptional self-discipline?

"Miwa, we can go now."

Roused from sleep, Miwa Chisei opened her eyes groggily. She looked up at the clock directly above the blackboard. It was exactly five, not a minute more or less.

So precise.

"Thanks, Nanami. See you tomorrow."

Miwa Chisei rose and left the classroom. Kento Nanami followed right behind her, closing the door on his way out.

This was actually a very strange sight at Jujutsu High, because its students routinely skipped classes, arrived late, and left early. Some did so because of missions, others simply because they felt like it.

Across all four years at Jujutsu High, Miwa Chisei and Kento Nanami were the only students who obediently stayed in the classroom until dismissal at five despite having nothing in particular to do.

Miwa Chisei had barely taken a few steps when her phone rang with an unfamiliar number. When she answered, she heard a middle-aged man's voice.

"Miss Miwa, Mr. Gojo sent me to pick you up."

Satoru Gojo's father was much more thoughtful than Satoru Gojo. After all, making the impoverished Miwa Chisei travel from the outskirts to the Gojo Main House would have been painful for her wallet.

The middle-aged man wasn't surprised in the slightest that only one person had appeared. After inviting Miwa Chisei to take a seat in the back, he drove in silence.

Neither spoke throughout the journey, but it wasn't awkward. This was, after all, very much the Gojo Clan's style.

Taciturn-presumably all their capacity for speech had been passed down to Satoru Gojo. How else could that mouth of his be so good at rattling on?

They traveled from one outlying area to another. The Gojo Main House stood in the mountains outside Tokyo, its entire residence possessing an understated, traditional grandeur that naturally befitted an old-established family.

After being led into the tea room, Miwa Chisei had just removed her sunglasses when she heard measured footsteps coming from the corridor outside.

Satoru Gojo's father had strong, rugged features and a stern expression.

Yet when he saw Miwa Chisei, a hint of wistfulness appeared in his eyes.

"Tatsuki's child has grown up too. You were only five the last time we met, weren't you?"

At the mention of her father's name, Miwa Chisei's gaze softened considerably.

"Hello, Uncle You."

Gojo Yu sat down cross-legged. Rather than spending much time on pleasantries, he was more direct than Miwa Chisei had expected.

"When Tatsuki passed away, the Gojo Clan did nothing. You must have been very disappointed, child."

Miwa Chisei's gaze was calm, almost indifferent.

"I was disappointed, but you didn't do anything wrong. After all, it was the Miwa family's affair."

Back then, Miwa Chisei had suddenly found herself utterly alone, with no one to turn to. All she could think of was the Gojo Clan, whom her father had taken her to visit when she was little, and the historical fact that "the two families were on good terms."

She had hoped, and she had been disappointed. A year of living alone had also taught her something.

Even within a single family, people were individuals, much less between two separate families.

Gojo Yu looked at the girl with blood-red eyes before him and smiled faintly.

"You're a clever girl."

"But being too clever isn't a good thing."