The sisters took the subway to neighboring Arakawa.
There, they got into the Assistant Director's waiting car.
"Please take care of us."
"We look forward to working with you."
Mai greeted him as she climbed straight into the back seat.
Even Maki, who usually spoke casually, used polite speech for greetings at least.
"The pleasure is mine. Let's get going."
The Assistant Director nodded with his head turned toward the back, then faced forward again.
As an Assistant Director, he felt both sorry and grateful.
These children were staking their lives, while all he could do was support them.
It was the bitter reality born from the difference in talent.
'All I can do is handle what I can and lighten their burden, even a little.'
Barriers, communication, transportation.
Anything that would let Jujutsu Sorcerers carry out exorcisms with even a little more ease.
With that resolve, the Assistant Director drove.
The start of a new term always made him excited and tense at the same time.
This year's incoming class numbered four, including the sisters in the back seat.
He had heard their aptitudes were promising.
But even to his eyes, the talents of Maki and Mai were extraordinary.
It was astonishing.
'One is a complete physical gifted type. The other has the [Construction Technique], but the flow of her Cursed Energy is...'
He was weak, but he had assisted many Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Which meant he had seen countless examples of both weakness and strength.
That was why he knew.
It would not have been strange at all if both sisters shot straight up to Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
'No, if she had a technique, then maybe...'
The Assistant Director shook his head, cutting off the meaningless assumption.
It was a presumptuous thought.
So he stopped thinking and drove the rest of the way to Jujutsu High in silence.
Safely, and quickly.
"We've arrived."
The sisters thanked the man and got out.
Kadoc had come here fairly often, but for the two sisters, this was their first time.
"Big Brother was right. It really does feel like the countryside."
"And it's dark and gloomy on top of that. Feels exactly like the kind of place Jujutsu Sorcerers would live in."
Maki muttered, and Mai let out a sigh.
The sight of traditional buildings lined up in rows left a bad taste in their mouths.
A prison they had thought they had already forgotten.
Because the Zenin Clan estate and grounds rose vividly in their minds.
The sisters climbed the stairs shoulder to shoulder.
The place was different, yet somehow similar enough to draw a sigh from them.
Still, people got used to things eventually.
If they kept reminding themselves this place was different from the Zenin Clan, maybe they would grow attached to it too.
"Oh. Welcome. So you're the Zenin sisters."
The moment they reached the top of the stairs—
Gojo, blindfolded and wearing a sly grin, greeted them.
Ordinarily, he probably would have taken the podium himself and taught the kids a little.
But not now.
As a highly mobile Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer, he was busy.
And sometimes he was busy slacking off while enjoying unofficial vacations.
Maki frowned as she looked at Gojo.
His appearance. His flippant tone.
He matched the image from the rumors exactly.
"You're Gojo Satoru?"
"Hm? You know me? We've never met before, have we?"
Gojo tilted his head from side to side as if genuinely surprised.
It was a strangely theatrical gesture.
"I've heard the rumors. You're the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the modern age, aren't you?"
"Oh, that's right. Among Jujutsu Sorcerers, I am the strongest."
Gojo folded his arms and lifted his chin.
Because his movements were so light, even his arrogance looked like a joke.
Among Jujutsu Sorcerers, the strongest.
The words had changed from how he used to call himself simply the strongest.
I am the strongest. Among Jujutsu Sorcerers, I am the strongest.
Only a very small handful knew the humility and resignation hidden in that difference.
"Then are you the teacher?"
"Hm? Nope, not me. Suguru's the one teaching. Heard of him, maybe?"
"A Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer. Big Brother told us."
"Ah... figures. That guy must've told you all kinds of things. Then of course you'd know."
Gojo uncrossed his arms and nodded.
It was natural enough that he took it in stride.
"Then why are you here?"
"Just thought I'd take a look at your faces and guide you to the classroom. Follow me."
Gojo started walking with an easy smile.
The sisters followed behind him.
As they walked, they looked around and memorized the layout.
So next time, they could come on their own.
"The route isn't complicated, so it'll be easy to remember. There aren't many people around either, so it never gets crowded."
Walking through the old school grounds, Gojo muttered in an even tone.
The corridors were traditional, yet distinctive.
Even so, the facilities overall were modern and well maintained.
Because this was the home of Jujutsu Sorcerers.
"Suguru. I brought the last students."
Slide. Without so much as a warning, Gojo pulled open the wooden sliding door.
It was the first-year classroom.
"Satoru. I told you at least knock. You startle everyone every time. Honestly."
Geto, who happened to be standing at the podium, shook his head and sighed.
He had softened, but that immature streak of his was still there.
Then Geto looked past Gojo at the sisters and smiled.
"So you're Zenin Maki and Mai. I've heard about you from Mr. Kadoc. He said you don't like being called by your family name?"
"Huh? He even told you that?"
Mai blinked in surprise.
She had not realized they were close enough for that kind of conversation.
"Well, I'm your homeroom teacher, so I talk with parents about this and that. Come in."
"Excuse us."
Mai brushed past Gojo, who had shifted aside for her, and stepped into the classroom.
There were very few students.
True to that, most of the classroom sat empty.
Suguru stood at the front.
In front of him sat only Panda and a male student with his mouth hidden behind the high collar of his uniform.
'How strange.'
White hair was not something you saw every day.
And yet this was already the second time today.
The student with his mouth covered, and Gojo too.
For Mai, it was enough to leave her slightly thrown off.
