He really was the better-looking one!

"Teacher, if I eat all of Sukuna's Fingers, will fewer people suffer from curses?"

Itadori's voice was a little subdued. He stood in the room where his grandfather had been cremated, gathering his remains.

Gojo stood beside him, watching the boy who had accidentally been dragged into the cruel world of jujutsu. He knew the boy had already made his decision. Even if a miserable death awaited him, he had still chosen to enter this world to save others.

"Of course."

He smiled, his voice calm and gentle.

Itadori placed the last fragment of bone into the urn, set down the long chopsticks, and gently closed the lid with both hands.

"Do you have any more fingers?" he asked, turning around.

"Yes."

Gojo took out a finger and handed it to him.

Itadori accepted it, looking conflicted as he studied the ugly, bizarre finger, just like the one he had swallowed last night.

He had actually eaten something like this...

"Looking at it now, it really is... unusual..."

He couldn't bring himself to say "disgusting," afraid he would hurt Sukuna's fragile feelings again.

Sukuna had been so quiet since that morning that he seemed to have vanished. If Itadori hadn't still been able to sense his soul, he would have thought he was really gone.

Still, Sukuna could probably hear him, so he needed to watch his words.

He hadn't expected Sukuna to be so upset after learning he was a curse. He shouldn't have been so honest.

He looked at the finger in his hand, his expression serious.

He knew perfectly well that once he ate all of Sukuna's Fingers, both he and Sukuna would eventually be executed.

But if he didn't eat them, the fingers scattered out there would keep attracting curses, and there might be more victims like his upperclassmen.

That was why he had chosen this path.

Sukuna was a curse to begin with, and he, too, had already stepped into this world.

They could worry about their future later. Right now, he wanted to save ordinary people who should never have been dragged into this twisted world.

Help others. That was the curse his grandfather had etched into him.

He put the finger into his mouth.

Gojo slowly stepped back twice, positioning himself in front of the door.

The cursed object dissolved inside him. Black cursed markings appeared on the boy's face again, and immense power burst forth with an evil, terrifying aura.

Gojo opened one hand, his fingertips tensing, ready to unleash a powerful surge of cursed energy at any moment.

However...

Itadori opened his eyes. The cursed markings faded, and his expression was relaxed and perfectly normal.

"All done! ...It really did taste awful, though."

He muttered the second half under his breath, as though afraid someone might hear him.

Watching Itadori return to normal in an instant, Gojo raised an eyebrow. He had expected Sukuna to seize the opportunity to fight for control of Itadori's body, not for things to go so peacefully.

"...Where is he?"

"What?"

"Sukuna." Wasn't he being a little too quiet?

"Oh, him..." Itadori scratched his head awkwardly.

"I think he's shut himself off."

"..."

???

...After listening to Itadori's lengthy explanation, Gojo couldn't help raising a hand to cover the slight smile curling at his lips.

This Sukuna... was just too entertaining!

He didn't know whether Sukuna would regain his memories later, or how many fingers it would take, but he really hoped this version of Sukuna would stick around a little longer.

"All right, next you'll need to pack your bags."

In high spirits, Gojo opened the door.

Seeing the person outside, Itadori shouted excitedly, "Megumi Fushiguro!"

He hadn't seen Megumi Fushiguro since last night and had been worried about his injuries. Suddenly seeing him now made him feel especially glad.

"You're looking pretty lively!"

He gave him a thumbs-up, his smile bright and sunny.

Megumi Fushiguro: ...Can't you see the bandages on my head?!

He sighed.

He's still this full of energy after eating two fingers... Whatever. As long as he's okay.

He spoke evenly, a hint of relief and ease hidden in his voice.

"Next, you'll be transferring to Tokyo, to a school that specializes in training jujutsu sorcerers. You'll be in my class."

"Make sure you pack everything you need. Don't leave anything behind."

Gojo leaned in from the side as well, cheerfully holding up three fingers for Itadori.

"By the way, including you, your class has a grand total of three students!"

One class... three students?

Itadori was stunned. "That's way too few!"

"Four if we count Sukuna!"

"Huh, can we do that?"

Itadori's eyes immediately lit up.

Gojo smiled. "Of course... not!"

Itadori: "..."

Okay, why did I believe him?

Doesn't this teacher seem a little weird and unserious?

Itadori returned to his room to pack.

It was too quiet, so he couldn't help trying to chat with Sukuna in a low voice.

"Sukuna, we're going to a new school to study jujutsu. Is there anything you want to bring?"

"Come to think of it, I still don't know what you look like when you take over. I heard Megumi Fushiguro say black cursed markings appear on your face too, not just your hands."

"The Cursed Markings on your face aren't all circles too, are they? Wouldn't that look really weird?"

