The four of them stood side-by-side under the shade of the gazebo.
"Hey, Satoru. Take your hands out of your pockets. Don't look so arrogant; you're going to scare the new students," Hasegumo nagged from behind.
"If I'm not a little arrogant, how will the juniors learn to respect their seniors?" Satoru Gojo replied, clearly seeing no issue with his behavior.
"There's no need to be so theatrical. Just be yourself, and the juniors will naturally choose to respect a senior they find reliable," Suguru Geto remarked, confident that his personal charm would win over the underclassmen.
"Then why are you standing so stiffly? You even ironed your uniform specially for this," Satoru snorted, picking his nose. "Don't think I can't tell, you bastard. You definitely did your hair, too. Not even the wind is moving it."
Hasegumo and Shoko took a synchronized step to the side, silently broadcasting that they weren't associated with these two.
"Speaking of which, why is the enrollment in April? Weren't we June last year?" Hasegumo asked, only now noticing the discrepancy.
"Truly a wild man raised in the mountains," Satoru launched a fresh verbal assault. "The normal enrollment time is April. Please, brush up on your common sense, or the juniors will look at you like you're some kind of freak."
Hasegumo waved him off, nonplussed. "So why were we June?"
"Yaga-sensei notified us," Shoko explained. "He told us before we started that one student wouldn't be arriving until June."
"Exactly. He told us we could come to school at the normal time," Suguru added, "or choose to enroll in June alongside you."
"So you guys planned it together?" Hasegumo asked, puzzled.
"Not at all," Suguru replied, briefly calling a ceasefire.
"Who would plan anything with these two pieces of trash?" Shoko added, looking adorable as ever.
"We didn't even know each other back then. It was just a coincidence that everyone chose June," Satoru, the "Strongest" and most talkative, finished.
"I'm touched. Did you all choose to start then just so I wouldn't be excluded as the only new student? How sweet," Hasegumo said, feeling genuinely touched.
"You sound disgusting." Satoru made a gagging face, then patted Suguru's shoulder and pointed ahead. "Look, look! They're here!"
In the distance, two figures were walking toward them.
The boy on the left wore the black high school uniform with his hands in his pockets. He had blonde hair styled in a trendy side-fringe that slightly brushed against his eyes. The boy on the right looked more average, with the exception of his large, bright eyes that shone with focused energy.
"The blonde kid looks pretty gloomy," Satoru and Suguru whispered to each other. "He's got that 'delinquent' vibe."
"Well, he's in for a rough time then. I'll make sure to help him find some optimism." Satoru smirked, clearly planning to haze the new junior.
"They look like total opposites. The one on the right is definitely the same type as Gumo," Shoko analyzed.
"What are they feeding kids these days? Super-soldier serum?" Hasegumo remarked on their height. "He's only fifteen and already six feet tall?"
"Good morning, seniors!" Yu Haibara greeted them with boundless energy.
"Good morning." Hasegumo took an immediate liking to the boy. He stepped forward and gave the boy's arm a squeeze. "My name is Hasegumo. Interested in learning martial arts?"
"Yes, senior! My name is Yu Haibara! I don't know the first thing about martial arts!" Haibara shouted back at top volume.
"I asked if you wanted to, not if you knew how. Is your reading comprehension okay?" Hasegumo shouted back even louder.
Wait. This feels strangely familiar.
Hasegumo rubbed his head, shook it to clear the deja vu, and continued. "I like your spirit. Come learn martial arts with me. It won't interfere with your jujutsu studies, and with your talent, you could be a top-tier martial artist in a few years."
"No problem! Thank you for the offer, senior! I'll give it my all!" Haibara wasn't shy at all. "I actually watched the broadcast of the martial arts tournament last year. My whole family is a fan of yours!"
"So you were a celebrity, Gumo?" Shoko giggled, covering her mouth.
"At twenty, he's basically a washed-up star. Even a boy band wouldn't take an old man like him," Satoru teased, clearly still holding a grudge over Hasegumo's previous "adolescent" comment.
Suguru, meanwhile, stepped toward the neglected blonde boy, who looked like he was already done with life. "Nice to meet you. I'm Suguru Geto, a Grade 1 sorcerer. My technique is Cursed Spirit Manipulation."
After a brief handshake, Kento Nanami took a half-step back and gave a slight bow. "Nice to meet you, Geto-senpai. My name is Kento Nanami, a Grade 3 sorcerer. My technique is the Ratio Technique."
Surprisingly polite, Suguru thought.
"Oho..." Satoru Gojo drawled, leaning into Nanami's personal space. He reached out as if to physically adjust the boy's facial expression. "Cheer up, Nanamin. With a face like that, you look like you're about to commit a crime or end it all. It doesn't fit the 'school life' vibe at all."
