Please call me "Ryomen"!

The next day was bright and sunny-a perfect day for school.

Itadori was a little excited to begin his education in jujutsu.

"Sukuna, where do you think we should sit when we get to the classroom?"

Sukuna gave him a puzzled look.

If there were more people in his class, he could have offered a suggestion, like... the universally acknowledged king's seat-the window seat in the back row.

But his class only had three people, and one of them had to teach from the podium. With just him and Nobara and two seats, did it really matter where he sat?

When they reached the classroom, sure enough, there were only two sets of desks and chairs, placed side by side in front of the podium.

Without hesitation, Itadori chose the king's seat Sukuna had suggested-the window seat in the back row.

Well, the only row was still the back row.

A little later, Nobara came in yawning. She had eaten so much the night before that she'd gotten up and stood around for half the night before lying back down.

"Where's Megumi Fushiguro?" she asked Itadori.

"He went to get the textbooks," Itadori said.

"Okay, then I'll get a little more sleep."

With that, Nobara slumped onto her desk.

Itadori rested his elbow on his desk and propped up his cheek, staring into space.

It had been less than five days, yet he felt as though he had been away from school for ages.

So much had happened over the past few days. He had encountered curses, revived Sukuna, met Megumi Fushiguro and the others, and become a jujutsu sorcerer himself...

His life and future had changed completely.

Even sitting in a classroom again, none of it felt real.

It was as though he were still floating through a dream.

Knock, knock, knock.

"All right, everyone up. Class starts now."

Megumi Fushiguro walked up to the podium, set the textbooks on the teacher's desk, and rapped the blackboard hard several times with an eraser, instantly bringing Itadori back to reality.

All his melancholy vanished, replaced by the terror of being ruled by the school bell.

"This period is social studies."

Megumi Fushiguro spoke matter-of-factly.

Naturally, social studies at Jujutsu High differed from the subject at ordinary schools. It covered basic knowledge, laws, rules, and so on within Jujutsu Society.

It was a foundational course every sorcerer had to take.

"Itadori... and Sukuna, pay attention. I prepared this specifically for you two."

At that, Nobara dropped her head onto her desk and went back to sleep.

"Oh..." Itadori obediently replied.

Although he felt singled out, to be fair, Megumi Fushiguro was genuinely a good teacher.

His explanations were well organized and precise, perfectly tailored to their levels of understanding.

The information they had picked up before had been scattered and fragmentary. Now they could finally gain a complete understanding of Jujutsu Society.

The ranking of jujutsu sorcerers, cursed energy control, Reverse Cursed Technique... Megumi Fushiguro explained everything in detail. After all, Itadori was his teammate, and he privately hoped Itadori could grow stronger and live a little longer.

Itadori propped up his head and listened attentively alongside Sukuna. By the end of the morning, he felt as though knowledge had washed over him and his soul had been elevated.

After going through another set of Jujutsu High's requirements for students-such as not revealing their identities to ordinary people-Megumi Fushiguro suddenly asked a question.

"Now, a question. What is a curse?"

Itadori, who had been thoroughly engrossed in the lesson, was a little stumped.

"Huh...? Aren't they those weird things we fought before? The ones ordinary people can't see?"

"Just as I thought..." Megumi Fushiguro closed his eyes and sighed softly.

"When I heard you talking with Teacher Gojo last night, I noticed you seemed to have a misconception about curses."

"Strictly speaking, the things you fought before should be called cursed spirits."

"'Curse' is an umbrella term that encompasses cursed energy, cursed spirits, cursed tools, cursed objects, jujutsu, and everything else of that nature."

"Although we also call them curses in everyday conversation, what you wanted to ask about last night was actually just cursed spirits, right?" The question about whether they were good-looking.

"Huh? Really?"

Itadori's eyes widened.

"But Sukuna..."

"Sukuna is also a cursed spirit now-a special grade cursed spirit," Megumi Fushiguro emphasized. "Of course, his strength should far exceed special grade."

At this point, Sukuna was a little confused.

He emerged on the back of Itadori's hand. "But aren't I the King of Curses? Am I actually the King of Cursed Spirits?"

"..." Megumi Fushiguro looked at the mouth that had suddenly appeared, briefly torn.

Explaining the King of Curses to the King of Curses himself was a little awkward.

He rubbed the space between his eyebrows and simply stopped looking at the mouth.

"...Sukuna is called the King of Curses... not because he rules over other cursed spirits, but because he's powerful enough."

"Even during the golden age of jujutsu a thousand years ago, Sukuna stood at the pinnacle of all Jujutsu Society, both in his understanding and use of cursed energy and jujutsu, and in his own strength as a sorcerer and a curse."

"In every aspect of curses, he was the undisputed pinnacle."

"That's why he was called the King of Curses."

Wow-Sukuna was that amazing! Itadori's eyes sparkled.

Wow-I was actually that strong! Sukuna's heart surged with excitement.

Suddenly, he had the motivation to recover his cursed technique. After all, his current half-baked abilities were nothing like what he had possessed a thousand years ago.

Imagining his future heroic self instantly dispatching special grade cursed spirits, Sukuna was positively delighted.

I had to regain my strength soon and become a King of Curses worthy of the name!

So, for now-

Let's hurry up and get back to class!

The sooner he learned, the sooner his memories would return, and the sooner he could become the King of Curses he once was!

