Satoru Gojo's Commission!

"Yeah, it should be him." Wangchuan tilted his head to glance at Satoru Gojo.

"What, haven't seen him in a while?"

"Haven't seen him in a while," Satoru Gojo repeated, his tone betraying no particular emotion.

"He's the leader of the Time Vessel Association now. He's probably living pretty comfortably."

Tokyo's nighttime scenery slowly drifted backward outside the car window.

Satoru Gojo rested one hand on the steering wheel and tapped his fingers twice.

Wangchuan suddenly spoke up. "Want me to catch him and bring him back for you?"

Satoru Gojo glanced at him.

"Just ten billion yen." Wangchuan held up one finger without a change in expression.

"Fixed price. Capture and delivery included. Delivered alive, not a hair on his head harmed."

Satoru Gojo was silent for two seconds.

A trace of complicated emotion flickered in the azure eyes behind those sunglasses.

Amusement, hesitation, and something deeper mingled together.

He watched Wangchuan for a while, then smiled.

"Honestly, I'm tempted."

"Then..."

"But no." Satoru Gojo turned his gaze back to the road ahead, his voice returning to its airy tone.

"Forcing him back wouldn't do much good. Geto... as long as his thinking doesn't change, none of it means anything."

Wangchuan clicked his tongue and leaned back in his seat, his tone taking on obvious regret.

"...Such a good chance to make money."

"Money's all you think about, huh?"

"What else? I'd be risking the entire Time Vessel Association hunting me down to catch him for you. Ten billion is already a very fair price."

Satoru Gojo smiled without replying.

The car stopped at a red light. Pedestrians and neon lights drifted slowly past the windows, the glass keeping the city's nighttime bustle outside.

"If you ever change your mind," Wangchuan spoke again, "come find me. Returning customers get a discount."

"How much?"

"Nine point nine billion."

"...That's not a discount."

"It's a hundred million off. How is that not a discount?"

Satoru Gojo laughed and shook his head.

They soon reached their destination.

The outline of the elementary school was visible in the distance.

The two of them got out of the car and walked toward the school gate.

Maki and Yuta Okkotsu stood beside the iron fence.

Her arms were crossed over her chest, and when she saw the two of them strolling over, she immediately frowned.

"You took way too long."

Her tone was plainly impatient. "That kid and I have been waiting here for almost ten minutes."

"We're here now, aren't we?" Satoru Gojo walked over, smiling.

Wangchuan looked at Yuta Okkotsu's slightly trembling shoulders, a rare hint of gentleness entering his voice.

"This is your first mission, right?"

Yuta Okkotsu froze for a moment, then nodded somewhat awkwardly, his voice quiet. "...Yes, it is."

"Senior Wangchuan."

"Don't call me senior." Wangchuan waved a hand.

"Makes me sound old. Just call me Wangchuan."

"Huh? B-but..."

Before Yuta Okkotsu could finish, someone suddenly grabbed the back of his collar.

"Let's go. Stop dragging your feet." Maki Zenin held Yuta Okkotsu by the back of his collar with one hand.

Without giving him a say, she dragged him through the school gate.

"He didn't graduate from Jujutsu High. Calling him senior won't get him to teach you anything extra."

"Senior Maki, w-wait, I can walk."

Yuta Okkotsu stumbled as she dragged him along.

Maki dragged Yuta Okkotsu into the shadows at the entrance to the schoolyard. Their footsteps grew fainter and were soon swallowed by the night wind.

Silence settled over the school gate.

Satoru Gojo took two steps forward and formed a hand seal, that signature hint of a smile on his lips.

His voice sounded slightly lower than usual in the night, as though he were reciting a familiar prayer.

"Born from darkness, blacker than darkness, gather all residual impurity within the Curtain."

A black membrane slowly rose from all four directions, covering the entire elementary school like a huge overturned bowl.

The streetlight warped slightly where it touched the Curtain's boundary, then returned to normal.

Wangchuan leaned against the iron railing by the school gate, hands in his pockets, watching the black membrane slowly close and darken the sky overhead.

"Gojo."

"Hmm?"

"You didn't invite me to Jujutsu High today just to meet Yuta Okkotsu, did you?"

Satoru Gojo glanced back at him, the corners of his mouth still raised, but some of the fleeting lightness in his eyes settled.

"Hahaha-you saw right through me?"

He dusted off his hands, stepped closer, and leaned against the railing beside Wangchuan.

"It's nothing major. I just wanted you to get to know these kids."

Wangchuan turned his head to look at him.

Their eyes met.

"...You bastard, don't tell me you're..."

"That's right." Satoru Gojo smiled, not his usual exaggerated, theatrical smile.

It was faint, just a slight upward curve of his lips.

"Exactly what you're thinking."

"Chuan."

"I'd like you to help them if they ever find themselves in danger."

Wangchuan was silent for two seconds.

"Hey, hey, hey. I'm not one of your teachers at Jujutsu High."

He turned back to look at the shadows shrouded by the Curtain in the direction of the schoolyard.

"I'm a bounty hunter. Money matters to me, not people."

"Money matters to you, but people do too." Satoru Gojo's voice was soft, carrying the certainty of someone who had seen through him long ago.

"Stop pretending."

"You can't pull it off."

"...Which eye of yours saw that?"

"Both of them." Satoru Gojo turned and winked at him, the azure behind his sunglasses glowing gently in the dim light.

"Chuan, I saw through that whole 'I'll do anything if you pay me' act of yours ages ago."

"You're full of love on the inside, you know."

"Could you possibly sound any more out there?"

Wangchuan neither denied nor confirmed it.

He simply leaned quietly against the railing, looking into the darkness toward the schoolyard. His lips moved slightly, as though he wanted to say something but swallowed it back.

"Then, sorry for the trouble." Satoru Gojo's tone was light, not like a request.

It was more like a confirmation that said, I know you'll agree.

"...I haven't agreed yet."

Wangchuan finally spoke, his voice returning to its lazy drawl. "Quit making decisions for me."

But as he said it, he didn't walk away.

Satoru Gojo said nothing more either. The two of them simply leaned side by side against the railing, watching the black Curtain tremble slightly in the night wind.

Then Wangchuan's phone rang.

The sudden ringtone cut through the subtle silence between them.

Wangchuan took out his phone and glanced at the screen, his eyebrows lifting slightly.

Caller ID: Mei Mei.

"Tch."

He answered and held the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

Mei Mei's unhurried voice came from the other end, carrying her usual composure.

"Wangchuan, it's been a while."

"It has. What, got a job?"

"I do. A big one, too."

Wangchuan's ears pricked up slightly, but it didn't show on his face. "How big?"

"Come over and we'll talk in person. I'll send you the address."

"...All right." Wangchuan hung up, locked the screen, and glanced at Satoru Gojo.

Satoru Gojo tilted his head at him. "Mei Mei?"

"Yeah."

"Got a job?"

"A big one."

Wangchuan slipped his phone back into his pocket.