He Was the Most Popular King of Curses~

Yuji Itadori was improving at an astonishing pace.

The intense training he did every night was almost equivalent to four or five days of daytime practice, and his cursed energy kept growing at a visibly rapid rate.

He was no longer satisfied with simply holding the doll and channeling cursed energy into it during the day. After asking Teacher Gojo to adjust its cursed energy requirements, he strapped the doll to his back and sparred with Panda.

The boy's gaze grew increasingly composed, and his entire bearing kept changing. Everyone could clearly see the difference.

One time, seeing Itadori looking bright and energetic without the slightest trace of fatigue, Kugisaki asked out of curiosity.

"I heard you go out to train every night now. Don't you need to rest?"

Itadori immediately grinned at her question, showing off with delighted pride-

"I don't need to rest at night. I don't get tired~ My Sukuna heals me!"

His eyes curved with his smile, and his good mood was palpable even from three meters away.

Yes, he had already started calling Sukuna "my Sukuna."

Ever since that first night of training, Itadori had grown increasingly attached to Sukuna.

Even when he was alone, he could chatter away at the back of his hand for ages.

The sight made Megumi Fushiguro's brow twitch-

Fine... I know you like your Sukuna...

...But could you stop showing off? He's a curse, a curse! You're a jujutsu sorcerer!

He stared at Itadori, his face full of exasperation.

Another noticeable change was-

All the first- and second-year students were growing friendlier toward Sukuna.

After the "bridal carry" incident, everyone's fear of Sukuna had vanished instantly, replaced by a certain rose-tinted perspective.

Every so often, they would come over to greet Sukuna, mysterious smiles on their faces-

It was most obvious whenever Teacher Gojo appeared beside Itadori and chatted with them.

Sukuna had no idea why, but he felt rather flattered.

...Looks like not all jujutsu sorcerers are that annoying. They're pretty nice to a special grade cursed spirit like me!~

Sukuna was a little pleased, and his fondness for everyone rose rapidly along with it.

Of course, they couldn't just say hello and leave it at that. Following Teacher Gojo's lead, everyone had tacitly developed the same new hobby-

"Sukuna, these are Morinaga Cream Biscuits. Want one?"

"Sukuna, I bought a LOTTE Fresh Cream Chocolate Pie. Want a taste?"

"Itadori's Sukuna, here. A Black Thunder Chocolate Financier~"

Even the usually quiet Toge Inumaki would occasionally slip him a tuna mayo rice ball or a brownie.

And so, every day, Itadori received a huge pile of snacks on Sukuna's behalf.

Touched by everyone's enthusiasm, Sukuna always responded with reserved politeness: "Mm," "All right," or "Thank you."

Then whoever had fed him would leave looking thoroughly satisfied, wearing an indulgent smile, only to do it again next time.

Sukuna couldn't help marveling at how popular he was.

It was his personal charm-no, his spiritual charm~-that had won everyone over in such a short time.

Yep! Definitely. I'm the most popular King of Curses!

"Sukuna, where do all those snacks you eat every day go?"

Itadori stared at the pile of snacks on the table and asked curiously.

Sukuna shrugged in the Inner World.

[Your body probably absorbs them anyway. You burn so much energy at night. How would you manage without eating more?]

"Is that how it works?" Understanding dawned on Itadori. "No wonder I never feel hungry. I thought it was because you healed me, Sukuna."

[Healing restores you, but you still have to eat. Look at that Teacher Gojo of yours. He uses Reverse Cursed Technique every day, and he still eats.]

"Oh, I see."

Itadori indicated that he understood.

Then he rubbed his hands together as he looked at the assortment of snacks on the table, his eyes shining.

"Which one do you want first?"

With cool restraint, Sukuna surveyed the spoils his spiritual charm had won him.

His tone was haughty-

[Left to right. One at a time.]

"You got it~"

Itadori deftly opened a package for Sukuna.

Hearing his Sukuna happily humming a tune in his head put him in a cheerful mood.

As he glanced at Sukuna's mouth on the back of his hand, his movements suddenly paused.

After thinking it over, he couldn't resist speaking softly.

"Sukuna, actually, I think..."

