I like you

[Ever since the Star Plasma Vessel Incident that changed everything ended, your life seemed to have been put on fast-forward.]

[Apart from essential missions, you devoted all your time to almost self-abusive training, putting the creation of cursed corpses aside entirely.]

[After witnessing Toji Fushiguro's pure physical violence and the seemingly miraculous Hollow Technique: Purple that Satoru Gojo unleashed after his awakening, you realized just how little your current cursed corpses amounted to before absolute power-mere toys that were slightly harder to break.]

[On countless late nights at the training grounds, you tried to use your own cursed energy to simulate the principles Satoru Gojo had described.]

[Combining positive infinity and negative infinity to create a conflict, unleashing imaginary force to form a highly destructive black-hole sphere of cursed energy.]

[You understood all the theory, and your Reverse Cursed Technique had already reached mastery.]

[But whenever you tried to fuse these two utterly opposing forces, all you got was your palm exploding into a bloody mess, time after time, along with chaotic currents of cursed energy that followed no discernible pattern.]

[Yet it remained a failure. A complete failure.]

[Without the Six Eyes' atomic-level precision in manipulating cursed energy, trying to maintain a stable fusion of Blue and Red was like carving Along the River During the Qingming Festival on the tip of a needle with your bare hands.]

[That was not a chasm hard work could bridge. It was a gulf in innate talent.]

[Yet amid that frustration, you unexpectedly came to understand Masamichi Yaga.]

[Why was that stern man who always wore sunglasses so obsessed with researching self-aware cursed corpses?]

[Why did he engrave information about the souls of the dead into their cores?]

[Because it was the only way-a kind of obsessive tenderness born of the weak wishing to hold on to the departed and fill the emptiness inside them.]

[Even so, you did not want to spend time learning those methods from Masamichi Yaga.]

[If possible, you hoped you would never have to use that technology.]

[Once you began researching how to replicate souls, it meant you had already prepared yourself for the people around you to die.]

[Rather than deceive yourself afterward by holding a talking doll, you would rather give everything you had now to prevent the future in which you would need that technology.]

[Besides, you had also realized that when you saved Satoru Gojo back then, you should have been able to complete the mission.]

[But deep down, you did not want to repeat that sequence of events in reality just to complete the mission.]

[Once was enough for the experience of watching a companion hover on the brink of death.]

[Time slipped away silently, like sand between your fingers.]

[In the blink of an eye, it was already your third year at Jujutsu High.]

[The new year's card draw arrived right on schedule.]

[Natural Perfection [R]]

[Natural Perfection [R]: When you actively choose to conceal your presence, your efforts will yield twice the results, greatly reducing your presence. This effect is applied at the final calculation stage, meaning that even if you do not deliberately conceal your cursed energy, you will still benefit from this card's effect.]

[You adjusted your glasses as you read the card's description.]

[You recognized at a glance that it was a superior replacement for Low Presence [N].]

[But looking at the empty classroom, you could not smile.]

[There were very few new first-years that year-just one boy named Kiyotaka Ijichi.]

[He had ordinary talent, no innate cursed technique, and seemed timid and meek.]

[Looking at him, you felt even more keenly the gap in the ranks of jujutsu sorcerers, and that gap meant all the pressure would fall on the few people at the very top.]

[Satoru Gojo, meanwhile, had fully become "godlike."]

[He had developed a passive defense that automatically screened the targets of his cursed technique, achieving true round-the-clock invincibility. Now he could quickly clear even Special Grade missions alone.]

[The title of "the strongest" gradually drew him away from the team. He no longer needed your cover or any coordination.]

[And since Shoko rarely participated in missions to begin with, you had more opportunities to work alongside Suguru Geto.]

[Suguru Geto had changed.]

[It was not a sudden change, but something like a slow-acting poison, gradually corroding the once high-spirited honor student.]

[Over those months, you watched him grow increasingly quiet, his figure becoming thinner by the day, the dark circles beneath his eyes impossible to erase even with Reverse Cursed Technique.]

