When Hakari and Kirara finally woke up, they found themselves back at Jujutsu High, lying in the infirmary.
"You're awake. Congratulations — you're both officially Grade 2 sorcerers now," said Shoko, who was wearing her usual white coat, greeting them with a faint smile.
"Shoko-sensei, this is Jujutsu High? Where's Zenin-sensei?" Hakari asked, pushing himself upright, still a bit dazed. He could only remember holding out until Zenin-sensei arrived — everything after that was blank.
"Oh, him? Gojo dragged him off," Shoko replied casually.
Elsewhere on campus, Jinsuke and Gojo were chatting leisurely.
"You ran into Geto, didn't you? Why didn't you bring him back?" Gojo asked, a question that left Zenin momentarily speechless.
"Are you kidding? The man's a special grade sorcerer. Besides, you didn't have the heart to kill your best friend either, did you?"
"Don't think I don't know what's going on in that head of yours," Jinsuke said, eyeing Gojo like he was staring down a sly fox.
"Ah, let's drop that topic," Gojo said with a grin. "Let's talk about those two brats of yours instead. As a teacher, letting your students get hurt that badly… kinda irresponsible, don't you think? That's a salary deduction right there."
Jinsuke's mouth twitched. This guy had scammed him out of so much money — of course he'd find a way to bring that up.
"First off, they're alive. Second, Hakari managed to grasp Domain Expansion during that mission," Jinsuke replied.
If anything, that should've earned him a bonus, not a penalty.
"Domain Expansion? You serious?" Gojo's usual playfulness faded a bit. He knew Hakari's technique — full of gambling mechanics and modern science — exactly the kind of sorcery that the conservative higher-ups despised. But personally, Gojo liked weird techniques like that.
"That kid's that talented, huh?"
Anyone who could even partially expand a Domain had already reached at least Grade 1 level — and a powerful one at that.
"It's still unfinished. You should take some time to guide him yourself," Jinsuke said. "Stop worrying about your dear best friend all day. You'll be seeing him soon enough anyway."
"What do you mean?" Gojo asked, his expression turning serious.
"Exactly what I said."
Jinsuke smiled mysteriously, refusing to elaborate. "Anyway, I'm heading home. Dinner's waiting."
Leaving Gojo behind in thought, Jinsuke turned and walked away.
Gojo frowned at his retreating figure. "That guy… is really annoying."
He hated people who talked in riddles — or worse, half-finished sentences.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Hakari and Kirara were now second-years. After several missions and Gojo's personal guidance, Hakari had gradually mastered his Domain Expansion. With recommendations from Jinsuke and Riko, both Grade 1 sorcerers, he was officially promoted to Grade 1.
Kirara lagged a bit behind, but was well on track to reach semi–Grade 1 before graduation.
Around the same time, the "Pure Love Warrior" Yuta Okkotsu entered the higher-ups' radar after being relentlessly bullied at school. Because of the unstable cursed spirit Rika — the so-called "Queen of Curses" — the higher-ups quickly branded Yuta as a death-row target.
And the one assigned to carry out his execution… was Jinsuke.
Why him? That required a bit of context.
Within the Jujutsu world, two people gave the higher-ups constant headaches: Gojo — completely unreasonable, immensely powerful, and infuriatingly arrogant — and Jinsuke.
If Gojo was unreasonable, Jinsuke was simply uncontrollable. Unless a task involved cursed spirits, he ignored orders entirely.
However, after rumors spread that he had a "thing" with Yuki, the higher-ups' opinion of him softened slightly. Compared to Yuki, whose entire existence was chaos, Jinsuke seemed almost… manageable.
This time, the mission was given to him precisely because of his obsession with cursed spirits. Even if the target was a Special Grade vengeful curse, they trusted him to handle it.
They doubted his attitude, his personality, even his morality — but never his strength. He was capable of exorcising a Special Grade curse. If not for his lack of large-scale techniques — relying only on physical combat — they might have promoted him to Special Grade long ago.
After all, the criteria for that rank weren't just about killing a Special Grade curse — it was about possessing the power to destroy a nation.
Outside a school gate, Jinsuke leaned casually against a wall, waiting for his target.
He hadn't expected the higher-ups to send him to kill Yuta. Maybe this was fate's little butterfly effect.
When the bell rang, waves of students flooded out. It had been days since Yuta had accidentally killed his bullies, and the school had returned to normal. Few people outside the faculty even knew what had happened.
Yuta soon appeared in Jinsuke's line of sight — slouched, timid, with that haunted look of someone used to being preyed upon.
The other students kept at least three meters away from him, as if afraid. After what had happened to his tormentors, no one dared get close anymore.
"Kid, come with me. Someone's put a price on your head," Jinsuke said, stepping into Yuta's path and looking down at him.
The surrounding students quickly backed away, terrified of this rough-looking man.
Yuta stopped, staring blankly at the stranger. "Is this… because of them?" he asked softly.
"Of course. Killers have to pay for their crimes." Jinsuke smiled faintly.
"Yuta… no one hurts Yuta!"
An overwhelming surge of cursed energy erupted behind him — Rika. Her hands tore open a rift in the air, trying to crawl out and rip Jinsuke apart.
"Rika, stop! Don't!" Yuta pleaded desperately. He didn't want more blood on his hands.
"Tsk tsk… what a terrifying curse," Jinsuke muttered, feeling the monstrous aura radiating from her.
No wonder Gojo considered Rika a headache — even Geto had fallen because of her. Truly, the curse born of love was unlike any other.
"Easy, now. Killing people has consequences — but killing beasts doesn't. Come with me."
Jinsuke didn't tease him any further; one more push and Rika might go berserk.
Yuta didn't respond, silently following behind. He didn't know what awaited him, but he knew he had to face it.
As they walked, Jinsuke studied the future Special Grade sorcerer beside him and couldn't help but click his tongue.
Talent really was unfair.
Just because this kid was a descendant of one of the Big Three Vengeful Spirits, just because he was related to Gojo — even without effort, a single curse had granted him the Queen of Curses.
With minimal effort, he'd inevitably reach Special Grade.
Meanwhile, the Zenin twins, Maki and Mai, struggled their entire lives — yet even their peak would barely touch Grade 1.
Thinking of that, Jinsuke resolved to train Maki properly — at least until she could exorcise a Special Grade curse.
As for Mai… she could stay laid-back. It wasn't like she ever wanted to be strong anyway.