Yaga Masamichi.
The Principal of Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School.
A Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer and a master at creating Cursed Corpses.
He had an average face but a sturdy build, sporting a conspicuous mohawk.
He didn't look like an educator, but more like a member of a biker gang.
He was once Gojo Satoru's homeroom teacher and remains one of his strongest supporters.
"Kael, why do you want to join Jujutsu High?"
Yaga Masamichi asked in a deep voice.
"Oh, because Mr. Gojo promised to introduce me to some gorgeous, beautiful, and gentle upperclassmen girls."
Kael spoke bluntly.
"Very well! I appreciate that. A young man who knows how to appreciate the beauty of youth certainly won't fall into depravity easily. Welcome to Jujutsu High, Kael."
Yaga Masamichi gave a thumbs up as he spoke.
How bad could a lecherous man really be?
In this cursed world of Jujutsu, a little pursuit of physiological satisfaction could hardly be called a bad habit; on the contrary, it made one feel at ease.
After all, compared to having a 'pure love' relationship with a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, wanting to get close to pretty upperclassmen was a perfectly normal request.
Back in his own school days, he had also wanted to have a beautiful romance with a pretty upperclassman.
"And what about you, Itadori Yuji? Why have you come to Jujutsu High?"
Yaga Masamichi turned his gaze toward Itadori Yuji.
Kael yawned on the side, paying no mind to the conversation or actions that followed between the two.
To put it bluntly, the so-called test was just Yaga Masamichi's way of understanding Itadori Yuji's character; there was no way he would actually kick him out of Jujutsu High.
After a round of dual torture—both mental and physical—Itadori Yuji provided a satisfactory answer.
"Take the two new students to the dorms, Satoru. Introduce them to the security measures while you're at it."
Yaga Masamichi was quite satisfied with the outcome.
Walking out of the Principal's office, Itadori Yuji cautiously touched the wounds on his face inflicted by the Cursed Corpse doll, muttering with a slight sense of injustice.
"Why did Big Bro pass the test so easily while I had to get beaten up by a doll?"
"Because you're a noob."
Kael told the truth.
"Big Bro, hearing you say that actually makes me feel much better."
Itadori Yuji had a silly, honest look, fully accepting that logic.
Gojo Satoru led the two to the first-year dormitory building. Since the second and third-year students hadn't returned yet, the building was currently empty.
"Wow~, such a spacious room!"
Itadori Yuji looked very excited, jumping around the room for a good while.
"The soundproofing in this room is pretty good."
Kael tapped the wall and nodded with satisfaction.
"Hey, hey, hey, you can't bring girls from outside the school in here."
Gojo Satoru understood the implication in Kael's words and quickly gave a reminder. He didn't doubt for a second that the guy was capable of doing such a thing.
"Oh~, so girls from inside the school are fine then."
Kael caught the loophole in the statement and gave a playful smile.
"..."
Gojo Satoru covered his face, feeling a bit of a headache coming on.
Fushiguro Megumi lived between the two of them. Hearing the commotion outside, he walked out, having just woken up.
"Yo, Mei Mei."
Kael raised an eyebrow and called out.
"Good morning, Mei Mei!"
Itadori Yuji raised a hand in greeting.
"Don't learn that from that bastard!"
Fushiguro Megumi snapped awake instantly. He already had a strong, bad premonition that the nickname 'Mei Mei' was going to spread throughout the school because of Kael.
Gojo Satoru watched the bickering trio with a gratified expression, feeling that their future relationship would develop well. He couldn't help but recall his own days at the high school, and after a moment of silence, he spoke.
"Tomorrow, the three of you will come with me to welcome the fourth first-year student."
"Is it a girl? I feel like the Yin-Yang balance of the first-year class is seriously skewed."
Kael's interest was piqued upon hearing this.
"It's a secret~."
The corners of Gojo Satoru's mouth curled up.
...
...
Kael and the other two arrived at the agreed-upon street, waiting for the arrival of the fourth student.
"Big Bro, you look a bit too handsome in that school uniform. You've been attracting the eyes of so many girls along the way; walking next to you is making me feel pressured."
Itadori Yuji pouted and muttered.
A boy his age also wanted to be the center of attention for girls, but with Kael around, his small internal hopes were likely to be completely dashed.
Kael, having changed into the Jujutsu High uniform, felt like he was on a completely different visual level compared to the other two.
"I have to thank you two for that. Handsomeness requires a foil, after all."
Kael leaned against a railing, a smile on his face.
"Mei Mei, is Big Bro saying we're ugly?"
Itadori Yuji frowned and sought confirmation from Fushiguro Megumi.
"There is no 'we,' only you."
Fushiguro Megumi was too tired to correct their use of the nickname anymore; his heart was weary and numb.
