When Satoru Gojo pushed open the door to Sherlock's room, Sherlock had a mouthful of noodles dangling from his lips and turned toward the suddenly opened door with a adorably blank look.
Gojo had planned to strike a ridiculous pose and shout "Surprise!" but he cracked first. Seeing Sherlock's adorably blank face, with half the noodles in his mouth and half hanging out, he burst out laughing.
"Hahahahahahaha! Xia-chan, what's with that face?! Hahahahaha!"
Watching the great big Dickhead Cat standing in his doorway, clutching his stomach and laughing at him, Sherlock's blank look gradually turned to resignation. He slurped the noodles into his mouth and swallowed before giving the still-laughing Gojo an irritated look.
"Seriously, Teacher, you came back without even telling me? And I'm also very curious-how did you get a key card to my room?"
"My, my, Satoru-chan only kept it a secret because he wanted to give Xia-chan a little surprise~ Aren't you happy to see Satoru-chan?"
Gojo instantly switched into schoolgirl mode, pressing a finger against Sherlock's complaining lips, looking just as he had when he wanted to take Megumi Fushiguro to play the violin. Meanwhile, his other hand was sneakily stealing the instant noodles Sherlock had taken only one bite of.
Sherlock completely missed what Gojo was doing. That performance gave him goosebumps all over, and he decisively activated his Cursed Technique and fled far away. He even slipped on his brass knuckles, watching Gojo warily.
"Halt! What Cursed Spirit dares impersonate Teacher Gojo? Reveal your true form at once!"
"Ah~ Xia-chan~ You're breaking your teacher's heart~"
Gojo readily played along with Sherlock, throwing himself into the role of a wife abandoned by her husband. Though his acting was spectacularly overblown, it still sent wave after wave of chills through Sherlock.
"No, seriously, Teacher Gojo, did one trip overseas change your sexual orientation? Why are you acting so gay?"
"????"
At that remark from Sherlock, Gojo instantly tucked away his toothy grin and stared at him speechlessly.
You're gay! Your whole family's gay!
Only Sherlock could get away with that. Had anyone else mocked Gojo like that, they probably would have had a Purple blasted into their face by now.
Sherlock's jab hit its mark, and Gojo immediately lost all interest in continuing the act. Rolling his eyes at Sherlock, he picked up the instant noodles Sherlock had taken just one bite of and started slurping them down.
"Boring. I'm starving! The stuff they served on the plane wasn't nearly enough! Here, the gift I promised!"
Gojo ate as he complained, and Sherlock didn't even manage to stop him, because while complaining, Gojo also pulled a small box from inside his clothes and tossed it toward him.
Sherlock scrambled to catch the little box Gojo threw and eagerly opened it. What he saw, however, made three enormous question marks pop up over his head.
Inside the box were two identical pairs of objects, each with three beads connected by a thin thread. They gleamed like metal and gave off a dense aura of Cursed Energy. They were small overall-even with the thread strung through the beads pulled straight, they probably measured less than five centimeters.
Sherlock studied them for ages without figuring out what they were. If they were earrings, they had neither hooks nor clips. If they were rings, they didn't look as though they would stay on.
The only thing Sherlock could be certain of was that these things were dangerous. Ever since he had picked them up, his sixth sense had been frantically sounding warnings.
Watching Sherlock's bewildered yet reluctant-to-give-up expression, Gojo finally looked satisfied after finishing the noodles. His lips curved into a smile as he pointed at the objects in the little box and told Sherlock,
"A Special Grade Cursed Tool from the States, the Thunderfire Prayer Beads. Though, if you ask me, they're only about Grade 1 at best. Their effect is very simple: infuse them with Cursed Energy, and they produce a directional blast. The more Cursed Energy you put in, the stronger the blast.
"But their maximum explosive power is only equivalent to five kilograms of TNT. Beyond that yield, pouring in more Cursed Energy won't do anything.
"Xia-chan, you have very few ways to deal damage. Using Black Flash is a viable approach, but it definitely isn't an easy path to take. At least, not for you as you are now.
"So your teacher found you this Cursed Tool. You can mount it on your brass knuckles. That way, it won't interfere with your Black Flash practice, and it can also indirectly increase your attack power, giving you a consistent means of dealing damage at your current stage."
After listening to Gojo's explanation, Sherlock was rather stunned. He looked at the Cursed Tool lying in the box in his hands, then looked up at Gojo. After trying to hold it in for ages, he finally failed and asked Gojo a soul-searching question with utter bewilderment on his face.
"So, Teacher, you went away on business for almost a month and found me a Rasengan?"
Though there was something a little off about that description, there was no denying how aptly Sherlock had described the Cursed Tool Gojo brought back. Even Gojo couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Hahahaha! You could put it that way. But Xia-chan, you must remember: what your teacher brought back is only the most basic Rasengan. What comes next is up to you. Only once you've turned Black Flash into a passive skill can you combine it with the 'Rasengan' to develop all sorts of other spheres."
Faced with Gojo's advice, Sherlock had to admit one thing: though the Dickhead Cat before him had an extraordinarily outrageous teaching style, one that could even be called unreliable, Gojo was a good teacher who genuinely had his students' interests at heart.
Whether it was Sayafushi before or the Thunderfire Prayer Beads now, Gojo was always finding ways forward for Sherlock, his student. He would even adjust his plans for his students according to their own wishes.
Whatever else might be said, that alone was enough to put Gojo ahead of most teachers.
Seeing the touched expression on Sherlock's face, Gojo smiled and waved a hand at him before continuing.
"All right, this is just what a teacher should do. Don't look at me like that. Come on! Take your teacher out for something good. One bowl of instant noodles isn't nearly enough to fill me up. Satoru-chan wants to enjoy those old fossils' 'expense account' too!"
Hearing that, Sherlock burst out laughing. He casually picked up the clothes lying on the sofa and followed Gojo out, not forgetting to bicker with him along the way.
"Teacher, you still haven't told me how you got a key card to my room."
"Oh, that? Simple. This hotel belongs to the Gojo Clan!"
"..."
"Hey, hey, Xia-chan, why aren't you saying anything? Pay attention to your teacher. Satoru-chan will get lonely if you act like this~"
"I'll take all you rich people on!!!"