Sherlock got beaten up again.
After Satoru Gojo carried Sherlock away from the Higher-Ups by the scruff of his neck, the very first thing he did upon returning to Tokyo Jujutsu High was give Sherlock a savage beating on the athletic field under the pretext of coaching him in close-quarters combat. He beat Sherlock so badly that he could not leave Shoko's infirmary for three whole days.
For those entire three days, Satoru Gojo never visited Sherlock once. He did not even show up at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
After regaining consciousness, Sherlock felt rather helpless. He did not know whether it was because he had teased Gojo about his relationship with Suguru Geto or because he had gone to face the Higher-Ups without telling him, but Sherlock could tell that Satoru Gojo really was a little angry.
Most importantly, Sherlock had absolutely no idea why Satoru Gojo was so angry. As a result, he spent those three days hiding in Shoko's infirmary feeling rather listless, unable to muster any interest in anything.
After watching this awkward teacher and student for three whole days, Shoko finally lost patience. While examining Sherlock on the evening of the third day, she rapped him hard on the head.
"You usually seem so smart. Why did you suddenly turn into such an idiot?"
?
Hearing Shoko's words, Sherlock looked up at her in confusion, completely unable to understand why she would say that.
At the sight of his puzzled expression, Shoko finally sighed helplessly. She found a chair in the infirmary, sat down, and lit herself a cigarette before speaking to Sherlock.
"Gojo wouldn't mind you calling Suguru Geto his wife. After all, people teased him about that plenty of times back in school. That bastard Gojo probably stopped caring about it ages ago.
"The Gojo Clan even seriously considered whether they should have Suguru Geto 'marry into' the clan. That actually led to those two scumbags getting into a huge fight at Jujutsu High, and Satoru even went back to the Gojo Clan and kicked up a huge fuss.
"When it came down to it, what those two scumbags actually cared about most was who would marry whom. Well, you know-that weird 'who's whose daddy' kind of friendship you boys have."
As she spoke, Shoko exhaled a mouthful of smoke and addressed Sherlock calmly, a faint smile of reminiscence on her lips. No matter how much time passed, those seemingly absurd days still left her lost in their memories.
She paused briefly. Only when a length of ash fell did Shoko snap out of her memories. She composed herself before continuing.
"What Gojo's really angry at isn't you. It's himself. Last time, he couldn't preserve his friendship with his best friend. This time, he nearly failed to protect his own student."
At this point, Shoko stood up from her chair with a look of distaste. Looking at the ash that had fallen onto the floor, she finally pursed her lips, actually stepped on it, and smeared it with the sole of her shoe before continuing.
"So stop saying things about defecting from Jujutsu High. Gojo might look strong, but he's actually been crying all this time."
As she spoke, she walked toward the infirmary door. The moment her hand touched the handle, Shoko seemed to remember something. She let out a long-suffering sigh before speaking to Sherlock again.
"Trouble Satoru a little more. Give that scumbag a little more trust, too. Don't be afraid of causing him trouble."
With that, Shoko pushed open the infirmary door and walked out, leaving Sherlock lying alone inside, thinking who knew what.
It was not until the morning of the fourth day that Sherlock finally left the infirmary.
Perhaps Sherlock's threats to the Higher-Ups had been all too real, or perhaps the godlike pressure Satoru Gojo had exuded had left too deep an impression. Whatever the case, the Higher-Ups had made no response even now.
After returning to his dorm room and thinking for a long time, Sherlock could only let out a helpless sigh.
He took out his phone and called Masamichi Yaga. After explaining his idea and getting Yaga's approval, Sherlock sent Satoru Gojo a message.
Its contents were simple: he invited Satoru Gojo to his dorm room for dinner that evening as thanks for everyone looking after him all this time since his enrollment. He even specifically mentioned that Principal Yaga and Shoko would both be there.
Once that was done, Sherlock did not wait for Satoru Gojo's reply. He activated his Cursed Technique and went grocery shopping.
After working for the entire day, Sherlock drew on his combined experience of living alone across two lifetimes and managed to put together a lavish spread of eight substantial dishes and a soup, all hearty Chinese dishes.
Shoko and Yaga arrived at Sherlock's room as agreed. The three sat silently at the dining table, none of them speaking. The most important guest at this dinner had yet to arrive.
Just as the three were starting to feel at a loss, someone kicked open the door to Sherlock's room from outside.
Satoru Gojo charged in with bags of desserts of every size dangling from his hands, striking a particularly comical pose.
"Surprise!!! The most handsome Teacher Gojo in the entire universe has arrived! It's been three days-did everyone miss the most handsome Teacher Gojo??"
That obnoxious tone, combined with his exaggerated gestures, made everyone present breathe a sigh of relief, even as Masamichi Yaga's fist clenched.
After irritably punching Satoru Gojo in the head, Masamichi Yaga roared at him.
"Show up at the agreed time! And don't just barge in! Knock!!!!"
After being dealt with by Masamichi Yaga, Satoru Gojo promptly behaved himself. Shoko also confiscated all the desserts he had brought without the slightest hesitation.
The two of them managed to subdue the towering, six-foot-three man until he wore the aggrieved expression of a wronged young wife, then maneuvered him into a seat at the table.
Watching this unfold, Sherlock's mouth twitched, and all he could do was urge everyone to eat first.
Fortunately, all of Satoru Gojo's feelings vanished without a trace after his very first bite. More than half of the eight dishes on the table were sweet, and they were Chinese home-style flavors he had never tried before.
The instant Satoru Gojo put the first bite of crispy sweet-and-sour pork in his mouth, the white-haired Dickhead Cat's eyes lit up. Without the slightest trace of a teacher's dignity or concern for his image as the strongest of the modern age, he began fighting Yaga and Shoko for food as though no one else were around.
Yaga cursed as he wielded his chopsticks faster than anyone else. Shoko was far more refined and rarely joined the battle for food.
Of course, that might also have been because Sherlock had placed a bottle of erguotou on the table especially for her. Shoko, who loved her liquor, had her attention entirely captured by that bottle.
As for Sherlock, he only occasionally fought this Dickhead Cat for food. After all, as the cook, he had already eaten quite a bit while preparing the meal. He really was not all that hungry now.