The aftermath of that kiss was so explosive that Gojo Satoru was still stuck in a full-blown state of shock.
When Asou Akiya tried to move across the table, Gojo Satoru blocked him inside the booth, leaving him no way out. Forced to stay put, the two of them ended up sitting side by side.
"Eat!" Gojo Satoru shoved his favorite high-calorie fried chicken toward him.
"..." Asou Akiya wasn't particularly fond of fried food.
"Come on, have a bite of dessert too." Gojo Satoru couldn't understand what went through the mind of someone who actually enjoyed coffee, but that didn't stop him from causing trouble. "Aren't you always trying to control my sugar intake? Well, I've already hit today's sugar quota!"
"All right," Akiya said. "I'll eat it."
In the end, he quietly helped Gojo finish the extra food.
"I want the chocolate ball on your plate." Gojo lunged over with exaggerated enthusiasm, leaning so far sideways that his school jacket was pulled out of place, revealing a strip of white dress shirt tucked neatly into his waistband.
"Sit up straight." Akiya nudged him in the waist with his elbow, "And stop leaning all over me."
They had always been close, but never close enough for complete strangers to notice.
Not only was Akiya uncomfortable with the sudden intimacy, he was actively resisting it, trying to bring Gojo back down from his excitement and into something resembling normal behavior.
He was aiming for the wholesome high-school-friends route!
The angel maid continued serving them with a smile that grew increasingly peculiar. Halfway through, she ducked back into the changing room and returned wearing an extra heart-shaped headband, doing everything she could to play the role of an adorable maid devoted to pleasing her masters.
Abe Harutoki, a high school girl working part-time from a nearby school, didn't recognize the black uniforms the two boys were wearing or which school they belonged to.
But good looks never lied.
The white-haired boy never removed his sunglasses, yet his dazzling appearance alone made him seem like a naturally spotlighted beautiful youth. The black-haired boy wasn't the sort to stun people the instant he appeared, but his remarkably well-proportioned features promised incredible potential as he matured. Before she realized it, her gaze kept drifting back to him.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Abe Harutoki quietly asked the receptionist about them. When she learned the two weren't a gay couple, she couldn't help but feel disappointed, inwardly scolding herself for overthinking.
After all, it's completely normal for male high school friends to sling their arms around each other, roughhouse, or even jokingly act as each other's parents.
Those cunning DKs!
Abe Harutoki adjusted her mindset, kept her professional smile in place, and served them their fifth round of food. The giant two-person ice cream sundae ended up disappearing entirely into Gojo Satoru's stomach.
When it was time to pay, Asou Akiya stepped up to the register, and Gojo Satoru—following close behind—spoke up, "Wrong card! Use mine!"
Asou Akiya paused halfway through taking out his wallet.
"Akiya, you and Suguru are broke. This one's on me." Gojo Satoru immediately softened his tone.
Asou Akiya found himself questioning Gojo's definition of "broke."
"Next time." He said reassuringly. "I'm the one who invited you to the maid café today, so I should be the one paying."
Gojo nodded in agreement. Fine then. Akiya could pay this time. He'd simply treat him next time instead.
The moment they stepped out of the maid café, both of them relaxed at the same time.
Inside, there had been too many eyes on them. They had to keep their voices down and avoid discussing anything related to the jujutsu world.
Neither of them had brought a school bag. After lunch, with plenty of time to spare, they decided to take a walk, while Getou Suguru had already taken their bags back to the boys' dormitory.
As usual, Gojo Satoru walked with both hands stuffed into his pockets.
Asou Akiya glanced at him twice.
Gojo Satoru promptly pulled his hands back out, waving them in front of Asou Akiya as if to prove he wasn't hiding anything.
Without a word, Asou Akiya reached over and smoothed down the pocket that had flipped outward. After years of being stretched by Gojo Satoru's habit of stuffing his hands into it, the edge had become misshapen, making it look untidy. He frowned, "Come find me when we get back. I'll press it flat."