Itadori talked to himself. He hadn't expected Sukuna to suddenly emerge from his withdrawn state and start answering his questions.

But whenever he passed the mirror on the wall, he couldn't help taking a few extra looks, imagining what he would look like with Sukuna possessing him.

...Circles?

After staying silent all afternoon, Sukuna couldn't sit still any longer.

Circles all over my face? How ugly would that be?

He struggled to get up. Looking at Itadori's face reflected in the mirror, he couldn't help wanting to see what he actually looked like, too.

He didn't have particularly high hopes, but not even knowing what he looked like seemed a little unreasonable.

Of course, it would be nice if he looked a bit better.

He still preferred good-looking creatures.

For instance, that boy named Megumi Fushiguro from last night had a very pretty face.

And Gojo-even with his eyes covered, the lower half of his face alone suggested he was probably quite handsome.

As for Itadori, he looked ordinary at first glance, but his smile was incredibly sunny, the kind that could win people over.

He suddenly found himself caring about his appearance.

...Then should I take over and have a look? he said in their mind.

"Ah, Sukuna, you're awake!"

Itadori sounded pleasantly surprised.

"Sure, give it a try. But be careful to control your cursed energy. Don't let Teacher Gojo or the others notice."

He lowered his voice, then closed his eyes.

Black cursed markings slowly appeared.

Sukuna kept his power from leaking out.

He opened his eyes, and when his gaze landed on his face in the mirror, he suddenly froze.

It was clearly Itadori's face, but it felt completely different.

The black cursed markings made that somewhat youthful face look a little more mature.

Its contours were sharper and more defined. A restrained, sinister gleam shone in his red eyes, even carrying a hint of allure.

As he looked at that face, his heart suddenly began to pound.

The fog enveloping his memories churned as though something had stirred it.

What's happening...?

...Is seeing what I look like making me remember something?

He gazed at his reflection as strange feelings kept rising within him, standing rooted to the spot in a daze.

Sukuna... you're pretty handsome!

Itadori's voice rang out in his mind, interrupting his thoughts.

He paused, gave a quiet "Mm," and couldn't resist taking another couple of looks.

He really did like this face. It gave him a strange feeling he couldn't describe.

Compared with Itadori... he really was the better-looking one!

The corners of his mouth curled up despite himself.

Sukuna...

"Hm?"

I'm starting to think you're a little narcissistic...

"..."

Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High School stood deep in the mountains on the outskirts of Kyoto.

Itadori followed Teacher Gojo into the school.

"Anyway, Yuji, first you'll need to interview with the principal."

Gojo spoke casually.

"You might get rejected, you know, so watch yourself."

Itadori's eyes widened. "Huh?! Then won't I be executed right away?!"

...Hey...!

Then won't I be executed right away too?!

Sukuna was horrified.

He had been awake for less than forty-eight hours, all told. Were these humans really that vicious?

That teacher of yours really isn't very reliable!

Well, he didn't seem to have any right to say that. After all, he was the reason Itadori had gotten dragged into this.

So...

"An interview? What are they interviewing you about? Surely they won't make you fight an examiner they send out... You haven't learned anything yet, have you?"

He couldn't help complaining to Itadori.

"Or do they want me to come out and fight them?"

The problem is, I don't think I know how to do anything yet either...

While inwardly grumbling, Sukuna noticed that everything around him had suddenly gone quiet.

What's going on?

Sukuna switched to the view of the outside world and discovered that both of them were staring in shock at... Itadori's face.

-A mouth full of sharp fangs had appeared on it!

What the hell!

Sukuna's breath stopped, and he immediately shut his mouth.

Then he noticed that the mouth pressed its lips tightly together too.

...You've got to be kidding.

A bad feeling surfaced again.

He tried opening his mouth to say something, and that mouth slowly opened as well.

Sukuna was utterly thrown.

That was his mouth.

Am I not just a slime, but starting to turn into a xenomorph too?

Oh, hell! What's going on?!

"Hmm, it looks like eating the second finger unlocked a new skill for you, Sukuna. What an interesting effect!"

Gojo studied the mouth, which looked ready to shut itself off from the world, with interest.

"Now all three of us can chat! What do you say? Want to join us?"

No, thank you!

Sukuna willed himself to sink down. He had no desire to become a mouth on Itadori's face. That was far too horrifying.

Fortunately, at his mental command, the mouth on Itadori's face instantly disappeared.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected that one careless slip, one sarcastic comment, could actually be heard outside...

He would have to be careful from now on. He couldn't just say whatever came to mind.

One slip, and his cool image would crumble.

Itadori raised a hand and touched his face.

That had felt seriously strange. It hadn't hurt or itched, but something about it just felt wrong.

Imagine chatting with someone and having a mouth suddenly appear on your face. That would scare them half to death.

He shuddered and cautiously tried to negotiate with Sukuna.

