At that moment, Satoru Gojo and Yuji Itadori had just stepped out of the administrative office at Jujutsu Tech.
They had finished briefing the relevant staff on the full details of the attack.
And they had confirmed, definitively, that the photograph was a forgery.
"Well, you know me — I just care so deeply about my students, haha. How was I supposed to know the other guy would pull something that low, photoshopping a picture like that? Hahaha..." When Gojo had found out, he'd scratched the back of his head and laughed in the face of Principal Yaga's questioning. "Still, you've got to admit — it's kind of impressive. Using that kind of scheme..."
Though, when he thought about it, this sort of plot development was actually a pretty common trope in shonen manga.
Characters who used to be friends with the main cast always ended up getting redeemed in the end. And before the redemption arc, there'd be that delicate, drawn-out phase of: "I'll hit you, you'll hit me, but neither of us will go for the kill."
It was just a shame that this time, Mahiko's photograph had turned out to be fake.
"By the way, Yuji — didn't Nobara and the others all head out shopping together today? How come you didn't go with them?"
With the debriefing wrapped up and the matter temporarily settled, Gojo strolled down the corridor with his hands in his pockets, glanced idly out the window at the sky, and tossed the question out like an afterthought.
Yuji scratched his head. "Nah, it's fine — I had training today, so I didn't go with them. And honestly, because of that, I actually got to watch your fight with that mysterious person, Sensei."
He paused, then let out a small sigh of wonder. "There are so many incredible people in this world."
Gojo shrugged. "She couldn't beat me, but her actual power level is genuinely impressive. That said — all of this is contingent on her actually being human."
Yuji blinked. "Is the magical girl not human?"
Uh.
"That magical girl carries the aura of a Cursed Spirit." Gojo attempted to explain.
Yuji looked even more lost. "So... a Cursed Spirit turned into a magical girl?"
"..." Gojo's expression stiffened for a moment, and then he smoothly changed the subject. "You know what? I have a feeling that one day, your achievements might surpass mine."
Yuji's eyes went wide. "Huh?! Me, surpass you, Sensei? Are you serious?"
"Yes. You, Yuta — and perhaps others still." Gojo's voice went soft. "You're all extraordinarily gifted. Having so many talented people gathered in the same era — and being able to stand as your teacher — that's actually my good fortune too."
Yuji said nothing. He just watched Gojo's back with quiet, serious eyes.
Then Gojo's tone dropped, taking on a heavier weight.
"But don't let that go to your head. Throughout history, every time jujutsu sorcerers have flourished, the Cursed Spirits have risen to match them — powerful existences with talent to equal or exceed our own. That's the balance of nature. In the same era that produces prodigies like you, the other side — the Cursed Spirits, the forces of evil — may produce their own prodigies. Ones that far exceed anything we've imagined."
As he said it, Gojo thought of the white-haired girl from earlier.
And of... the blue-haired Cursed Spirit he'd heard about time and again, but never actually met.
What would this era ultimately become?
Yuji gave a firm, earnest nod. "Understood."
Gojo nodded lightly in return.
Perhaps because the topic had stirred something in him, the image of Megumi Fushiguro rose in his mind.
And the image of Megumi Fushiguro after being accidentally turned into a girl.
If he had to name which of his students was the most troubled — at the level of who they were as a person — it was without question Megumi Fushiguro.
Whether it was because of his background, or the particular nature of his abilities, Megumi had always carried a quiet self-destructive streak. He always thought in terms of winning through death, not fighting tooth and nail to survive. He always reached for Mahoraga as a means of mutual annihilation, rather than clawing his way toward a path forward through sheer effort.
Gojo had tried to correct this. He'd mentored Megumi directly, worked at it deliberately.
But the results had never been great.
And honestly, it came down to Megumi's past. His father, Toji Fushiguro, was a piece of work.
Megumi had grown up without a father's love. He'd been sold off by that same father. If Gojo hadn't stepped in to pull him out of that situation, he'd probably be living out his days in the Zenin clan under circumstances too bleak to think about.