"It's fine now. You can put your hands back in your pockets." Asou Akiya never tried to correct Gojo Satoru's habitual posture, but after being fussed over once again, Gojo found himself suddenly awkward instead.
It struck him that this kind of care would disappear sometime this year.
Akiya's probably going to end his employment contract with the Gojo family.
Cooking... I've watched him enough that I could probably manage it myself.
But pressing clothes? No chance. I've never even seen how it's done!
Having memorized a map of the area beforehand, Akiya was familiar with the nearby streets.
"I'll show you around," he said. "A walk after a meal is good for digestion. If there's anywhere you'd like to go, just tell me."
Gojo's Six Eyes swept over the surrounding crowd, finding no sign of danger.
"I want to go over there," he said, pointing in a certain direction. "A bunch of stray cats are having a gathering."
Plans rarely survived first contact with reality. Instead, Asou Akiya and Gojo Satoru stopped by a convenience store to buy some bread before crouching together in a narrow alley, feeding the stray cats that had gathered for their little meowing convention.
Before long, a crowd of full-grown stray cats had gathered around Asou Akiya.
Only two or three kittens remained in front of Gojo Satoru. Every adult cat had chosen the gentle, approachable Akiya instead. They shied away from Gojo's attempts to pet them, happily accepted the food he offered, and then turned their backs on him the moment they finished eating, their rejection unmistakable.
Gojo Satoru: "What the heck!"
Gojo Satoru: "These old cats are looking down on me! They won't even let me pet them, but they've got the nerve to eat my food!"
He then reached out and patted a kitten's head through the Infinity, "Fine. The little guys can have it all. That'll make those old geezers mad."
Two different cats had settled against Akiya's pant legs, their soft backs brushing gently against his calves as they stretched lazily.
Cats were masters of playing hard to get. They would never act as though they couldn't live without someone after such a short time.
Gojo reached a finger toward one of the cats beside Akiya.
And every single one of them immediately puffed up in alarm.
Once the feeding was over, Akiya bid them farewell with obvious reluctance. "Bye, everyone. Enjoy the rest of your gathering."
Gojo brushed the crumbs from his hands.
The moment he turned to leave, Akiya caught his arm and led him toward a public restroom to wash up.
Wait—public restroom?
A moment later, Asou Akiya stared in disbelief at someone clinging tightly to a utility pole, refusing to let go.
"We're not using the bathroom," he said. "We're just washing our hands."
"I have the Infinity!" Gojo Satoru protested. "My hands never got dirty and I don't want my eyes getting dirty!"
Left with no choice, Asou Akiya went into the public restroom alone. After thoroughly disinfecting his hands, he came back outside.
Gojo Satoru was still crouched behind the utility pole, his back turned, both hands covering his eyes.
Asou Akiya could only sigh in admiration.
As they continued their walk, Asou Akiya asked how far Gojo Satoru had progressed with refining his cursed technique.
Gojo's eyes lit up immediately.
"Keeping Infinity active for a month straight isn't a problem anymore. It'll still be a while before I can leave it on permanently, though. I'm still working on balancing cursed energy expenditure with recovery. Once the amount I consume drops below the amount I naturally regenerate, it'll be done."
Akiya loved seeing him like this—completely in his element.
"What about reducing the activation steps for your techniques?"
"Simplifying Blue and Red is absolutely necessary. A sorcerer's strength isn't just about how powerful their technique is—it also depends on how fast they can activate it. If you're too slow, it doesn't matter how devastating the attack is. You'll never hit your target." Gojo Satoru answered without hesitation.
Asou Akiya considered another issue.
"What about defending against poisons?"
"Not there yet." Gojo Satoru shook his head. "It's way too complicated. The difficulty level is on a completely different scale."
"You might not manage it this year," Asou Akiya said. "but that doesn't mean you won't next year. Reverse Cursed Technique can't perfectly remove toxins once they've entered the bloodstream. In the end, you'll have to rely on the Infinity itself to achieve truly flawless defense. I can start collecting different poisons and their antidotes ahead of time. When the time comes, the four of us can test them one by one."