"Um, in the future... could you not suddenly pop out on my face?"

Sukuna: [...]

You make it sound like I wanted to pop out.

But... it looks like Itadori can't control whether I pop out?

Sukuna raised an eyebrow.

Looks like I might be able to even the score?

[That depends on how you behave.]

He replied with studied restraint inside Itadori's head, the corners of his mouth lifting despite himself.

Still, this really was a problem.

He thought it over. The face wasn't a good spot, and most other places were covered by clothes. So if he wanted to talk...

[How about I come out on the back of your hand from now on?]

[That seems less scary?]

"Yeah, that could work..." came Itadori's hesitant reply.

Sukuna immediately focused on figuring out how to relocate.

He had to set a fixed spot for this mouth to appear, so it wouldn't pop up somewhere else every time he carelessly made a sarcastic remark.

Fortunately, this new ability seemed to follow his will. A passing thought was all it took to finish setting it up.

And so, a second later, Itadori saw a mouth identical to the previous one appear on the back of his left hand.

That's amazing...

Unable to resist, Itadori raised his right hand and poked the mouth with his index finger.

Sukuna immediately noticed what he was doing, and instinctively-purely instinctively-opened his mouth and caught the approaching finger between his teeth.

Then his tongue swept over it.

Whoosh-

Both of them suddenly looked as though they'd been struck by lightning at the same time.

Itadori yanked his hand away and hurriedly hid it behind his back.

Sukuna went straight offline, clamping his lips shut and falling utterly silent.

...Help. What had he just done?!

Gojo, who had watched the entire thing from the sidelines, silently stepped back, covered his face, and turned away, his whole body shaking with laughter.

"S-sorry."

Itadori's voice sounded strained.

He had reached out first, after all. He couldn't blame Sukuna.

[No... um, ahem, it's fine.]

[...Maybe I'm hungry. Why don't we go eat after the interview?]

"Okay..."

That ended the conversation.

Both fell silent.

So...

Here's the question.

That interview...

Could they really pass it?

...Would they even live long enough to eat?

As it turned out, they could pass the interview.

Although Itadori took quite a beating, the answer he eventually gave convinced Principal Yaga to approve his enrollment.

Having successfully avoided execution, both of them were in high spirits.

The lingering awkwardness from earlier vanished in an instant.

"Sukuna, what do you want to eat?"

After leaving the principal's office, Itadori happily followed Teacher Gojo toward the dorms.

Then he suddenly asked nervously, "Wait, curses don't eat people, do they?"

He instinctively glanced at the fingertip that had been licked, a chill running down his spine.

"You can't eat people!"

"Who said I eat people?!"

Sukuna was so angry that even his mouth popped out.

"I've heard human flesh tastes sour. It's not good at all," he muttered.

He couldn't remember what he used to eat, either, but he felt he should be able to eat human food.

"Sukuna doesn't actually need to eat. In his current state, he can just absorb the cursed energy floating in the air, such as the various negative emotions humans produce. Even if he eats something, he only gets to taste it. He can't get any energy from it."

Gojo chimed in from beside them.

"Oh, I see." Itadori breathed a sigh of relief.

So I can only taste it... Sukuna felt a little disappointed, but soon put that concern out of his mind.

"I haven't decided what I want, either. Just get me a serving of whatever you're having."

"Oh, then I'll take you out for ramen! But how are you going to eat it? Do I feed it into the mouth on the back of my hand?"

Both pictured picking noodles out of a bowl of broth and pulling them into the mouth on the back of his hand. They shuddered and immediately abandoned the idea.

"I guess it has to be something you can scoop up with a spoon. Fried rice? Curry? Ice cream? Pudding?" Itadori suggested.

"Sure. Let's try one of each first."

Sukuna nodded. Just hearing about those foods made them sound delicious.

Gojo stroked his chin as he watched the two cheerfully discussing food ahead of him.

Aren't you two taking this a little too well?

Do you still remember that one of you is a curse and the other is a jujutsu sorcerer?

Their cheerful mood lasted all the way through entering the dorms and tidying up the room.

They also ran into Megumi Fushiguro, whose injuries had finally healed.

"Megumi Fushiguro!"

Itadori looked at Megumi Fushiguro happily and extended an enthusiastic invitation-

"I'm going out to eat with Sukuna in a bit. Want to come along?"

Megumi Fushiguro: With... who?

...Who did you just say you were going out to eat with?

He stiffly turned his head toward Teacher Gojo beside him.

Were those two already that close?

Gojo nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.

"You can all go together~! Oh, right, we're heading out tomorrow to pick up the third student, so don't be late."

Itadori: "Okay!"

Megumi Fushiguro: "..."

Who wants to go with them?!

And you're the one who needs to make sure he isn't late!