Sukuna's gaze toward Megumi Fushiguro brimmed with a thirst for knowledge!

The pleasant morning soon came to an end, and after lunch, they headed to the athletic field.

The second-year students were already there waiting for them.

"You're late, Megumi."

With a training spear resting across her shoulder, Maki turned to look at the approaching trio.

Her gaze settled firmly on Itadori, who was walking behind Megumi Fushiguro.

So this was the legendary Sukuna's vessel?

"These three are our seniors: Zenin, Inumaki, and Panda," Megumi Fushiguro began, acting as the go-between.

"W-w-why is there a panda?!"

Kugisaki and Itadori cried out in unison, their expressions horrified.

Panda immediately waved a paw. "That's right, I'm a panda~"

"H-he talks, too!!"

The two country kids felt their entire worldview shaken.

Sukuna thought, ...You didn't have to be from the countryside to be shocked by this!

His eyes widened.

Why did something even more unbelievable than me exist?!

"Panda is a cursed corpse... I'll explain the details to you later."

Megumi Fushiguro turned back and gave them a meaningful look.

Itadori was the first to catch on.

He immediately stood up straight and said loudly, "Hello, everyone! My name is Yuji Itadori. I look forward to learning from you!"

Then he gave a perfect ninety-degree bow.

He could feel all three of their gazes focused on him, wary and appraising.

His heart sank as he realized they were probably on guard against Sukuna inside him.

"Oh, Yuji, right? Nice to meet you," Panda replied warmly.

Itadori straightened up and answered.

After a moment's thought, he raised the back of his left hand and introduced his companion with admirable camaraderie.

"And this is Sukuna, a special grade cursed spirit."

He paused, then considerately added something to keep the second-years from getting nervous:

"The amnesiac version."

Sukuna was speechless.

The amnesiac version? Seriously?

Sure enough, the moment the seniors heard Sukuna's name, their expressions grew wary. Maki even discreetly reached for her weapon.

Then, upon hearing "the amnesiac version," their expressions turned strange, and the tension briefly eased.

"Hey... is this how you introduce a special grade cursed spirit to everyone?"

Maki's eye twitched, her tone unfriendly.

Jujutsu sorcerers were natural enemies of curses, let alone the legendary King of Curses.

The only reason they were willing to stand this close to him was that Satoru Gojo had personally spoken to them about it.

For a moment, Maki even wanted to pull Megumi Fushiguro back to her side to protect him.

Her confrontational tone left Sukuna a little displeased.

Although he had expected hostility from other jujutsu sorcerers, he hadn't expected it to come so soon-and from Itadori's seniors, at that.

Still, he said nothing and stayed quietly where he was.

He didn't want Itadori's relationship with his seniors to suffer because of him.

"No, I'm only introducing him because you're my seniors."

Itadori's expression remained natural, as though he hadn't heard the hostility in Maki's words.

His eyes were sincere as he looked at the three seniors before him and said earnestly:

"And although Sukuna is a cursed spirit, he's a really good guy. Once you spend some time with him, I'm sure you'll like him."

Itadori spoke casually, as though he were truly just introducing an ordinary human friend to everyone, rather than a feared special grade cursed spirit.

Sukuna's heart trembled, and that trace of displeasure instantly vanished.

He felt warm inside, as though he were soaking in soft, warm water.

Maki and the others froze for a moment, not having expected Itadori to respond like that.

She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

After a long pause, she turned her head away and said, "Fine, got it. Satoru told us about him anyway, so we'll help."

"Just don't let Sukuna cause any major trouble. Try not to let the higher-ups find out."

"Oh, thank you, Zenin!~"

"Call me Maki."

"Okay, thank you, Maki!~"

Itadori answered happily.

Then, after another moment's thought, he lowered his head and quietly asked Sukuna, "Sukuna, do you want to say hello to Maki and the others?"

Say hello?

Say hello to them?

I was the King of Curses! Could I really sink that low after getting dissed?

Sukuna wrestled with the idea for a while. Finally, he snorted coldly, manifested a mouth, and addressed Maki.

"Hmph... who gave you permission to call me by my first name?"

"Are we really that close?"

"...Please call me 'Ryomen'!"

"...?" Maki stared.

...What the hell was "Ryomen" supposed to mean?

Silence fell over the group.

A long time passed before Maki's exceptionally calm voice broke it.

"He doesn't... think... his last name is 'Ryomen,' does he...?"

"...?"

Huh?

Sukuna paused.

Wasn't it?

Wasn't his name "Ryomen Sukuna"?

Itadori awkwardly lowered his head and whispered an explanation to Sukuna. "Teacher Gojo told me you were called Ryomen Sukuna because you had two faces. Your name is just Sukuna... Ryomen isn't a last name."

Sukuna was speechless.

*-!!!*

That was what it meant?!-

"Pfft..."

Someone let out the first laugh.

Then the quiet laughter grew louder and louder.

Maki tried to hold it in, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"So you really are the amnesiac version-you don't even remember your own name! Ahahahaha!"

Sukuna: "..."

Someone help me.

Something this important...

...Why didn't anyone tell me before?!

Didn't this... didn't this mean he'd embarrassed himself in front of the Second Year students too?!

He clutched his precarious dignity-no, his dignity had already shattered into dust-

He was so embarrassed he could have clawed an entire Innate Domain out of the ground on the spot-