"That'll work."
A trace of worry crossed Akiya's face, "And what about your dependence on air? Is there any way to overcome that?"
Gojo Satoru: "I'm still human!"
Humans needed air, and Gojo Satoru was no exception. He still needed oxygen to survive.
Asou Akiya wasn't thinking only about the jujutsu world. His perspective encompassed every battle manga imaginable.
"For example," he said, "what if an enemy trapped you inside a sealed space and then drained all the air? Wouldn't that kill you?"
Spatial techniques were incredibly rare, but rare didn't mean nonexistent. Sooner or later, someone in the jujutsu world would possess one.
Gojo Satoru's tone turned dangerous, "I've got two hands and two feet. Do I look like the kind of idiot who'd just let himself get trapped?"
The iconic scene of Gojo Satoru being sealed inside the Prison Realm immediately came to Asou Akiya's mind, "Yeah, you do."
Gojo Satoru: "..."
Lowering his head, Asou Akiya fell into thought, "If you can't figure out a solution to this weakness, then I'll find one for you."
Gojo Satoru looked at him in surprise. The Gojo Clan had spent centuries without discovering a good answer. Could Akiya really succeed where they had failed?
"Alright, let's hear it." For the first time, Gojo Satoru found himself even more intrigued by Asou Akiya's intelligence.
"The first option is to find a cursed tool that can generate air, or one capable of breaking spatial confinement."
Asou Akiya had no idea where the Black Rope currently was, but tracking down its source had become a necessity. In the movie, the foreign sorcerer Miguel had explained that the Black Rope took an extraordinarily long time to produce. An entire year yielded only a tiny length of rope, and it took decades to weave one several meters long.
Asou Akiya was willing to spend the money and wait ten years if that meant obtaining even a shorter Black Rope.
As soon as Gojo Satoru heard that, he realized Akiya was essentially proposing a budget substitute for the Inverted Spear of Heaven.
"The second option is to discover a method of turning a sorcerer into a Cursed Object. That would make you effectively impossible to defeat. Once your enemies realize that killing you still wouldn't erase the power you've left behind, they'd naturally have to think very carefully about the consequences before making a move."
Asou Akiya knew this was one of the deepest secrets of jujutsu; it's a knowledge passed down only among the most closely guarded traditions. Over the past thousand years, only a handful of people had known the method. Even Sukuna had only learned the technique from Kenjaku after his death.
Gojo Satoru fell silent in thought.
A Cursed Object?
Was there even anyone in the modern jujutsu world who knew how to create one?
"The third option," Akiya continued, "is to make sure the jujutsu world always has someone supporting you and staying in contact with you, so you're never left isolated. Once Suguru's Cursed Spirit Manipulation reaches its full potential, he'll be able to command thousands of cursed spirits. Among them, there's bound to be at least one Semi-Grade One or higher cursed spirit whose technique can get you out of whatever crisis you're facing."
He spoke so casually that he accidentally let something slip about Getou Suguru.
"Ah... I wasn't supposed to say that. Gojo, keep it a secret. Suguru's very careful about his technique and doesn't want people knowing too much."
Gojo Satoru burst into laughter, "If Suguru found out, he'd be furious with you."
Asou Akiya remained perfectly composed, "He's made me mad plenty of times too. Consider us even."
Gojo Satoru couldn't help feeling that, of the three of them, he had the easiest life. Growing smug, he declared proudly,
"That'll never happen to me. Suguru couldn't even make me angry! Hahahaha—!"
Asou Akiya stopped walking.
He fixed Gojo with an unwavering stare.
It was an oddly chilling stare.
"Are you sure?"
"...Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Want to make a bet? Loser pays ten thousand yen in cash. That's exactly how much you've got in your piggy bank."
Gojo snorted, "Wow, Akiya. Are you really so broke you've resorted to this?"