[It was an affliction of the heart.]

[Every cursed spirit he swallowed felt to him like swallowing a rag used to wipe up vomit.]

[Yet to protect the non-sorcerers who knew nothing about any of this, he had to force himself to swallow that disgusting thing over and over.]

["It's just the summer heat getting to me."]

[Whenever you asked, he brushed you off with that flimsy excuse, then gave you his usual gentle yet distant smile.]

[You knew it was not summer trapping him, but the seed called the "Greater Good," withering and crumbling amid the absurdity of reality.]

[One day, after a mission.]

[In Jujutsu High's long, quiet corridor, the setting sun stretched the shadows far.]

[You and Suguru Geto sat on a bench beside a vending machine, cold drinks in hand, enjoying a brief respite.]

["Geto! Li!"]

[A lively voice broke the gloom.]

[Yu Haibara, that ever-energetic junior who was still a second-year, ran over with a backpack on his shoulders, his face lit by a pure smile rarely seen in Jujutsu Society.]

["Heading out on a mission?"]

[Suguru Geto looked at his junior, his gaze softening a little.]

["Yes! We're going somewhere pretty far away."]

[Yu Haibara nodded vigorously.]

["Remember to bring back some souvenirs, then. Preferably sweets."]

[Suguru Geto spoke casually, though his tone carried a trace of weariness.]

[Perhaps it was the sight of Yu Haibara looking so free of gloom that prompted Suguru Geto to suddenly ask a question.]

["Haibara, do you think... you can keep working as a jujutsu sorcerer?"]

[It was both a plea for help and a tentative probe.]

[Yu Haibara paused, then broke into a brilliant smile.]

["It's hard work, but I'll give everything I do my all! That feels good to me!"]

[Simplicity, candor, and purity-those were things Suguru Geto had once possessed, but had already lost.]

[Your heart jolted. Even without deliberately committing it to memory, you knew.]

[It was this mission-the one originally assessed as Grade 2, but which actually involved a Grade 1 Land God. Yu Haibara would die there.]

["Haibara."]

[You suddenly spoke, interrupting their conversation.]

["If you run into anything you can't handle, even if you just feel that something is slightly off, run immediately."]

[You stared into his eyes, your tone more serious than ever before.]

["Don't push yourself. Satoru or we can take over afterward. Coming back alive is more important than completing the mission."]

[Yu Haibara froze at your serious expression, then scratched his head sheepishly, clearly mistaking your grave warning for a senior's concern.]

["Yes! Don't worry, Li! I'll give it everything I've got and make you all proud!"]

[You opened your mouth to say more, only to be interrupted by a sudden female voice.]

["So this is Suguru Geto, and the legendary Li Shunchen?"]

[At the end of the corridor, a tall, attractive woman with long hair approached you with an easy stride, her hands in her pockets.]

[Although you had never interacted with her, you knew she was the Special Grade Sorcerer Yuki Tsukumo.]

[She looked you all over, her gaze lingering briefly on Suguru Geto's gaunt face, before tossing out that classic question.]

["I'll get straight to it. What kind of woman do you like?"]

[Suguru Geto did not answer. He tensed, his eyes full of wariness.]

["Who are you?"]

[Instead, the simplehearted Yu Haibara answered loudly, almost on instinct.]

["Me! I like girls with a good appetite!"]

["Haibara..."]

[Suguru Geto pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly and sighed.]

["Don't just answer strangers' questions."]

["It's fine, Geto!"]

[Yu Haibara gave him a thumbs-up, flashing his white teeth.]

["She's not a bad person. I'm very confident in my ability to judge people!"]

[Suguru Geto froze at those words.]

[His lips curved into a bitter, self-mocking smile.]

["You're sitting right beside me, and you can still say that?"]

[But Yu Haibara completely missed the deeper meaning behind his words and nodded innocently.]

["...Yes! You're a very kind person!"]

["Ahahahahaha!"]

[Yuki Tsukumo burst into hearty laughter, as if she had heard some marvelous joke.]