"Please, do not call me that." Nanami—or rather, Nanamin—twitched slightly, though he didn't lose his temper. "So you are the famous Satoru Gojo? You don't look like a Clan Head at all."
"He's just like this. Don't mind him, you'll get used to it," Hasegumo interjected, trying to smooth over the awkward atmosphere.
"Does Jujutsu High accept the disabled now?" Nanami asked, looking at Hasegumo's empty left sleeve, which had been cut short and tied off for convenience.
At this stage, Nanami hadn't yet been ground down by the tragedies of sorcery and the weight of society. He spoke with a bluntness that bordered on cruel, though his tone remained flat. "Please don't misunderstand; I'm not attacking you. I simply wonder if it is possible to complete exorcism missions with only one hand."
"Haha, you're very direct." Hasegumo, who was immune to the daily toxicity of Gojo and Geto, wasn't bothered by the remark. He flexed his right bicep. "Don't let the look fool you; I'm a Grade 1 sorcerer."
"And the runner-up in the National Martial Arts Tournament! He did that without even using Cursed Energy!" Haibara added, eager to hype up his idol.
"All that hype for a runner-up? Second place is no different from being in the top eight or sixteen," Satoru interjected, shifting his target. "Even your Grade 1 rank and your tournament trophy were earned with two hands, weren't they? Your dead left arm must be weeping at how it's being treated."
Shoko watched them bicker, fighting back a smile.
WHAM!
Satoru's head took the full force of Masamichi Yaga's "Fist of Education."
"Satoru! You're spouting nonsense again the moment I turn my back." Unlike his usual appearance, Yaga was wearing his favorite small sunglasses today. He adjusted the frames with his left hand. "Gumo, you're older than them. You need to maintain your authority as a senior. Order and hierarchy are the foundations of a proper society."
"Yes, sir," Hasegumo replied. He'd heard this a thousand times, but his personality was such that he treated everyone—regardless of age—as an equal. It wasn't a habit he could easily break.
"I really hate that 'proper society' talk," Satoru muttered under his breath.
"Hmm?" Yaga shot him a glance. Satoru immediately shut his mouth and mimed zipping it shut with his fingers.
"Gumo, take Haibara and help him pick out a room. Show him around the campus while you're at it. You'll be responsible for supervising his sorcerer evaluations from now on."
"Suits me fine," Hasegumo agreed, gesturing for Haibara to follow him.
"Suguru, you take Nanami. Same instructions."
"Understood." Suguru Geto moved quickly, leading Nanami away.
"Satoru-sensei, what about me?" Gojo raised his hand.
"You and Shoko have a mission. Now. Go. Get out of my sight," Yaga growled, rubbing his forehead.
As the group dispersed, Yaga watched Satoru Gojo's retreating back. That boy... he has so much power, yet he can't stay serious for a second. As the face of the new generation, he's a total failure. Suguru has a better temperament, but his mental fortitude isn't as strong. I still have a lot of teaching to do.
While he mused, he pulled a panda-shaped Cursed Corpse from his pocket and began working on it with a crochet hook.
Gumo is the most reliable of the bunch. It's a shame about that injury. To lose a limb like that and not be able to recover... truly a waste. He sighed to himself as he walked back toward the dim, candle-lit main hall.
"Keep your balance," Hasegumo said, using a wooden staff he'd bought online—identical to the one the Ijichis used—to poke at Haibara's arm. "Steady. Don't wobble."
The scene felt like a mirror of the past.
He set the staff on a table. "Practice hard. Once you've got the basics down, I'll take you to the Shingen-ryu Dojo to officially enroll under a master." Hasegumo was currently doing a one-handed handstand nearby, his ponytail dipping slightly so that a few stray hairs brushed the floor.
"Yes! I'll work hard!" Haibara shouted, his face split with a grin. "But Gumo-senpai, why can't I just be your disciple?"
"Oh, right." Hasegumo had a moment of realization—he actually was qualified to take a student. "But we're classmates. If you were my disciple, the hierarchy would get all messy. What would Nanami do? Would he have to treat me like an uncle or something?"
"I don't think Nanami-kun would mind," Haibara said, confident in his assessment. "He's actually very big-hearted; he just doesn't show it on his face."
"Alright then," Hasegumo continued. "I'll officially take you as a student after graduation. For now, let's just stick to the status quo."
"Understood, senior!" Haibara tried to give a salute but lost his balance, tumbling off the wooden post and landing on his head. He ended up face-to-face with the handstanding Hasegumo.
"Go grab another bucket of water. Keep at it—this time, I want you to run. I think you're ready," Hasegumo encouraged him.
"Yaga-sensei mentioned that the Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event is coming up soon. Students from the Kyoto branch will be coming here to compete."
"If we lose and embarrass Tokyo High, Yaga-sensei's wrath will be terrifying. Even the Gojo Clan Head wouldn't want to be in the splash zone."
"Got it! I won't let us down!"