He laughed at him, but his cocky expression disappeared almost immediately.
"I'm not betting."
Asou Akiya looked genuinely disappointed.
What's gotten into the heir of one of the Three Great Clans lately? Has he suddenly become immune to gambling?
Gojo Satoru grabbed both of Asou Akiya's wrists and began swinging his arms around like the blades of a windmill.
"You're way too sneaky. Stop trying to trick me!"
"My arms..." Akiya struggled to pull free, but it was completely futile. "I'm not tricking you. You're just overconfident sometimes. Fine, forget I said anything—now let go! You childish idiot—you're going to dislocate my shoulders!"
Gojo Satoru immediately released him.
Two vivid red marks were left encircling Akiya's wrists.
"...Want me to heal that?" Gojo asked guiltily.
"Heh."
Akiya rubbed the sore spots himself, trying to ease the pain, then shot Gojo a withering look, "Am I supposed to trust you to heal me? I'd have better luck learning Reverse Cursed Technique myself."
Gojo Satoru's rebellious streak flared up instantly. "You've got that little faith in me? Then I'll make it work no matter what!"
He immediately tried channeling positive energy to heal Asou Akiya, only for Akiya to stop him.
"Wait! I just had an idea!"
The interruption shattered the train of thought Gojo Satoru had been piecing together, and he looked at Asou Akiya in confusion.
Asou Akiya, however, had been struck by a flash of inspiration.
"Gojo, healing techniques have different levels of effectiveness. When someone uses Reverse Cursed Technique to heal another person, the result is often less than half as effective as healing themselves. Shoko told me that herself—it isn't common knowledge."
"And what does that have to do with me healing you?"
"Don't you want to become stronger as quickly as possible? To go even further? To eliminate every weakness you have?"
Asou Akiya reached out and clasped Gojo Satoru's hand instead.
He remembered the original story—Gojo Satoru could only heal himself with Reverse Cursed Technique, not other people.
Gojo Satoru himself either didn't know that yet, or had simply never considered it.
"Gojo," Akiya said earnestly, "make a Binding Vow with yourself. In exchange for giving up the ability to heal other people, strengthen your ability to heal the parts of your own body that matter most—like your brain, your eyes, your heart, and your abdomen."
The idea came from Nanami Kento's example in the original story. Nanami, who hated overtime, had made a Binding Vow centered around time itself. During regular working hours, he deliberately restricted his own strength and suppressed his cursed energy. In return, once overtime began, his cursed energy surged far beyond its normal limits, allowing him to finish his work more efficiently.
In other words, by imposing a restriction on himself, Gojo Satoru could amplify the power of his Reverse Cursed Technique!
Especially because, at this point, Gojo had no idea that even at the age of twenty-nine he still wouldn't be able to heal other people!
Neither his Six Eyes nor his brain possessed that knowledge.
It was practically exploiting a bug!
Of course, this loophole would only exist temporarily. Once Gojo Satoru figured out the truth for himself, it would no longer work.
Asou Akiya had no intention of trapping Gojo Satoru with the Binding Vow forever.
"When the day comes that I believe you've become truly strong—strong enough to be invincible—we'll undo the vow."
It sounded like the perfect plan.
Yet a trace of unease crept into Asou Akiya's heart.
"...Will you trust me?"
"What a pain." Gojo's face twisted as though he'd just bitten into an unbearably sour citrus fruit.
So in Akiya's eyes he's still not strong enough to be invincible after all.
Does he really have that many weaknesses?
Now that he'd mastered Reverse Cursed Technique, the next goals were long-range teleportation and Domain Expansion. Once he learned those as well...
That should finally meet Akiya's standard for being the "strongest" in the jujutsu world, right?
...Even so, it still annoyed him.
He didn't want to agree.
"So you're telling me I have to limit myself to gain more power?" Gojo looked up at the sky. The refusal sitting on the tip of his tongue softened beneath Akiya's pleading gaze, and he changed the way he phrased it instead. "Akiya, it's true that I never planned on becoming some healer running around patching everyone up. But if you block off that path for me now, then you won't be able to count on me to heal you in the future."