Perhaps it was precisely that loveless childhood that had planted this self-destructive tendency in him. No positive expectations for life. No hope for the future. So when he stood at the edge of death, his first instinct wasn't "I need to survive" — it was "then let's all go down together."
Fixing something like that in Megumi wasn't going to happen overnight.
"Which is why I put you all in a team," Gojo said suddenly, breaking the silence.
Someone who had grown up without love and developed a self-destructive streak — what they needed wasn't lectures or reprimands. What they needed was warmth. The warmth of friendship, connection, belonging.
They needed bonds strong enough to anchor them to the world — so that when death came knocking, the flame that flickered to life inside them wouldn't be a cold desire for mutual destruction, but a burning, desperate need to live.
That was why Gojo had made them a team.
And Yuji and Nobara Kugisaki had, in fact, become Megumi's friends.
He could feel it — even though Megumi had been turned into a girl through an accident and had spent these weeks prickly and out of sorts, her heart was softening, little by little.
She was spending more time with her friends. Smiling more often.
So much better than before. Incomparably better.
Ding.
Yuji's phone buzzed.
He glanced down at the screen and let out a startled yelp. "Sensei! Looks like Nobara sent me a message — she says it's a photo of them all hanging out!"
Gojo gave a quiet laugh. "Good. As long as they're having fun."
Then, offhandedly: "What's in the photo?"
Yuji held his phone up. "Still loading — come look, Sensei."
The two of them crowded together, staring at the spinning loading circle on the screen.
Gojo watched the little circle going round and round, and said, almost as an aside: "You should go out with them next time too."
By teaching Megumi what friendship means, you'll become the most solid partners she could ever have.
Yuji nodded vigorously and gave an enthusiastic "Yeah!"
The pink-haired boy's smile was bright and open, and the white-haired man smiled softly alongside him.
For a moment, the light in the corridor was warm and gentle, and the air between them was warm and gentle too.
And then —
The photo on the phone finished loading.
In it, Maki Fushiguro had crammed her entire body inside a large yellow rubber chicken toy — mouth agape and screaming, as rubber chickens do — with only her face poking out from the thing's chest, wearing an expression of such profound, existential deadpan that it was almost artistically hilarious.
Below the photo, a text message from Nobara Kugisaki: "I'M DYING HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..."
Even without being there in person, both Yuji and Gojo could perfectly imagine the explosion of laughter that must have erupted on the scene.
So the two of them couldn't help it either — they both burst out laughing.
Even as they tried to hold it together, they completely failed.
Absolutely unhinged.
Whoever did that — pure genius.
---
*There's another update tonight.
Please send me your monthly votes, everyone!! The bounty campaign is still going — thank you so much, sob sob.
In theory it's the start of the month so everyone should have plenty of monthly votes — could it be that because my book isn't officially listed yet, readers can't subscribe to chapters and therefore don't get monthly votes? (Genuinely confused.)
Plugging a friend's novel!
"Demon Tribes Everywhere — You're Telling Me This Is a Human Kingdom?"
When the demon tribes summoned a human proxy, they made a decision that would scandalize their ancestors.
To win, you have to pay a price. And the price they decided to pay?
Was simply: stop being demons!
"Something feels off about this village."
Transmigrator Ning Yue kept sensing something wrong — or more accurately, something wrong with everything — about this particular village. But the villagers were warm and welcoming, and treated her very well.
It was just that they'd get weirdly shocked by things for no reason. Shocked when she ate too little. Shocked when she tried to leave the village. Shocked when she said humans should live the way she did...
Was the system broken, or were these people just strange?
Surely the problem can't be me!
...
Later.
"Ning Yue! You traitor to humanity, how dare you aid the demon tribes!"
"Bullshit. Are you saying people with tails and horns aren't human? Humans are not such a narrow category! If you ask me, YOU'RE the one who looks like a demon!"
"???"
...*
____
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