Memories

Akutagawa Shang returned to Jujutsu High faster than he ever had in his life and rushed into Satoru Gojo's office.

"Oh, you're back already? How did it go? Did you get my new desserts?" Satoru Gojo looked at him eagerly.

He said nothing, merely tossing the bag in his hand to Satoru Gojo.

"Woohoo!" Satoru Gojo caught the desserts and immediately hummed like a kitten, his face lighting up.

He opened the packaging and popped the desserts into his mouth one after another, smiling all over, looking utterly satisfied.

"Gojo-sensei, I ran into Suguru Geto while I was buying your desserts," Akutagawa Shang said with a serious expression.

Satoru Gojo's hand, which had been steadily stuffing desserts into his mouth, froze in midair. Like a rusty machine, he slowly turned his head toward him, his relaxed expression instantly turning serious.

"What-did-you-say?" Satoru Gojo enunciated each word.

"I said I ran into Suguru Geto," Akutagawa Shang repeated.

Satoru Gojo put down the dessert in his hand and sat in his chair with his hands clasped. Akutagawa Shang had never seen such a serious expression on his face.

"Are you sure you weren't mistaken?" Satoru Gojo still refused to give up.

"Tall, at least over a hundred and eighty centimeters, wearing a monk's robe, always smiling when he spoke, with narrow eyes..."

"All right, stop. I understand." Satoru Gojo raised a hand to interrupt Akutagawa Shang's laundry list. He was almost a hundred percent certain now.

"Did he... do anything to you?"

Akutagawa Shang recounted everything in full, from dealing with the cursed spirit pestering the woman to encountering Suguru Geto.

"You're saying Geto wants to create a new world, and he tried to recruit you too?" Satoru Gojo looked at Akutagawa Shang with a hint of surprise.

"That sounded like what he meant," Akutagawa Shang answered honestly.

"After all this time, Geto's still so fixated on it?" Satoru Gojo lowered his head, his voice sounding somewhat forlorn.

Few people remembered that the strongest of today had actually been the "Strongest Duo" ten years ago, and the one now missing was his best friend, Suguru Geto.

Ten years ago, after the Star Plasma Vessel Incident, the rift between them had already been inevitable.

Riko Amanai, whom they had fought desperately to protect, had been murdered by someone hired by ordinary people. That was the first time Suguru Geto had wavered in his conviction to protect ordinary people.

Meanwhile, Satoru Gojo had awakened on the brink of death during that incident, truly becoming the strongest. From then on, Jujutsu High assigned missions directly to Satoru Gojo to complete alone, and the Strongest Duo could no longer go on missions together.

Suguru Geto could only carry out every mission alone. Constantly consuming cursed spirits, along with the ever-widening gap between himself and his former best friend, gradually crushed his spirit under day after day of psychological pressure and inner turmoil.

Later, he happened to meet Yuki Tsukumo at Jujutsu High. She casually suggested two possible ways to eradicate curses, one of which was to eliminate all ordinary people who unconsciously released cursed energy.

Yuki Tsukumo might only have made an offhand remark at the time, but those words became deeply etched in his heart. Still, he had no intention of putting them into practice yet.

After Haibara died, Suguru Geto could not accept that someone so good had died at the hands of cursed spirits. It was then that he recognized a cycle: ordinary people produced curses, giving birth to cursed spirits, while jujutsu sorcerers kept sacrificing their lives fighting cursed spirits to protect ordinary people, with no end to that wish in sight.

Satoru Gojo could sense that Suguru Geto was in a terrible state at the time, but his easygoing nature kept him from looking deeper. Moreover, having become the strongest, Satoru Gojo was busy dealing with the missions Jujutsu High assigned him, costing him his last chance to listen to Suguru Geto pour out his heart.

Then, while on a mission in the countryside, he encountered two sisters being abused by ordinary people. That became the final straw.

Suguru Geto turned dark on the spot, rejecting the principle of protecting ordinary people that he had upheld for over a decade. That night, he slaughtered the entire village, then defected from Jujutsu High after killing his own parents.

Jujutsu High subsequently issued an execution order, assigning Satoru Gojo to execute Suguru Geto. Satoru Gojo tried to persuade him, but it was already too late. His mind was made up, and he had chosen to follow his path to the bitter end. In the end, Satoru Gojo chose not to strike and let Suguru Geto go. That was also the last time they met.

In the end, Suguru Geto had still failed to escape that bitter summer.

Yes, he deeply regretted it. If he had been a little more perceptive back then, given him more attention and guidance, would things have ended differently?

But whatever he said now, it was already too late.

"Sigh-"

Having recalled the past, Satoru Gojo let out a regretful sigh.

"Gojo-sensei, are you all right?" Akutagawa Shang watched as Satoru Gojo's brows nearly knotted together.

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"Huh? Me?" Akutagawa Shang pointed at himself.

"Yes. What do you think of that cause he talked about?" Satoru Gojo turned to look at him, seemingly wanting to hear his thoughts.

"Uh, it does sound pretty lofty, but I refuse."

"Oh?" His answer piqued Satoru Gojo's interest.

"To put it simply, I'm not interested, it's none of my damn business, and keep me out of it. I feel like Suguru Geto's just gotten stuck in his own head and made himself out to be some savior. Creating a new world all day, every day sounds exhausting. I can't even get up for an eight a.m. class. I don't have the energy to create a new world. Besides, you're still here. What if I joined them and you flattened me like a speed bump the second I showed my face?" Akutagawa Shang said dismissively. Clearly, he had no interest whatsoever in Suguru Geto's so-called cause.

"Pfft-" Satoru Gojo could not hold back his laughter.

He had never expected that the student before him would refuse to join Suguru Geto simply out of laziness.

"Hahahahaha! Only you could say that." Satoru Gojo clutched his stomach, laughing uncontrollably. The bitterness he had felt while remembering Suguru Geto eased considerably as well.

"It's good that you're not interested. I don't want to see that bastard Geto lure my student away. He left without a thought for anyone else back then, and now he wants to take my student too? In his dreams."

"All right, all right, head back for now, Akutagawa-kun. I know about Suguru Geto now. I'll handle it." Satoru Gojo waved, signaling that he could leave.

"Oh, okay. I'll get going, then." Akutagawa Shang turned to leave the office.

Suddenly, as though remembering something, he turned back and called out to Satoru Gojo.

"Oh, right, Gojo-sensei. Suguru Geto also asked me to say hello to you for him."

Satoru Gojo paused, then said with a slight smile, "Got it. Catch, Akutagawa-san."

Satoru Gojo picked up a dessert and tossed it to Akutagawa Shang.

"Consider it your reward for waiting in line for me. Kikusuian's desserts are top-notch." Satoru Gojo even gave him a thumbs-up.

"Thanks."

Akutagawa Shang caught the dessert, popped it into his mouth, and continued toward the door.

No wonder Satoru Gojo loved these so much. They really did taste pretty good.