["What an ironic exchange! Nice. Is this what youth is like?"]

[Meanwhile, you silently used Phantom Parade to analyze Yuki Tsukumo's cursed energy while considering what to do next. After all, you did not know what answer this Special Grade Sorcerer actually wanted.]

[Finally, deciding to use this simulation to test the waters, you, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly raised your head and looked straight into Yuki Tsukumo's wild eyes.]

[You adjusted your glasses and spoke in a voice as calm and certain as if you were announcing that dinner would be curry.]

["I like you."]

[The air froze instantly. Even the cicadas in the corridor seemed to have been stunned into silence by those words.]

["Huh-?!!"]

[Yu Haibara let out a tremendous cry of surprise, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.]

[As far as he knew, you were a training fanatic more unresponsive than a rock!]

[Suguru Geto whipped his head around, his pupils trembling. In three years together, he had never seen you show even a hint of extra interest in any woman.]

[For a time, he had even thought your lover was "getting stronger," or perhaps simply that simulation cursed technique.]

[Was Shunchen... confessing his feelings? To a Special Grade Sorcerer he had just met?]

[Even Yuki Tsukumo was caught off guard by this sudden, direct approach.]

[Her laughter stopped abruptly, and for the first time, her perpetually composed face went blank for an instant.]

[Since Yuki Tsukumo liked asking people this question when she first met them, this was not the first time she had received that answer.]

[But in the vast majority of cases, it was only a joke or a lie, and she could tell at a glance.]

[With Life Is Like a Play supporting you, however, Yuki Tsukumo found no flaw whatsoever and had already decided you were speaking seriously.]

["You're not my type, but I'll consider it."]

[Yuki Tsukumo comforted you with a smile.]

["Oh, that's a real shame."]

[You spoke with feigned regret.]

[Perhaps sensing the delicate atmosphere, Yu Haibara promptly said his goodbyes and left.]

["I'd better get going."]

[Yuki Tsukumo, meanwhile, acted as though nothing had happened and plopped down beside you, in the spot Yu Haibara had just occupied.]

[Smiling and waving goodbye to Yu Haibara, Yuki Tsukumo spoke to Suguru Geto.]

["Your junior? He's honest and cute. Shunchen has already answered my question. Geto, are you going to answer it or not?"]

[Suguru Geto folded his arms across his chest, his expression twisted and complicated.]

["Wait... hold on a moment. Answer my question first. Who exactly are you?"]

[Yuki Tsukumo stopped concealing her identity and introduced herself.]

["Special Grade Sorcerer Yuki Tsukumo. That should tell you, right?"]

["So you're that legendary...!?"]

["Legendary in what way?"]

[Yuki Tsukumo pressed him curiously.]

[You spoke at just the right moment, answering Yuki Tsukumo's question.]

["The legendary Special Grade who never takes missions and just wanders around overseas with nothing better to do..."]

[Hearing herself described that way in the rumors, Yuki Tsukumo lost interest and said sulkily.]

[That's why I hate Jujutsu High. I'm joking, but I really don't agree with Jujutsu High's approach. Everyone here believes in treating the symptoms, while I personally want to pursue cause-based treatment.]

[Yuki Tsukumo's explanation immediately piqued your interest, and you pressed her.]

["You're talking about how to deal with cursed spirits, aren't you?"]

[Yuki Tsukumo gave you an appreciative look and answered with a smile.]

["Clever. Not hunting cursed spirits, but creating a world where cursed spirits never appear."]

["A world where cursed spirits never appear...!"]

[Suguru Geto quietly repeated the words in surprise.]

[Yuki Tsukumo adopted a serious expression and explained to the two of you.]

["First, cursed spirits can be considered the accumulated residue of cursed energy that leaks out of humans. So there are two ways to create a world where cursed spirits never appear."]

[At that point, Yuki Tsukumo held up two fingers and said.]

["One is to eliminate cursed energy from all humanity. The other is to teach all humanity to control cursed energy."]