On the playground, Gojo was leaning against a tree, eyes closed in rest, while a red and white figure was sneaking up behind him.
"Almost there, just a little closer, just a little more, as long as I reach that spot!" Don't misunderstand; this isn't some story about a youth rebelling against fate or uncovering the truth of the world, but rather yet another "friendly exchange" between Utahime and Gojo that had become a daily scene at Jujutsu High.
Ever since Utahime was soundly beaten by Gojo the first time they met, she had been trying to get her revenge. This included, but was not limited to, mocking him up close when he was injured during training, poking him with a wooden stick, or drawing little Squids on Gojo's face.
However, this never had any noticeable effect, and every time they met, Utahime would still be infuriated to the brink of death by Gojo. And now, Utahime was launching another assault on the Great Demon King Gojo.
Just as Utahime got close enough to Gojo, she lunged, pouncing toward him like a big red and white moth.
But just as she was about to succeed, Gojo suddenly vanished from where he stood, and Utahime felt her collar being lifted.
Utahime stiffly turned her head and locked eyes with Gojo.
"Haha, um, good afternoon, Gojo."
"Hmm, good afternoon, weakling Utahime'senpai'." Gojo said with a smug smile on his face.
"So annoying!" Utahime seethed with anger, but she had to maintain a smile.
"Um, right, Principal Yaga asked me to come get you." Finally, Utahime thought of a suitable excuse.
"Alright, let's go then." Gojo smirked and activated his Cursed Technique.
"Wait, you bastard Gojo, what are you doing? Stop! Shoko!" Before Utahime could finish speaking, she was instantly whisked away by Gojo, leaving behind only a desperate scream.
Genji and Shoko saw this, smiled helplessly, and then headed toward the classroom.
It had been five days since the last mission, but the experience in the illusion seemed to have subconsciously affected them all. The most obvious one was Gojo, who now spent even more time harassing them every day.
The second biggest change was actually Shoko; she had started smoking and drinking, and she had an incredibly high tolerance for alcohol. Although Genji had tried to persuade her otherwise, Shoko brushed it off by using the excuse that she could heal herself with Reversal technique.
In the classroom, Yaga stood at the podium.
"The Exchange Event starts the day after tomorrow. We will head to Kyoto Jujutsu High tomorrow. I've already told you about the relevant matters, but there are a few points I need to add."
"Wait a minute, Principal Yaga, when did you ever mention the Exchange Event?" Genji raised his hand and asked.
"? A few days ago, didn't I tell... Gojo! Geto!" Yaga was initially confused, but then his face darkened as he looked at the two who were pretending to be innocent and looking out the window.
"You two... sigh, forget it." Yaga had wanted to give them a good scolding, but he reconsidered and gave up. After all, he had seen the strange state they were in after completing their mission a few days ago.
Yaga tossed a file to Genji and Shoko.
"That contains the precautions for this Exchange Event. Remember to read it before we leave."
"Mei Mei will meet us directly at Kyoto Jujutsu High tomorrow. That's all, dismissed." With that, Yaga left the classroom.
"Hey, Gojo, what do you know about Kyoto Jujutsu High?" Genji asked Gojo.
"It's basically no different from our school, except that many Jujutsu Sorcerer families like to send their talented descendants to Kyoto Jujutsu High instead of Tokyo School."
"Why is that?" Geto asked curiously.
"There's no specific reason, just the corruption and xenophobia inherent in those families," Gojo said with some disdain.
"Even though those old geezers don't have much real power, they are quite skilled at playing politics."
"At the end of the day, the Jujutsu World is still about strength. The only reason they've held high positions for so long is because their families are powerful enough. Once someone appears who can break that balance, their good days will be over," Genji said to Gojo.
"Alright, let's stop the idle chatter here. I need to go catch some low-level Cursed Spirits to use as fodder for the Exchange Event. I'm heading out." Geto stood up and said to the others.
"I'll go with you." Seeing this, Genji also stood up and then looked at Shoko:
"Shoko, what about you?"
"I won't go. I need to go check on Senior Utahime first. She was just forcibly brought here by Gojo using his Cursed Technique, and she seems to have fainted." As she spoke, Shoko looked at the back of the classroom at Utahime, who was slumped on the desk looking sickly.
"I'll go with you guys too." Gojo walked over to Genji and Geto.
The group split up in the classroom.
On the street, Geto casually turned a few Squids into cursed spirit orbs and swallowed them. Genji stood beside him, while Gojo was distracted by cream daifuku halfway through, leaving with a "I'll go buy afternoon tea for everyone" before going to join the queue.
Genji watched as Geto swallowed the cursed spirit orbs one after another without changing his expression, but after spending so much time together, Genji could still tell from Geto's face that he was currently forcing himself to suppress his nausea.
"Hey, Geto, what exactly do cursed spirit orbs taste like?" Genji finally asked Geto.
Geto originally wanted to use his usual smile to tell Genji that they didn't taste like anything, but looking into Genji's eyes, he felt as if he had been seen through.
On an impulse, Geto recalled the content of the illusion from a few days ago, and in the end, he revealed a smile that was worse than crying.
"They taste absolutely terrible, like a rag soaked in vomit."
Although Geto's metaphor was a bit subtle, Genji couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. Among their abilities, neither Shoko's nor his own had any major side effects. Gojo's Cursed Technique only put a load on his brain, which ultimately gave birth to Gojo, that guy who was extremely obsessed with sweets.
"By the way, have you tried using anything to season them? Like honey or something?"
"It's useless. This is the price for using my Cursed Technique; you can't avoid it with little tricks like that." Geto shook his head with a bitter smile, but under his best friend's concern, he felt that the cursed spirit orb in his mouth didn't seem quite so hard to swallow.
"Lend me that for a second."
Suddenly, Genji seemed to have thought of something. He took a cursed spirit orb from Geto's hand, and then flames ignited on his hand.
"Wait, Genji, what are you doing?" Geto looked at Genji in surprise.
"Just an experiment. During the last mission, I discovered that my Cursed Technique seems to be able to partially neutralize the negative Cursed Energy produced by Cursed Spirits. My technique's ability to slow down a Cursed Spirit's regeneration speed seems to be based on this principle as well."
Genji looked at the cursed spirit orb wrapped in flames in his hand, then dissipated the flames and handed the orb to Geto.
"Now try it again."
Geto took the cursed spirit orb, immediately shoved it into his mouth without hesitation, and then widened his eyes.
"It really tastes much better than before."
"That's great! Afterward, we can treat this as a project. Let's call it the cursed spirit orb Taste Modification Experiment."
Genji felt very excited about the success of the first attempt and rambled on about his plan.
Seeing his best friend's excitement, Geto felt as if something in his heart had melted, and he revealed a relaxed smile.
"What are you two doing?" At this moment, Gojo appeared beside them. His gaze then shifted to the cursed spirit orb in Geto's hand.
"How many more of these things did you eat? Here, have some daifuku. Use the sweets to change the taste of the Cursed Spirit in your mouth." As he spoke, Gojo shoved the daifuku in his hand into Geto's mouth.
"Wait, Gojo, I can't fit any more in my mouth." Geto mumbled to Gojo. Although the bitter taste was still in his mouth, his heart felt much lighter.
"Our ending will definitely not be like the one in the illusion," Geto swore in his heart.