Slapped awake by Sukuna, Itadori came to in a daze, then launched into a long and thorough examination of his behavior-
After promising never to use his Sukuna as a body pillow again, he was mercilessly tossed out of the Inner World.
Of course, that did nothing to stop him from happily sharing the good news that Sukuna had woken up.
"Glad you're back."
The first- and second-years, well practiced by now, greeted Sukuna just as cheerfully before heading to their respective classrooms.
When he reached the classroom, Itadori was greeted by an unexpected little surprise-
Teacher Gojo was sitting in his seat and raised a hand to greet them. Beside him was Junpei Yoshino, whom Itadori hadn't seen since they parted two days ago.
At the sight of him entering, joy flashed in the boy's beautiful olive-green eyes.
Surprised and delighted, Itadori rushed over, looking from Junpei to Teacher Gojo as he greeted them excitedly.
"Hi, Teacher Gojo!"
"Junpei-"
He stopped in front of the dark-haired boy and rested both hands on Junpei's shoulders, his light brown eyes brimming with delighted surprise.
"Junpei, what are you doing here?"
Itadori's gaze dropped, and he noticed Junpei's uniform-the same black Jujutsu High uniform he was wearing.
The golden spiral buttons gleamed under the lights.
Excited and barely able to believe it, he broke into a happy smile.
"You actually came to our school too!-"
Looking at Itadori, whose attitude toward him hadn't changed at all, Junpei's lips curved slightly. He smiled a little shyly and nodded.
"Yeah."
He murmured his reply, a barely perceptible gratitude in his olive-green eyes as he looked at Itadori-
Gratitude for saving his mother from a curse that night.
And gratitude for saving him, too.
Thrilled, Itadori quickly asked, "What made you decide to come to Jujutsu High? What about Aunt Yoshino?"
Junpei had already expected those questions.
Something flickered in his olive-green eyes.
Because... I wanted to be a little closer to you...
He hid the emotion in his eyes and answered with a smile.
"There are a lot of reasons. Anyway, I wanted to come here myself, and the higher-ups said they could keep my mother safe if I joined Jujutsu High."
Junpei lowered his eyes, guilt toward his mother surfacing in their depths.
"After all, my family became a target for a special grade curse because of me... I don't know whether Mahito will come looking for us again..."
"...At least, if we stay under Jujutsu High's protection, I won't have to worry about Mom's safety."
Itadori's hands tightened on his shoulders for an instant before quickly relaxing.
He looked Junpei in the eyes and said solemnly,
"I'll exorcise Mahito. I promise you!"
Junpei gazed at Itadori, emotion stirring in his eyes.
This person always made him feel more valued and cared for than he could ever have imagined.
Once again, he gave a faint smile softened by a touch of warmth.
"Yeah!"
Megumi Fushiguro and Kugisaki, who had walked over to Teacher Gojo, watched them too.
Over the past two days, they had already heard about Junpei Yoshino from Itadori.
Moved by what he had been through, neither stepped forward to interrupt. They simply watched quietly from the side.
Their first impression upon meeting him was...
-This guy... looked way too docile!
Beside the sunny, cheerful Itadori, he seemed even more like a gentle kitten.
Could someone like that really become a jujutsu sorcerer?
Puzzled, Megumi Fushiguro looked at Gojo and asked quietly,
"What made you decide to bring Junpei Yoshino to the school? He was just an ordinary person before, wasn't he?"
Watching Junpei, who seemed even more docile than usual while interacting with Itadori, Gojo's lips curved.
"Well, it was what he wanted. Besides, he's surprisingly talented as a jujutsu sorcerer-"
"His own cursed energy isn't that strong, and he'll probably top out at Grade 2 or Semi-Grade 1 in the future, but he has very good combat instincts. His cursed technique is interesting too."
"He passed Masamichi's test, so naturally, he got in."
...Besides... this kid wasn't nearly as meek as he made himself look...
He recalled taking Junpei to meet Masamichi yesterday-
Masamichi Yaga had undoubtedly opposed Junpei's request to join Jujutsu High.
"Why do you want to become a jujutsu sorcerer? The world of jujutsu sorcerers is no different from hell-"
Faced with Principal Yaga's question, the seemingly soft, gentle boy had shed his disguise, turning cold and aggressive.
His olive-green eyes had grown dark and indifferent.
"To me, ordinary student life was already hell..."
"If they're both hell..."
A cold, shadowy light had flared in the dark-haired boy's eyes-
Then, as though something had come to mind, his cold demeanor had slowly faded.
Beneath his calm expression, his lips had curved into a faint smile.
"...Of course I'd choose a hell that would accept me."
The dark-haired boy had used a blue jellyfish shikigami to block the attack from Principal Yaga's doll.
The jellyfish's extended tentacles had instantly coiled around the doll's neck, tightening and suspending it in midair, easily neutralizing the threat.
He hadn't even needed to use the "poison" property of his cursed technique.
Gojo had decided on the spot that he absolutely had to get this kid into the school.
Just a week ago, he had been an ordinary student who didn't even know how to fight, yet after awakening his cursed technique, he had shown keen combat instincts. That was quite impressive.
Besides, keeping him beside Itadori would have a positive influence on him too.
Once again, Gojo marveled.
He really was a good teacher who looked out for his students~
Once Itadori and Junpei had more or less finished catching up, Gojo said his goodbyes.
"Well then-I'm leaving Junpei in your hands. He's new, after all, so make sure you teach him everything he needs to know~ I'll be off now. Bye!"
With that, he walked out of the classroom.
Two seconds later, he suddenly poked his head back through the doorway.
"Oh, right, Suku's back too, isn't he?~ Congratulations! I'll bring you some Kikufuku later~"
Sukuna, suddenly feeling called out: "..."
"???"
What the hell was "Suku"???
Itadori was shocked. "How did Teacher Gojo know Sukuna was awake?"
Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara: "..."
-Obviously, it was that smugly happy look on your face, completely different from how half-dead you'd looked these past two days!
Itadori immediately lowered his head and said happily, "Su-"
But he had barely gotten out one syllable before his Sukuna swiftly cut him off-
"Wait! Don't talk to me yet!"
Itadori froze, completely dumbstruck.
...Seriously? Was he that angry about being hugged to sleep last night?
Then he heard Sukuna tell him,
"I don't want Junpei to know I'm inside your body."
Itadori: "..."
*...???*
...Was that what this was about...?
Huh? Wait, why???!!!-
Before you continue