Sherlock had no idea what had happened in Masamichi Yaga's office. After all, he didn't know Reverse Cursed Technique and couldn't bounce around after taking two Black Flashes like Satoru Gojo. Just one elbow strike from Satoru Gojo had knocked Sherlock out cold.
By the time Sherlock woke up, it was already the next morning, and he was lying quietly in Shoko's infirmary.
Staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling, Sherlock was a little dazed. The lingering sensation of Black Flash still flowed through his soul, utterly captivating him.
The saying that sorcerers who had landed a Black Flash and those who hadn't were two entirely different species wasn't just empty talk.
In Sherlock's view, Black Flash was definitely more than simply increasing attack power, improving control over cursed energy, deepening one's understanding of cursed energy, or even restoring one's condition a little.
The truly powerful thing about Black Flash was the ticket you obtained after landing one and truly understanding the essence of cursed energy.
Since Heavenly Emperor Tiger could use Black Flash like a basic attack, that proved Black Flash was actually a skill that could be mastered through practice, not some critical hit that depended entirely on luck.
And there were really only two particularly difficult parts to that process. First, actually landing a Black Flash. Second, believing Black Flash was merely a skill, not a matter of luck.
One was a breakthrough from zero to one. The other was changing a belief stamped into the mind like a brand.
Without either one, reaching Heavenly Emperor Tiger's level would be impossible. As it happened, Sherlock, a transmigrator, now met both conditions. All he needed to do was keep recalling how it had felt to land Black Flash and practice until that feeling became instinct.
If there was anything that annoyed Sherlock, it was probably the fact that he had landed Black Flash because he hadn't been able to attend the fan festival.
How should he put it? Although Sherlock was quite obsessed with the fan festival, he absolutely didn't want everyone to know about it.
The good news was that, apart from Shoko, there were currently no members of the opposite sex at Jujutsu High. He didn't have to worry about losing his chance of ever finding a partner over this, much less about it becoming a stumbling block on his grand road to becoming the harem king.
The bad news-well, the bad news came from Shoko...
Sherlock had only just breathed a sigh of relief when Shoko pushed the door open and walked in wearing a white coat. When she saw him, an ambiguous smile appeared on her face.
"Congratulations, Sherlock. Word that you got into a huge fight with Satoru Gojo because you missed the fan festival and successfully landed Black Flash has already spread throughout Jujutsu Society."
"???"
At Shoko's words, three enormous question marks popped up over Sherlock's head.
Wait, what the fuck kind of jujutsu version of 'good news stays home, bad news travels far' was this? Was landing a Black Flash really that big a deal? Even landing two in a row shouldn't get this much goddamn attention!
Seeing Sherlock's expression starting to twist as he lay in bed, Shoko guessed almost immediately what he was thinking. With a mischievous smirk at her successful prank, she lit a cigarette and continued.
"Satoru Gojo's first disciple landing Black Flash isn't surprising. But Satoru Gojo's disciple landing Black Flash because he missed a fan festival, twice in a row, and on Satoru Gojo himself? Now that's a story that spreads."
Shoko paused there and exhaled a puff of smoke. Her expression grew much more serious before she continued.
"Besides, as Satoru Gojo's first disciple, you have a lot of people watching you, Sherlock."
"..."
Shoko had put it extremely indirectly, but after spending so long in Jujutsu Society, Sherlock had some idea of what was going on.
The Three Great Families, the old fossils among the Higher-Ups, curse users, and even cursed spirits-almost everyone's eyes were fixed on Satoru Gojo. As the person currently closest to him outside the Gojo Clan, Sherlock knew there was no escaping those gazes.
Watching the silent Sherlock, Shoko knew he had understood her hint. She changed the subject and sat down in her office chair, staring at him with a half-smile.
"But you don't need to worry too much. The Higher-Ups have already decided to combine your missions with Satoru Gojo's. In other words, from now on, Satoru Gojo will keep you by his side and give you one-on-one jujutsu instruction~"
A bolt from the blue!
To Sherlock, Shoko's words were nothing short of the sky falling.
Knowing full well what Satoru Gojo was like, Sherlock knew perfectly well that this was absolutely not a fucking good thing. That Dickhead Cat would work him to the bone!
Sherlock could already see it: not only would he have to help that Dickhead Cat handle his missions, he would also have to squeeze in his own, and might even have to run errands for that Dickhead Cat every now and then!!!
I was a goddamn corporate slave before I transmigrated, and now I'm a goddamn corporate slave again. Didn't I fucking transmigrate for nothing?
"Can I refuse?"
After a long silence, Sherlock attempted one last struggle, asking Shoko in a low voice.
But Shoko didn't answer. She simply smoked and watched Sherlock lying in the hospital bed with a half-smile.
He closed his eyes in despair, and the sound of Sherlock breaking down echoed throughout the ward.
"Huh? Does Xia-chan hate Satoru-chan that much? But Satoru-chan was being super considerate of Xia-chan. I didn't even turn on Limitless during last night's fight and took both of Xia-chan's Black Flashes head-on~"
Satoru Gojo's syrupy imitation of a high school girl's voice suddenly rang out in the quiet ward, followed by Shoko's somewhat irritated shout.
"Satoru Gojo, use the damn door!"
Hearing Satoru Gojo's voice, Sherlock reluctantly poked his head out from under the covers. Looking at Satoru Gojo, who was wearing glasses and pretending to be a high school girl, he said irritably,
"If you can swear that going with you won't mean running errands for you, doing your missions for you, or squeezing in time to finish my own missions by myself, I actually don't mind going on missions with you."
"..."
Satoru Gojo's endless silence was the only response Sherlock received.
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Bastard! Say something! You bastard!
Faced with Satoru Gojo's silence, Sherlock completely lost it yet again. He leaped up, latched onto Satoru Gojo, and bit down on his head.
Unfortunately, Satoru Gojo's Limitless blocked him completely, and he did no damage whatsoever.
Satoru Gojo completely ignored Sherlock clinging to him and desperately trying to bite his head. He turned to say goodbye to Shoko, then left the infirmary with Sherlock still hanging from him.
Watching the master and disciple, Shoko sighed helplessly, but a faint smile remained on her lips.
It had been a long time since Jujutsu High had been this lively, ever since Suguru Geto left.