Suguru Geto!

Ijichi led the way.

The two rounded a street corner. The noren curtain outside the ramen shop by the road swayed gently in the night breeze.

Warm yellow light spilled from inside, along with the bubbling of soup pots.

Wangchuan followed with his suitcase, then suddenly reached out and patted Ijichi on the shoulder.

"Ijichi."

"Hmm?" Ijichi turned, thinking he had something serious to discuss.

"You're a really decent guy."

Ijichi froze for a moment. "...Huh?"

"I mean it." There was a lazy sincerity in Wangchuan's voice.

"You know I don't actually work for your Jujutsu Headquarters."

"Every time I come back for a job, you're the one who picks me up. You drive me everywhere and get the information ready in advance."

"You put up the Curtains nice and quick, then even treat me to ramen afterward. That kind of logistical support isn't something anyone outside your organization gets to enjoy."

The praise left Ijichi a little uncomfortable, the tips of his ears turning faintly red.

"No, no, it's just part of my job..."

"So," Wangchuan patted his shoulder again and said earnestly, "from now on, I've got your back."

Ijichi blinked.

"If you ever get killed by a cursed spirit."

"..."

"I'll resurrect you with magic."

The corner of Ijichi's mouth twitched, and a few drops of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

He had no idea where to even begin.

M-magic? Resurrection?

Ijichi quickly ran those keywords through his head, ultimately reaching a conclusion.

Wangchuan really does have quite an imagination.

Although the world of jujutsu sorcerers had all sorts of unbelievable cursed techniques.

Resurrecting someone with magic sounded like the result of playing too many games, no matter how he looked at it.

"...W-well, thank you, Wangchuan."

Ijichi spoke stiffly, trying his best to sound appreciative.

"But I'll do my best... not to get killed by a cursed spirit."

"Hahahaha, I'm kidding." Wangchuan laughed and waved a hand. "Look how scared you got."

Ijichi breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

But Wangchuan immediately added, "I was serious about the resurrection, though."

"..."

"I'll demonstrate it for you sometime."

"N-no need!" Ijichi raised his voice a little, which was rare for him. "I think we can do without a demonstration!"

Wangchuan laughed even harder.

They reached the ramen shop's entrance. Half the noren curtain lifted, and the owner's hearty welcome rang out from inside.

Ijichi was just about to step inside when he suddenly heard Wangchuan's footsteps stop.

He turned back.

Wangchuan stood beside the noren, still holding his suitcase, but his gaze had turned toward the other end of the street.

It wasn't a casual glance. His eyes were fixed in one direction and stayed there for several seconds.

Ijichi followed his gaze.

There was only a quiet alley entrance over there, dim streetlights, and a few bicycles parked beside a wall. Nothing else.

"...Wangchuan?"

Ijichi asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

Wangchuan looked for another two seconds before drawing his gaze back.

The hint of a smile remained on his lips as he tipped his chin at Ijichi.

"Nothing."

"Come on, let's get ramen."

"Oh... okay." Although Ijichi found it a little strange, he didn't ask any more questions.

He pushed open the ramen shop's door and went inside.

The noren fell behind him, enclosing both the warm yellow light and the bubbling of the soup pots within the shop.

At the alley entrance across the street, a tall, thin figure slowly emerged from the shadow of the wall.

Suguru Geto wore dark monk's robes, his hands tucked into his sleeves. Standing just beyond the reach of the streetlight, he watched the light shifting across the ramen shop's noren.

"So he's Wangchuan..."

He spoke softly, his tone appraising.

"Impressive indeed. He could sense my presence even from this far away."

He turned his head, his gaze passing through the darkness to settle on the quiet main building of Suntan Medical University.

The Curtain around the hospital had already been lifted, leaving it looking no different from an ordinary hospital.

Only the outlines of a few broken windows looked slightly out of place in the light.

"He was only inside for a few minutes."

Suguru Geto narrowed his eyes slightly. "And he dealt with a Special Grade so easily."

The night breeze swept past him, stirring the hem of his robes.

"Satoru, with you calling him to Tokyo now, it looks like the plans ahead will be a little tricky."

He stood there quietly for a while.

The streetlight stopped a foot short of his feet, as though something were blocking it, unable to reach him at all.

Then Suguru Geto turned and walked unhurriedly deeper into the alley.

His footsteps were soft, blending into the background sounds of Tokyo at night, and soon faded out of hearing.

Inside the ramen shop, Wangchuan set his suitcase beside the table, picked up a pair of chopsticks, snapped them apart, and smiled at Ijichi.