"More importantly... a panda?"
"Yep. I'm Panda. Nice to meet you."
The large panda sitting in the chair greeted her warmly.
He was friendlier than expected, which only made it more disorienting.
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you too."
"Nice to meet you. It's kind of amazing that a panda talks."
Maki and Mai headed toward a pair of suitably empty seats.
They were directly behind Panda and the male student.
"I look forward to working with you too."
"Salmon."
Maki tilted her head at the strangely speaking boy.
Apparently, there was some kind of reason for it.
"Ah... Toge is a Cursed Speech user. So when he talks normally, he only uses rice ball ingredients."
Panda added the explanation in a laid-back voice.
It was a reason easy enough to accept at once.
'Even for a Cursed Speech user, couldn't he change the trigger through a Binding Vow?'
The question sprang to Maki's mind, but she swallowed it before it could leave her mouth.
A Cursed Speech family.
In other words, a jujutsu family would never have known about that and simply left it alone.
There had to be some special reason he could not speak freely.
That was probably why he lived with that inconvenience.
"I see. Then I can call you Toge. I usually call people by their given names."
"Toge'll be fine with that. I welcome it too."
"Salmon."
Panda and Inumaki nodded at the same time.
It was not an act.
Jujutsu Sorcerers were, to begin with, people who were a little off somewhere.
They were far removed from pretense.
"Good. Looks like everyone's introductions are done, so... shall we start with orientation? Satoru, you can leave now."
"Ehh? Isn't that a little cold?"
"If you don't have a mission, then just go rest."
Geto smiled as he waved Gojo out.
Half joking, half serious.
"Haaah..."
Gojo waved a hand and left, and Geto let out a sigh.
He had been nervous Gojo might decide to stay in the classroom.
"All right, then. I'll start by explaining how Tokyo Jujutsu High works. It isn't that complicated."
By the time the Maki-Mai sisters had begun settling smoothly into Tokyo Jujutsu High, Gojo contacted me.
"I'm thinking it's about time to enroll Okkotsu Yuta at Jujutsu High. Would that be all right?"
Okkotsu Yuta.
One of the mere four Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerers in Jujutsu Kaisen.
His technique was copying.
And he was the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the prequel to Jujutsu Kaisen.
The one who, originally, had been meant to defeat Geto.
Okkotsu losing his childhood friend Rika in an accident.
The curse he placed on her as a result.
I knew all of that, but back then I had been overwhelmed.
There had been too many things demanding my attention.
I did not even know where Okkotsu lived.
I could have found out, sure, but in a time when taking care of myself alone was already too much? That would have been arrogance.
Of course, if I were the protagonist of Grand Order, I would have helped without hesitation...
But I was not on that level.
Besides, last year I had been on edge waiting for the upper ranks to make their move.
I had no idea when or where they might stab me in the back.
Because of that, I had no room to spare for Okkotsu.
I did not even have the leisure to pay attention to incidents known within the jujutsu world.
The incident itself had ended with several delinquents who had been tormenting him getting crammed into a cleaning supply locker.
The delinquents were severely injured.
The culprit had been Rika, bound to Okkotsu.
Fortunately, the timing had worked out well, so there was no secret execution order at all.
In other words, one event from the original story had vanished.
Instead, Okkotsu had enrolled in a normal high school and remained there through this year.
Apparently they had been waiting for the right time.
Gojo had been the one handling that process, keeping a steady eye on him all along...
And now, it seemed the time had come.
"Isn't that under Mr. Yaga and the teachers' authority? Or yours, Gojo?"
"It is, but the kids you care about are all in that year. I figured it might bother you."
"And if I said I didn't like it?"
"Then we'd put him in a different year, or transfer him to Kyoto Jujutsu High. I'm bringing him into Jujutsu High no matter what."
Gojo made it clear he had no intention of giving up.
To begin with, this was not really something for me to object to.
"I'm fine with it. Accepting students is the school's authority and responsibility. I have no right to complain about that."
"Okay. Then I'm counting on you."
"That's my line."
After a bit more idle conversation, I hung up.
Right. So it was already that season.
'Still, this should pass without much trouble.'
Geto, the main villain of Jujutsu Kaisen 0, was on our side.
There would be no Night Parade of a Hundred Demons either.
So this year would probably pass peacefully, but...
Next year was the real issue.
The death of Itadori Yuji's father.
His enrollment at Jujutsu High because of it, and everything else. It was the point where the original story's events were supposed to start erupting.
Still, Megumi was stronger now than he had been back then, so he should be fine.
Kenjaku was dead too.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit party. Sukuna.
If the two most obstructive core villains disappeared, that would be enough.
And among them, Sukuna...
I had no idea how to get rid of him.
For now, the plan would be to have Itadori eat the fingers and keep him under control.
That part should be manageable, but what would happen to Itadori afterward was another question.
Would prolonged exposure to the cursed objects alter his constitution?
Or would he still be able to die like an ordinary human?
In Jujutsu Kaisen, he ate the fourth through ninth Cursed Womb: Death Painting brothers and became half cursed object.
He had reached a level that almost transcended humanity.
But if it was Sukuna?
If anything, it would probably be worse, not better.
'I'll think about that later.'
I picked up my phone and made a call.
To Gakuganji Yoshinobu, who had newly been appointed to the upper ranks of Jujutsu Headquarters this time.
"Hello."
After the ringtone sounded a few times, Gakuganji answered.
His voice was calm, yet carried a strange sense of relief.
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