When Asou Akiya noticed that Gojo Satoru hadn't mentioned Getou Suguru at all, he understood immediately.
Gojo Satoru believed Getou Suguru was strong enough that he was unlikely to end up in that kind of situation.
But Asou Akiya had never expected Gojo Satoru to heal other people in the first place.
Rather than preserving that possibility, he would much rather Gojo Satoru be able to heal himself perfectly—to remain forever healthy, full of life, and live to a natural old age. His brain would never sag grotesquely, never drip that horrifying trail of blood.
Without a moment's hesitation, Asou Akiya answered, "I'm sure."
Gojo Satoru took Akiya's right hand in his own.
Holding it firmly, he spoke the vow aloud.
"So long as Asou Akiya does not recognize me as the strongest sorcerer in the jujutsu world, I shall be unable to use Reverse Cursed Technique to heal anyone else. In exchange for accepting that restriction, my ability to heal my own brain, eyes, heart, and abdomen will be strengthened."
Asou Akiya replied, "I accept. The Binding Vow is formed."
The moment the words left his mouth, he eagerly asked, "Well? Did it work? Was there really an increase?"
Gojo Satoru had a vague sense that the vow had indeed taken effect. After all, the price he'd paid was significant enough.
He immediately started jabbing a finger toward his own heart, intending to test it on the spot.
Asou Akiya grabbed his hand before he could.
"Stop! We're outside!"
Gojo Satoru looked at him innocently, "How else am I supposed to test it?"
Asou Akiya took a deep breath, "We're going back to find Shoko."
As Asou Akiya dragged him back the way they'd come, Gojo Satoru was pleased for a brief moment.
"That's the eighth Binding Vow."
To be precise, four of those vows were directly related to him, while the other four weren't.
Four to four—a tie.
He hadn't won!
Gojo Satoru's smile vanished.
"Hm?" Akiya looked at him.
Gojo Satoru: "You're about to end up wrapped tighter than a ball of yarn, Akiya!"
Asou Akiya looked at the Gojo standing before him.
This was someone who had willingly agreed to make a Binding Vow with him—something that carried far more weight than the countless verbal promises they'd exchanged before.
"I don't care about bargains or deals. I didn't help you for personal gain. This is the first time you've willingly made a Binding Vow with me... the first time you've truly accepted what I had to say."
"Oh, right."
Gojo suddenly remembered what a Binding Vow meant back at school.
Before, Suguru had only made a verbal promise with Akiya. Once they fulfilled that promise, the two of them had become friends.
Now, he and Akiya were already friends.
And this was a far stricter Binding Vow.
So once they fulfilled it...
Wouldn't that make them... best friends?
"Akiya! Once I become the strongest, we'll be best friends!"
Gojo Satoru beamed from ear to ear.
In Naruto, best friends were comrades who would stand by each other through life and death.
Somehow, he and Akiya had reached that point too!
[Hey hey hey you're always so slow, Suguru. I beat you to it again!]
"..."
Akiya lowered his head and continued walking, unwilling to respond to such an absurd conclusion.
And yet...
His heart couldn't help but soar.
Using his knowledge of the future, he'd managed to help Gojo. More importantly, he'd earned Gojo's trust. During the coming summer mission, Gojo's burden would be a little lighter because of it.
The fact that Gojo had used the words best friend...
Did that mean...
Their friendship really could withstand the trials ahead?
Had he, after only a year of knowing Gojo, managed to carve out a tiny but precious place in his heart?
...
Gojo Satoru: Super happy! When it comes to making friends, he's always one step ahead of Suguru!
—
TL Note: Oh, btw! From now on, I'll be alternating the upload schedule between the two fics. Today will be the JJK fic, tomorrow will be the BSD fic, and so on.
I've been feeling pretty fatigued lately, so I think alternating them will help me manage things a little better.