The next morning.
Satozakura High School.
Junpei Yoshino carried his bag, walking down the school hallway toward his classroom with his head lowered.
His steps were heavy; though Yoru had said he would come yesterday, Junpei's heart was still filled with unease.
This was school, after all.
A living hell ruled by the trio of Sayama, Nishimura, and Honda.
"Hey, isn't that Junpei?"
Just as Junpei reached the classroom door, a mocking voice rang out like a recurring nightmare.
Junpei's body stiffened instantly.
He looked up and saw those three faces that had jolted him awake from nightmares countless times.
Sayama leaned against the windowsill, fiddling with a lighter as he looked at him with disdain.
The other two blocked his path from both sides.
"What's wrong? You ran off pretty quick yesterday."
Sayama walked over and hooked his arm around Junpei's neck, leaning in close with breath that reeked of cigarettes.
"I heard you found some help outside? Some chuunibyou kid with a sword?"
It turned out they had heard about what happened in the alley yesterday.
To them, it was likely just some nameless thug Junpei had scrounged up.
"Let me go..."
Junpei grit his teeth, trying to break free from Sayama's grip.
"Oh? You're actually fighting back?"
Sayama's gaze turned cold as he slammed the lighter down onto the back of Junpei's hand.
*Scrape!*
Even without a flame, the metal wheel scraped painfully against his skin.
"Guess yesterday's lesson wasn't enough."
Sayama sneered and shot a look at his cronies.
"Drag him to the rooftop. We're going to give him a proper lecture today."
"Got it!"
The two immediately stepped forward, grabbing Junpei by his arms.
A familiar sense of despair surged within him.
Junpei glared at Sayama, fury burning in his eyes.
His right hand reached quietly into his pocket, gripping the strange cursed object he had picked up yesterday (the medium for his own awakening technique).
Though he couldn't fully control it yet, he could feel it; if he willed it, he could summon something...
A translucent, jellyfish-like creature brimming with toxins.
'Kill them.'
'If I just kill them, everything will end.'
Just as Junpei was about to descend into darkness and activate his technique at any cost...
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A crisp set of footsteps echoed abruptly from the end of the hallway.
The sound wasn't loud, yet it possessed a strange piercing quality that instantly drowned out the surrounding noise.
Everyone instinctively turned their heads.
At the end of the hallway, a youth in a black uniform was walking calmly toward them.
He wasn't wearing the Satozakura High uniform; instead, he wore a sharp, black Jujutsu High uniform, its swirling golden buttons glinting in the sunlight.
Black hair, red eyes, and hanafuda earrings dangling from his ears.
Most striking of all was the long guitar case strapped to his back.
Yoru.
He had arrived.
"Who the hell are you? What school are you from?"
Sayama frowned and released Junpei, questioning the intruder with a hostile tone.
This was his turf; he wouldn't tolerate anyone acting more arrogant than himself.
Yoru didn't answer. He didn't even spare Sayama a glance.
His gaze cut straight through the crowd, landing on Junpei Yoshino.
Seeing the red mark on the back of Junpei's hand and the nearly uncontrollable killing intent in his eyes, Yoru's expression tightened slightly.
"It seems I arrived just in time."
Yoru spoke calmly.
Then, he finally turned his gaze toward Sayama and his two lackeys.
"Is this what you call a 'lesson'?"
"Bullying the weak and trampling on dignity just to satisfy your pathetic vanity."
"It's truly... disgusting."
"Huh? Who do you think you are? Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong!"
Incensed by Yoru looking at him like he was garbage, Sayama shoved Junpei aside and charged forward with a raised fist.
"I'm the—"
However, his words were cut short before he could finish.
*Boom!*
In the eyes of Sayama and the others, the world shifted instantly.
The youth, who had looked somewhat refined moments ago, now seemed like an Asura walking out from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
A tidal wave of killing intent, as dense as a literal sea of blood, submerged them instantly.
They saw visions of their own bodies being sliced into countless pieces and their souls being incinerated by fire.
This was the pure, overwhelming pressure Yoru had accumulated after slaying countless Cursed Spirits.
"Ugh... aaaah..."
Sayama's mouth hung open as he made meaningless, strangled sounds.
His pupils constricted violently, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
A warm liquid instantly soaked through the crotch of his pants.
He had wet himself.
Terrified into literal incontinence.
"M-Monster..."
The other two rolled their eyes back and fainted on the spot.
No movement, no words.
Just a single look.
The trio of bullies, who had once been so arrogant, collapsed completely.
The hallway fell into a deathly silence.
The surrounding students watching the commotion were scared into silence, not daring to even breathe loudly.
Yoru retracted his gaze, and the killing intent vanished instantly.
It was as if everything that had just happened was a mere hallucination.
He walked over to Junpei, pulled a bandage from his pocket, and gently placed it over the mark on the back of Junpei's hand.
"It's over now."
Yoru's voice was gentle and calm.
"Garbage like this isn't worth staining your hands over."
Junpei stared blankly at Yoru, then glanced at Sayama, who was slumped on the floor in his own filth.
In that moment, the shadows that had weighed on his heart for years finally dispersed completely.
'So, they were this weak.'
'So, as long as you have power, justice really can prevail.'
"Yoru-kun..."
Junpei's eyes welled up.
He lowered his head, his voice choked with emotion but firm.
"I want to... I want to become strong."
"I want to protect the people important to me, just like you."
Yoru looked at Junpei, a faint, gratified smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He reached out and ruffled Junpei's hair.
"Alright."
"Then come with me."
"To a place where you can truly become strong."
...
After school.
Junpei brought Yoru back to his home.
Although the bullying situation was resolved, he was still worried about his mother.
Mahito's appearance yesterday had given him a sense of crisis; he wanted Yoru to meet his mother and ensure the safety of their home.
However, as the two reached the entrance to Junpei's house, Yoru suddenly came to a halt.
His brow furrowed slightly as he stared at the tightly closed door of the Yoshino residence.
"What is it?"
Junpei's heart skipped a beat.
"There's the presence of a Cursed Spirit."
Yoru's voice turned ice-cold instantly.
And it wasn't an ordinary one; mixed within that aura was a hint of something ancient and foul.
The presence of Sukuna's finger!
"Mom!"
Junpei's face went pale. He lunged toward the door, his hands trembling as he fumbled for his keys.
'Please let her be okay!'
'Please!'
In that instant, the despair that had just lifted came crashing back down upon the boy's heart.