"Don't say that, Itadori. He's not ugly; it's just that compared to me, his handsomeness is a bit less obvious."
Kael draped his arms over their shoulders in a consoling tone.
Itadori Yuji felt comforted by those words and suggested,
"Big Bro, I want to eat a popsicle."
"Go ahead, buy one for me too."
"Mei Mei, do you want one?"
"No."
Itadori Yuji ran off and returned a moment later with two popsicles, coming back to Kael's side.
Watching the two of them munching on popsicles together, Fushiguro Megumi felt he shouldn't have refused just now; it made him look like he was being isolated.
Even though he was being called 'Mei Mei' with every breath, Fushiguro Megumi found a long-lost sense of friendship in it.
Jujutsu sorcerers were outliers in human society; their numbers were far too few compared to the general population.
But sorcerers were human too, with social needs and a desire to belong to a group, though that was never an easy thing to achieve.
At that moment, Gojo Satoru arrived as well.
The group of four had finally assembled, but the target student didn't seem to have arrived yet.
"Big Bro, I just saw they're selling popcorn and crepes over there!"
Itadori Yuji seemed to be treating this outing like a shopping trip.
"Buy them, buy them all. Let Mr. Gojo pay; this guy looks like a total fat cat."
Kael didn't know the meaning of being polite. He reached directly into Gojo Satoru's pocket to fish for his wallet. His movements were so fast that even Gojo Satoru couldn't react in time.
"Mei Mei, why are you just standing there?"
Kael called out. Fushiguro Megumi had a helpless expression, but his feet were honest as he quickly followed along.
"I say, you three, we're here to pick someone up, not to go window shopping."
Seeing the three of them walking further away, Gojo Satoru could only stand on his tiptoes and shout to call them back.
However, the fourth student didn't make them wait much longer; the Jujutsu High uniform was quite eye-catching.
Soon, Kael and the others saw a girl with short brown hair having a bit of a scuffle with a middle-aged man.
Well, that first impression was certainly a deep one.
Gojo Satoru called her over.
"I'm Kugisaki Nobara. Be happy, boys, the 'lone flower' has arrived."
Kugisaki Nobara introduced herself with full confidence. She wasn't even 1.6 meters tall, but her presence was imposing.
The term 'lone flower' likely meant she was the only female in the group, the one to be surrounded by the males.
"Hello, 'lone flower.' I'm Kael."
Kael looked at her, feeling a bit of regret in his heart.
She was clearly good-looking and had a nice figure, but unfortunately, the moment she opened her mouth, the vibe went wrong. How to describe it?
It was basically like: this pretty girl is fine as long as she doesn't talk, but the moment she does, she sounds like a rough-and-tumble country girl.
But regardless, a girl had finally arrived.
"It's Kugisaki Nobara!"
Kugisaki Nobara stared at Kael for a moment, then violently turned her head away.
Damn it, why does a guy have to look this good?!
Originally, Nobara was most confident in her own face, believing she had the looks of a star. Now, after seeing Kael, her confidence had taken a hit.
"I'm Itadori Yuji, from Sendai."
"I'm Fushiguro Megumi."
The two followed with their own introductions.
Fine. After looking at these two, Kugisaki Nobara sighed and let her gaze fall back on Kael. At least one out of the three met the baseline; it wasn't the worst possible draw.
"Since the first-year class is finally all here, I'll take you for a proper tour of Tokyo."
Gojo Satoru announced.
The words immediately ignited the enthusiasm of Itadori Yuji and Kugisaki Nobara.
They thought they were being taken somewhere fun, but when they reached their destination and saw an abandoned building brimming with curses, the two realized they had been played and began to shout in anger.
However, Fushiguro Megumi, who had long understood Gojo Satoru's character, remained calm; he had likely been played many times before.
"Did you guess it already?"
Fushiguro Megumi quietly asked Kael.
"Did I not tell you that I can read minds?"
Kael whispered back, frightening Fushiguro Megumi into jumping back and putting some distance between them. He stared at Kael and swallowed hard before asking,
"Really? Don't you lack an Cursed Technique?"
"Take a guess."
Kael glanced at him.
Now Fushiguro Megumi was truly uncertain. Maybe he should think twice before badmouthing Kael in his head from now on, just in case?
"Nobara, Yuji, you two will be responsible for exorcising the curses this time. Kael, you're in charge of supervising and looking after them. I'm leaving them in your hands."
As Gojo Satoru spoke, he handed a cursed tool to Itadori Yuji. Since Yuji hadn't yet learned to master his own Cursed Energy, he needed the help of a tool.
"Him? Looking after me?"
Kugisaki Nobara felt a bit indignant, feeling slighted. They were all the same age; was she missing an arm or a leg? How could she be worse than this guy?
