"Oh, it's the high school boy who came looking for you last time." Yamato Kaho seemed to remember something and couldn't resist teasing her. "Is he a good friend?"
"No."
"No!"
The two voices rang out in perfect unison. Yamato Kaho glanced between them, patted Miwa Chisei on the shoulder, and said, "It's all main roads from here. I can get home on my own. You should head home and get some rest too."
Miwa Chisei didn't stop her, merely nodding.
Yamato Kaho took a few steps forward, then stopped just before passing Satoru Gojo and gently instructed him, "Young man, sorry for the trouble, but please walk Chisei home."
Satoru Gojo burst out laughing and pointed at the girl a short distance away. "Chisei? Her?"
"Huh?" Yamato Kaho looked rather confused.
Miwa Chisei had a bad feeling, so she hurried her along.
"Kaho, just head home. You don't need to talk to an idiot."
Satoru Gojo immediately protested, "Who are you calling an idiot?"
The girl sighed, turned without a shred of mercy, and headed toward her apartment. This guy was far too childish.
Satoru Gojo caught up with Miwa Chisei in just a few strides. He glanced back and saw that Yamato Kaho was already far away, then couldn't resist mocking her.
"You look perfectly human, but you're pretty ruthless."
"Thanks for the compliment."
What nice words could she possibly expect from Satoru Gojo?
The moonlight seemed to grow hazy again, playfully weaving through the clouds. The road ahead alternated between light and shadow, though the streetlights kept it reasonably clear.
Miwa Chisei clearly didn't want to talk. Satoru Gojo tucked his hands into his jacket pockets and looked up at the sparse stars in the night sky. The clouds were rather thick tonight.
"Want one?"
After ten minutes of silence, Satoru Gojo fished something out of his pocket and held it out to Miwa Chisei.
It was a lollipop.
A little taken aback, Miwa Chisei said, "Thanks," then peeled off the wrapper and popped it into her mouth. A sweet orange flavor filled her mouth.
Sweets could lift a person's mood.
Of course, it would have been even better if a certain someone kept his mouth shut.
"Remember to pay me back with a hundred of those. No spitting it out, either. Wasting sweets is shameful!"
Miwa Chisei nibbled gently on the candy, afraid that biting too hard would break it. The motion made her face much more expressive, and Satoru Gojo found her a little more pleasant to look at.
"I thought you were the super cold kind who'd just walk right past-"
His tone was wildly exaggerated, as though Miwa Chisei were some cold-blooded demon lord.
"She's someone I know, after all."
"So you wouldn't help someone you didn't know."
It didn't seem to be a question. Miwa Chisei didn't answer, faintly displeased at having her thoughts laid bare.
"Come on, come on. Jujutsu High is fun too. You can help lots of people."
Seriously, could he stop talking like a pimp in the middle of the night? He really was persistent. What had Jujutsu High offered the Gojo Clan's young master?
Miwa Chisei narrowed her eyes slightly and turned to look at Satoru Gojo.
"You're up to no good, aren't you?"
He certainly wasn't going to admit that he wanted to drag her back to Jujutsu High and straighten her out. This girl would sooner commit seppuku than agree to that.
So he spouted some nonsense.
"I just thought someone your age would get lonely all by herself."
True enough. Even this annoying silver-haired guy had a black-haired friend tagging along.
Though that person surely wasn't normal either. Anyone who knew this guy had to be another bad influence, right?
"Ever heard the phrase 'enjoy your solitude'?"
Miwa Chisei explained her view quite seriously.
"Don't say old-lady stuff with a face like that. Let me take you to get checked out. One of my classmates is amazing."
Satoru Gojo didn't spare her feelings at all.
It looked as though this conversation had ended in failure again. Satoru Gojo was already considering whether he should just knock her out and take her to Jujutsu High.
But Miwa Chisei suddenly turned to look at him and spoke.
"I don't think cursed spirits are the frightening part of this world. People are much scarier. That's why I want to fit into this world as an ordinary person and do what little I can. Jujutsu Society has plenty of jujutsu sorcerers. It doesn't absolutely need me."
She rarely spoke to Satoru Gojo so earnestly. His earlier urge to knock her out and carry her away faded considerably.
"But your power is cursed energy. If ordinary people get exposed to too many strange ideas like that, they might get so scared they start bawling."
Satoru Gojo sounded flippant, but he did have a point.
Miwa Chisei thought for a moment, remembering Yamato Kaho's frightened expression.
Neither of them spoke again until they reached the foot of her apartment building. Only then did Miwa Chisei nod. "Thank you for walking me home."
She turned and started up the stairs, never expecting that guy to follow her.
"What are you doing?"
Satoru Gojo rubbed his chin, putting on a solemn expression.
"The school has a curfew. It's already closed."
Miwa Chisei had never been to Jujutsu High, but she wasn't an idiot. Couldn't this guy use cursed energy to get over the wall? Surely the school didn't have something like a curfew barrier?
"There's a curfew barrier."
He brazenly voiced the very thought that had crossed Miwa Chisei's mind.
"Then go back to the Gojo Clan."
"We're giving each other the cold shoulder lately. If I go back, there'll be a fight."
What kind of nonsense was this?
Miwa Chisei pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling her veins throb. This guy had already shamelessly planted himself outside her apartment door and was even holding out his hand for the key without a hint of embarrassment.
"Let me stay the night. Maybe I'll be in such a good mood tomorrow that I won't make you go to Jujutsu High."
The girl seriously considered his words and decided they sounded like nonsense.
But as long as there was even a sliver of hope, she couldn't give up.
The apartment wasn't large to begin with. At night, Miwa Chisei would push the table and chairs against the wall and lay out her bedding on the floor. Now, two sets of bedding nearly filled what had once been ample space, leaving her with a faint sense of despair.
She hadn't even had five minutes to despair before the doorbell rang. While Miwa Chisei was still wondering who would visit so late at night, Satoru Gojo had already gone cheerfully to open the door.
"Won't this be a bit rude? Though you said it was crucial to the mission?"
The voice sounded familiar, as though she had heard it somewhere before.
"Not at all. Miwa's super nice."
"That sounds really strange coming from you..."
Then Miwa Chisei saw a certain black-haired high school boy in the entryway, his foxlike eyes curved in a friendly smile. He handed her the pack of milk he was carrying.
"It's so late that this was the only thing at the twenty-four-hour convenience store that seemed suitable. It's a gift for my first visit."
Miwa Chisei looked at the black-haired boy in front of her, then at the silver-haired boy beside him, inwardly marveling at how a human and a dog could become friends.
She reached out to accept it, then stepped halfway aside, her voice cool but polite.
"Sorry, my place is rather small."
"That's all right. We're the ones imposing."
At least on the surface, everything looked perfectly harmonious.
Satoru Gojo tilted his head, pondering the difference in treatment for a moment, then complained indignantly, "Miwa, why didn't you welcome me like that?"
Miwa Chisei quietly began unpacking the milk, her tone calm.
"I'm only friendly to humans."
Satoru Gojo rolled up his sleeves, ready to hit her, only for Suguru Geto to restrain him from behind. "Act like that and our host will kick you out."
"Geto, whose side are you on, anyway?"
The silver-haired high school boy seethed with indignation.
Suguru Geto: Don't doubt it. I'm really on your side. But I'm sorry, I just want to see you get put in your place too badly, because it's the funniest thing in Jujutsu Society.
Before you continue