"Boss, chashu ramen with an extra egg."

"Coming right up!"

Ijichi sat down beside him and stole a glance at Wangchuan, hesitating to speak.

Wangchuan lowered his head to take a sip of soup and mumbled, "If you've got a question, just ask."

"Uh... did you really see something just now, Wangchuan?"

"Hmm?" Wangchuan swallowed the noodles in his mouth and gestured in the air with his chopsticks.

"I saw a pretty interesting mosquito."

"...A mosquito?"

"It flew away." Wangchuan shrugged and picked up another mouthful of noodles.

"Forget it. It's not important."

"We'll meet again anyway."

Ijichi felt that he was probably destined to spend the entire evening full of questions, so he gave up asking and lowered his head to eat his noodles too.

Steam from the ramen broth curled upward between them.

Wangchuan had just stuffed his second slice of chashu into his mouth when his phone screen lit up.

He glanced down. A message from Satoru Gojo popped up:

[Chuan!! How'd it go, how'd it go?? That Eclipse-did you take care of it??]

[How long did it take? I bet you took five minutes. Any more than five minutes and you lose! You owe me a meal! Hurry, hurry, hurry, reply!!!]

Wangchuan flipped his phone over, laid it facedown on the table, and kept eating.

"Wangchuan... aren't you going to check the message?"

Ijichi reminded him cautiously.

"It looks like it's from Mr. Gojo..."

"I know what he's saying without looking." Wangchuan picked up another mouthful of noodles and spoke indistinctly.

"This chashu's good. Try some, Ijichi."

Ijichi looked at the slices of chashu in his own bowl, silently picked one up, and took a bite.

The phone lit up again.

This time, it vibrated three times in a row, as though someone had frantically hammered the send button.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ijichi caught the edge of the screen flashing, carrying an indomitable resolve to keep sending messages until he got a reply.

Wangchuan finished his last mouthful of noodles, lifted the bowl to drink a few mouthfuls of soup, and set it down contentedly.

"Boss, another serving of noodles."

"Coming right up!"

Only then did he turn his phone over. Sure enough, a string of messages had piled up on the screen:

[It took more than five minutes, didn't it? It definitely took more than five minutes! I knew it! You owe me a meal!]

[Oh, right, right, Jujutsu High's getting a new student in a few days~]

[Yuta, Yuta Okkotsu. Have you heard of him?]

[You should come too! I'll introduce you! You're a senior who's (almost) Special Grade, after all~]

Wangchuan's gaze lingered on the name Yuta Okkotsu for a moment.

He instinctively glanced at the date at the top of his phone screen: April 6, 2017.

"...Hmm?"

He suddenly sat a little straighter.

April 2017. Jujutsu High. A new student.

The corners of Wangchuan's mouth slowly curved upward.

"So we're at this point in the timeline..."

"What is it?" Ijichi looked up and asked.

"Did Mr. Gojo say something?"

"Nothing."

Wangchuan raised his phone, his index finger hovering over the screen for a second. Then he typed a few words, sent them, and locked the screen.

Ijichi was still waiting for him to continue, but Wangchuan merely set his phone back on the table and gestured in the air with his chopsticks.

"Ijichi, did you know Jujutsu High's getting a new student soon?"

"Yuta Okkotsu..."

Ijichi thought for a moment.

"Yes, I've heard about him."

"I heard his enrollment was specially approved this year. Apparently... uh, apparently there are special circumstances."

"Special circumstances."

Wangchuan repeated the words, the smile on his face growing a little more pronounced.

Could I take...

The extra noodles arrived.

Wangchuan tipped them into the remaining broth and stirred.

"I'll visit Jujutsu High in a few days."

Ijichi froze for a moment. "Huh? Don't you... dislike going to Jujutsu High? Before, with Headquarters..."

"Going once in a while doesn't matter." Wangchuan lowered his head and slurped his noodles, his voice a little muffled. "I've got nothing else to do anyway."

He took out his phone and glanced at it again.

The message he had just sent still sat in the chat, containing only a few simple words:

[Got it. I'll go.]

Right beneath it were a dozen or so messages Satoru Gojo had sent back instantly.

They were all exclamation marks and emoticons, like a giant ferret that had been switched on and was bouncing wildly around on the other side of the screen.

Wangchuan locked the screen without even looking.

"A warrior of pure love..." he muttered quietly, then lowered his head and continued eating.

Ijichi hadn't caught it. "...What did you say?"

"I said the chashu's good." Wangchuan didn't even look up.