Why Would I Know Something Like This?

Sukuna had enjoyed trying on clothes, and Gojo had had his fun. With a grand wave of his hand, he bought every outfit Sukuna had liked.

Along with the clothes Megumi Fushiguro and Itadori had chosen, he had the shop wash everything and deliver it straight to the school.

After some thought, Sukuna simply put on the white hoodie he had picked out at the start.

Gojo had wanted to coax him into wearing the burgundy shirt and suit ensemble he had selected, but Sukuna shot him a look fit for an idiot-

"We'll have to switch back to Yuji once we leave. Do you think that outfit would suit him?"

Gojo: "..."

He pictured it and caught his breath. Apparently not.

"Ahem. Let's get lunch next," Gojo said, checking the time on his phone. "I booked a Western restaurant. We don't get an opportunity like this every day, so let's try something different~"

"Incidentally, my family owns the restaurant too."

Gojo winked at Sukuna.

Sukuna's eyes lit up. Didn't that mean he could come out during the meal too?

Gojo really was... a good guy!

He decided to magnanimously forgive him for his earlier pranks.

Before leaving the shop, Sukuna voluntarily switched back to Itadori. Thrilled at the thought of getting to sit in a restaurant and eat today, he bounced around the pitch-black Inner World.

Once they arrived, Itadori quickly switched back to Sukuna. He had wanted Sukuna to get to eat a meal himself for ages, so he cooperated with exceptional speed.

The three sat down. Gojo swiftly claimed the seat across from Sukuna, while Megumi Fushiguro leisurely sat beside him, making it clear that he had no intention of competing for a seat.

Lighting, roses, red wine... oh, no red wine. Minors couldn't drink alcohol, so Gojo took it upon himself to substitute watermelon juice.

"...I'm an adult."

Sukuna frowned at the watermelon juice. He was over a thousand years old. Why was Gojo still ordering this for him?

Besides, did Gojo have some misunderstanding about his tastes? He really wasn't a watermelon fanatic!

"But your body isn't. We have to look after little Yuji~"

Gojo offered the considerate reminder.

Sukuna: ...Fine.

He sighed.

That reason really was persuasive, though.

Beside them, Megumi Fushiguro calmly raised his glass.

He always felt that when Teacher Gojo spoke to Sukuna, his tone was just a little...

Never mind. No comment.

The food soon arrived.

Sukuna immediately picked up his knife and fork and got to work-who could understand how it felt to go over a thousand years without eating a meal with his own hands?

-Naturally, the moment he saw food, he dug right in!

Of course, as a king, he still paid close attention to his table manners. He cut smoothly and neatly, while simultaneously achieving life-or-death speed.

...Sob, sob, sob. As expected of my generous benefactor's restaurant. This is so good!

Outwardly, Sukuna remained perfectly composed. Inwardly, he wept with joy.

He accidentally gave Gojo a thumbs-up.

Gojo ate slowly, spending more of his time watching Sukuna across the table with interest.

Despite how quickly Sukuna was eating, he showed no trace of impatience. There was even a certain elegance to him.

Gojo's lips curled up unconsciously. Even watching him was entertaining.

But as he continued watching, that smile gradually faded, and his brows creased slightly.

He sensed something off... something profoundly off.

No, that sense of wrongness had been there ever since he first met Sukuna.

He watched the person across from him, his expression unreadable.

"Sukuna."

He spoke abruptly, interrupting Sukuna's next movement.

Sukuna looked up at him in confusion.

Gojo reached out, pointing at the hands holding his knife and fork, and asked,

"Why... do you know how to eat Western food like that?"

Sukuna: "?"

A question mark slowly formed in his mind.

Isn't this how everyone eats Western food?

Sukuna was about to argue when he suddenly realized something.

His hands froze in midair, still holding the knife and fork.

Right...

He went slightly blank.

...How did I know... this was how you ate Western food?

He hadn't encountered Western food since waking up, and there was no way he could have eaten it a thousand years ago.

So why did I know... that I should eat Western food "this way"?

"You don't just know how to eat it. Your table manners are pretty standard too, as though you've had lessons..."

"Where did you learn all this?... Don't tell me you watched videos. This definitely isn't your first time actually doing it."

"You..."

Gojo's voice paused.

A strange thought arose in his mind:

Was this person... really Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses from a thousand years ago?

Gojo's question was so direct that Sukuna had no idea how to answer.

After staring blankly for a moment, he slowly set down his utensils and took a deep breath.

"I don't know..."

He paused.

"...I don't know why I know something like this."

He lowered his eyes, hiding the deep confusion within them.

He had never eaten Western food. It was as though this knowledge had been etched into his body, ready to use the moment he encountered it.

He suddenly recalled things that had happened before. It seemed this had been going on for quite some time.

-From the very beginning, he had known far more about modern society than he "should have."

For instance, when he first possessed Itadori, he had already known what a phone was...

Or when he talked with Itadori about all kinds of modern food...

Yet none of this was knowledge he should have possessed, having died a thousand years ago and only recently come back to life.

So why did I know all this...?

Sukuna stared bewilderedly at the plate before him, his expression dazed.

None of them felt like eating any further.

After some thought, Gojo decided to take Sukuna back to the school and ask Principal Yaga.

Considering that the subject might involve Sukuna's personal secrets, Gojo sent Megumi Fushiguro back to his dorm once they reached the school, then took Itadori, who had switched back, to the principal's office.

That intense bewilderment persisted until they stood before Principal Yaga.

"Satoru..."

After hearing Gojo's explanation, Yaga adjusted his glasses.

His tone was earnest, as though he were catching up a child who had skipped class.

"Once an incarnation succeeds, the incarnated individual inherits the vessel's original memories..."

"-You seriously didn't know that?"

Gojo: *...???*

Gojo was dumbfounded.

Was I supposed to know?

Why was he saying it like it was common knowledge? No one had ever told me this!

Yaga rubbed his temples, his head aching.

"Not many people know about this. Incarnation is extremely rare, after all. Maybe everyone assumed you knew, so no one actually mentioned it..."

"Whenever you faced an incarnated individual before, you always finished them off in one hit without really talking to them... so I suppose it's understandable..."

"...But I remember specifically covering this in your lessons, didn't I?-Were you zoning out again?!"

Gojo: "..."

Great. My embarrassing past has been exposed in front of my student.

And I was the one who came here to ask.

...Just how much bizarre knowledge did I miss during my school days?

"Um..."

Beside them, Itadori shakily raised his hand.

"What did that mean just now... does it mean Sukuna has all my memories?"

What kind of mortifying nightmare was this?

Sukuna quickly formed a mouth to clarify. "I don't! I didn't even know your phone password when I came back to life!"

Itadori: ...Thanks. That actually helped.

Yaga glanced at the mouth Sukuna had formed. Too embarrassed to show that he was interested in it too, he continued instead.

"The memories inherited vary from person to person. Perhaps yours are incomplete, but you definitely inherited at least some. For example... you can speak the modern language with modern pronunciation. That's very clear evidence."

After a thousand years, the words and pronunciation used back then would certainly have changed.

All three realized it at once: Oh, right...

Gojo immediately turned to Itadori. "So, Yuji, do you know how to eat Western food?"

Itadori looked at Teacher Gojo with an indescribable expression.

"...Teacher, how low is your opinion of me? Of course I know how to eat Western food."

Gojo: "..."

Oh, all right. My mistake.