Early the next morning, barely after dawn, Junpei Yoshino left home with his schoolbag on his back.
His mother was still reminding him to be careful on the way from the entryway. Warm milk sat on the dining table, no different from any ordinary school morning.
Junpei had not slept all night. The voice of that boy with stitches across his face had kept circling in his ears.
That person had stood outside his window last night, smiling at him through the glass, saying he could give him power and make everyone who bullied him pay.
He had not told Itadori, nor had he told his mother.
Over at Jujutsu High, Qingxiao learned that a Curtain had been lowered over the school and was rushing there with Itadori.
"Mr. Gu Yue, Junpei isn't going to be in trouble, is he?" Sweat beaded on Itadori's forehead as he ran.
"Let's get there and see first." Qingxiao's voice was calm, but his pace quickened further.
When the two rushed into the school building, quite a few unconscious students lay on the floor. Junpei was straddling a blond boy, hammering punch after punch into his face.
His eyes were bloodshot, and the skin on his knuckles had split.
"Junpei! Stop!" Itadori rushed over and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him up.
Still furious, Junpei summoned his Shikigami. The two fought their way out of the classroom and into the corridor, tumbled down the stairs to the schoolyard below, then finally struggled their way back up to the rooftop.
Junpei's eyes were so red they looked ready to bleed:
"Stay out of this! Nobody stepped in when they bullied me!
Now that I have power, why shouldn't I get back at them?"
"Revenge won't solve anything!"
Itadori took two steps forward, his