"Huh? Are we going on a mission? Where's Fushiguro? And Kugisaki?"
Yuji Itadori looked at Satoru Gojo, who had suddenly come over to him.
"Shhh. Megumi was taken away by Akira-chan for a secret exchange."
"Akira-chan?"
Yuji Itadori folded his arms and tilted his head, confusion written all over his face.
"Nobara went out with Suguru and the others yesterday. She should be back soon."
Satoru Gojo puffed out his cheeks in complaint.
"Honestly, she's my student, yet she's always running off to hang around Suguru's side."
"Well, that can't really be helped. There are more girls over there, so they probably have more to talk about..."
"Which means this heavy responsibility now falls on you, Yuji!"
"Huh? What responsibility?
Did I miss something, or was a chunk of my time just stolen?"
"You're going to find a topic and bring this team together! Corporal Yuji!"
Yuji Itadori immediately straightened up, his expression turning serious.
"Order acknowledged! General Gojo!"
...
The two remained frozen like that for a full five minutes. Yuji Itadori finally couldn't take it anymore. He turned his head toward Satoru Gojo, a hint of expectation in his eyes.
"So, Gojo-sensei... are you leading us this time?"
Satoru Gojo shook his head and led Yuji out of the hallway.
"Nope. I can't take you this time. But don't worry. I called in two reliable juniors!"
Satoru Gojo pushed the door open. Two figures were already standing in the mission handover room.
One wore a neatly pressed shirt. His blond hair was combed perfectly in place. Resting on the bridge of his nose was some kind of device, whether it was a scanner or sunglasses was unclear. From his aura alone, he looked like a Wall Street elite, the type who handles hundreds of thousands in deals every minute.
The other wore black faculty attire. His black hair was cut into a slightly childish bowl style. His eyes were gentle, but his entire body seemed to radiate endless enthusiasm.
"Ta-da! This is the meticulous Kento Nanami. He's been out doing missions nonstop. I had a hard time dragging him back."
"You were the one who asked me to bring Sendai pastries yesterday."
Satoru Gojo acted like he hadn't heard that at all. Without changing expression, he turned to Yuji Itadori and introduced the other person.
"This is Yu Haibara, a third-year teaching assistant. Since Suguru came back these past couple days, he finally has time to take on missions again!"
"There are plenty of strange people among Jujutsu Sorcerers, but these two are surprisingly normal.
Both Grade 1 Sorcerers. Very reliable."
Before Satoru Gojo could finish stretching out his oddly cheerful tone, Yu Haibara had already enthusiastically greeted Yuji Itadori.
"You're Itadori, right? Looking forward to working with you!"
"Huh?"
Yuji hurriedly bowed back.
"No, I'm the one who should say that. Nice to meet you."
Kento Nanami also looked at Yuji.
"Nice to meet you, Itadori."
Yuji Itadori, who still hadn't straightened up from his bow, froze slightly before quickly bowing again.
"Yes, nice to meet you."
Kento Nanami nodded.
"I heard you just enrolled recently and had no previous contact with the Jujutsu World."
"Yeah, that's right."
"In that case, try not to get too excited. You look a little too worked up."
"Why? (☉_☉)"
"Because this job isn't about being a hero, and there's no so-called sense of mission.
Jujutsu Sorcerers are shit."
"Huh?! ∑(O_O;)"
"In any case, for this next mission you'll simply observe. Watch how Haibara and I exorcise the curse."
"But..."
"There's no reason to argue. You're still students."
"Alright..."
Satoru Gojo leaned close to Yuji Itadori's ear and whispered.
"This guy is gloomy and strict, right?"
Yuji whispered back.
"Yeah..."
Kento Nanami glanced at Satoru Gojo.
"Please don't assume I share the same ideas as Gojo-san....
I trust him, and I rely on him."
"Hehe."
"But I don't respect him."
"Huh??!!!"
Haibara quickly walked over and whispered to Yuji.
"Relax. Among the students from our year, Nanami is famous for having a sharp tongue but a soft heart."
Yuji Itadori immediately caught the key point.
"Nanami?"
Satoru Gojo also leaned his head over.
"But weren't there only two people in your year? You and Nanami?"
Haibara scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Haha～, Gojo-senpai, don't worry about those unimportant details."
"Got it. OK."
Kento Nanami sighed.
He had thought that after serving as a teaching assistant for so long, Yu Haibara might have matured a little.
Now it seemed he would have to deal with another "child"...
Nanami walked over and looked at the three people huddled together.
"Gojo-san, please don't let Itadori lower his guard against curses. Excessive praise doesn't help someone grow properly."
"Huh? Really?
But people praise me all the time."
Yuji Itadori looked at Satoru Gojo.
"Sensei, what do they praise you for?"
"Hmph, listen carefully! Suguru says I'm both meticulous and powerful. And Akira-chan says that when I take off my blindfold, it's as smooth as taking off stockings."
The corner of Kento Nanami's mouth twitched slightly. He could already imagine the disgusted look on Akira Zenin's face.
"Setting aside Geto-san for the moment, I don't believe Akira-san was complimenting you."
"Huh? Really?"
Kento Nanami sighed again. He even felt like this conversation alone could raise this year's carbon emissions by several percentage points.
"Enough idle talk. While we wait for Kugisaki, let's use the time to exchange information and go over the mission details."