He paused, a little hesitant, but said it anyway.

"I think... you could switch out during the day too. I don't think anyone would mind."

He always felt that feeding Sukuna like this was a little unfair to him. Wouldn't it be more convenient to simply let him take over and eat using his body?

Besides, everyone had accepted Sukuna so readily. They probably wouldn't be afraid if he switched out anymore.

Sukuna's humming slowly faded. After a moment of silence, he answered.

[Better not.]

"Not minding" was a relative thing.

He knew perfectly well that everyone's friendliness depended on him being restrained. The moment he appeared openly, it would become an entirely different matter.

Could Maki and the others really accept a King of Curses who could emerge whenever and wherever he wanted?

Or rather-a King of Curses who had almost completely replaced their classmate, Yuji Itadori?

He believed the answer was no.

Besides, if he came out in Tiger's body during the day too, these students wouldn't be the only ones to see him. Anyone else who saw him would surely report his situation to the higher-ups Satoru Gojo was constantly wary of.

It was already difficult enough for Gojo to protect him and Tiger. If their positions were reversed, he might not be able to do the same.

As long as he stayed inside Itadori's body, everyone was safe.

There was no need to upset that balance.

He said lightly:

[This is enough. Getting to come out for three hours at night is pretty good.]

[Besides, even things as they are now are pretty risky. Haven't you seen how tense that Megumi Fushiguro kid gets?]

"...Okay." Itadori wilted a little.

He didn't understand why everyone else was so wary of Sukuna. The accounts from a thousand years ago didn't match the Sukuna of today at all.

Or perhaps...

Once Sukuna recovered his memories... would he become the person described in those thousand-year-old records...?

Itadori wanted to say something, but the words lingered on his tongue before he swallowed them back down.

He couldn't bring himself to say it...

To say, "Sukuna, don't recover your memories."

"Sukuna..."

"...Once you get your memories back..."

His voice was a little subdued.

His fingertips pressed harder, leaving a deep crease in the wrapper.

He hesitated, the light in his pale brown eyes dimming.

"It's nothing..."

He didn't say the rest.

Saying it aloud would feel like he was forcing Sukuna to make him a promise.

Sukuna remained silent. He knew what Itadori wanted to ask.

But he didn't know what his memories-or rather, the memories of the King of Curses from a thousand years ago-were like either. He couldn't give an answer.

If recovering his memories really turned him into the terrifying King of Curses described in the records, wouldn't making Yuji a promise now only hurt the boy again...?

...No... Why think that far ahead? I don't even know whether I can recover them...!

It had been so long without a single clue. After the foggy mass of memories had churned twice, it had gone completely still. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to recover his memories at all.

Eating was more important!

[Tiger...]

[Tiger?]

[Tiger, wait! What are you doing?! You ate all my snacks!]

Itadori looked at the snack wrapper in his hand, his chewing coming to a halt.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking... I fed the wrong mouth..." He hurriedly swallowed his mouthful. "...My bad!"

Sukuna stared tearfully at the empty wrapper. That had been the one he most wanted to try!

Although Itadori now received a stipend and mission rewards from Jujutsu High, that money only covered his daily expenses. He was nowhere near well-off enough to buy all the snacks Sukuna wanted.

Every day, Sukuna depended on these few treats his spiritual charm earned him!

[Ah...]

He heaved a deep sigh.

[More than coming out during the day or recovering my memories, what I want to know right now is why we're so poor.]

[This seriously makes no sense, okay?]

A King of Curses who couldn't even afford a bag of snacks-what kind of nonsense was that?

[...What do you think about me getting a part-time job at a hospital at night?]

Itadori: "..."

He blinked and said cautiously.

"I don't think Teacher Gojo would agree."

Having someone who could use Reverse Cursed Technique treat patients in a hospital... wouldn't that be a full-blown medical miracle?

He would be making headlines and going viral by the next day!

Megumi Fushiguro had specifically told him during their lessons that ordinary people couldn't find out they were jujutsu sorcerers. How would he explain all those medical miracles?

Sukuna: [...]

Sukuna sulked.

Fine...

He frowned at his hands.

Reverse Cursed Technique, what good are you to me?!