So what if he's good-looking!
Can teachers just play favorites like this?
"Don't worry, I'll protect you."
Kael responded with a smile.
"...Tch."
Kugisaki Nobara was suddenly dazzled by Kael's smile, her cheeks flushing. She took a few quick steps to escape his gaze and urged Itadori Yuji while her back was turned,
"What are you waiting for! Let's get started!!"
"Big Bro, you'll protect me too, right?"
Itadori Yuji said bashfully.
Although Big Bro's fists were heavy and painful, they provided a total sense of security when they hit.
"With Sukuna inside you, other Cursed Spirits should be the ones afraid. Get in there already!"
Kael kicked Itadori Yuji, making him keep up with Kugisaki Nobara's pace.
"I'm leaving them to you."
Gojo Satoru said to Kael, who waved a hand in response and followed them at a leisurely pace.
The battle had already begun, and Itadori Yuji had successfully slain a Cursed Spirit.
"Not bad."
Kael clapped in praise, then looked up and reminded him,
"However, our Miss Rose has run into a bit of trouble."
"Seriously! Why did we have to split up?!"
Itadori Yuji was a bit annoyed but quickly rushed upstairs.
...
...
Looking at the Cursed Spirit holding a child hostage, Kugisaki Nobara ultimately chose to drop her cursed tool.
Such a move could hardly be called the right choice.
Because Cursed Spirits have no humanity; it would only mock your stupidity and then take your life.
In the end, Itadori Yuji arrived and took the Cursed Spirit by surprise, rescuing the hostage child. Kugisaki Nobara then exorcised the Cursed Spirit as it tried to escape, successfully completing the test.
"Running to a place like this all by yourself, you've got some nerve. Next time, there might not be a blonde big brother to save you."
Kael walked up the stairs and gave the little boy's head a light knock.
"I'm a pink-haired big brother! It's pink!!"
Itadori Yuji pointed to his spiky hairstyle and corrected him.
"You sure arrived in a timely manner."
Kugisaki Nobara couldn't help but snap.
"Please, I'm the proctor. Mr. Gojo is watching from below; it's not like I can help you cheat."
Kael spread his hands and said.
"Hmph~."
Kugisaki Nobara reluctantly accepted the answer.
"Hurry up and send this brat home. I'm getting hungry. What do you guys want for dinner?"
Kael glanced at the sky; it was already getting late.
"Why do we have to be the ones to send him?"
Kugisaki Nobara pouted, not used to taking orders from Kael.
"If you're going to save someone, see it through to the end. Don't dawdle."
As Kael spoke, he slapped Itadori Yuji's head.
"Big Bro, I didn't say I wouldn't do it. Why did you hit me?"
"Then hurry up and get moving."
Kael ignored Itadori Yuji's resentful little look.
In the end, Kael was dragged along by Kugisaki Nobara to see the brat back to his door.
"Good work, everyone. Dinner's on me!"
Gojo Satoru arrived late with Fushiguro Megumi. His single sentence immediately caused Itadori Yuji and Kugisaki Nobara, who were just sharing a moment of camaraderie, to turn against each other.
"Steak!"
"Sushi!"
"Listen to me, your Class Monitor. We're having Hot Pot."
Kael made the final decision.
"Since when were you the Class Monitor?"
Kugisaki Nobara narrowed her eyes and questioned him.
"Since right now. After all, a class cannot go a single day without a leader. I'll reluctantly lead you three little weaklings."
Kael crossed his arms and met Kugisaki Nobara's gaze.
"Then why can't it be me?"
"Let's settle it with a vote."
Kael smiled and raised his hand to give himself a vote. Seeing this, Itadori Yuji immediately followed suit as Kael's most loyal follower, completely disregarding the friendship he had just forged in battle with Kugisaki Nobara.
"Good! Big Bro will treat you to steak later."
"Big Bro is so good to me, sob sob sob."
"You two bastards are in cahoots!"
Kugisaki Nobara cursed her miscalculation and could only pin her hopes on Fushiguro Megumi.
"Mei Mei, you'll support me, right?"
Kael raised his fist and gave it a light squeeze.
"Don't be intimidated by him! Stand your ground! Resist the tyranny of autocracy!!"
Seeing this, Kugisaki Nobara shouted anxiously. Fushiguro Megumi, who had been wavering, narrowed his eyes and spoke with a serious tone.
"You're right. I need to stand my ground. I vote for Kael!"
"You bastard! What happened to standing your ground?"
"I am. Standing with the men."
Fushiguro Megumi said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Setting aside whether he could withstand Kael's fist, choosing between Kugisaki Nobara and Kael didn't seem like a difficult decision at all.