"So... what exactly is Tokyo Jujutsu High?"
Nanami stopped walking.
He turned his head and gave Akira a look that said more than words could.
A second ago the kid had sounded like he actually knew what he was talking about, and now the whole tone had changed out of nowhere.
On purpose?
Akira met his gaze and gave him a quick, sheepish grin.
Yeah.
Definitely on purpose.
Nanami pressed a hand to his forehead and took a slow breath. He trusted Gojo Satoru's strength completely, but that did not mean he had even the slightest respect for the man as a person.
"Nanami-san, don't be so serious," Akira said with a wave of his hand. "I can mostly figure it out. Cursed spirits are monsters born from human negative emotions, and jujutsu sorcerers are the people who use cursed energy to deal with them, right? The rest is probably the usual academy setup, some school dedicated to training people like that?"
Nanami looked a little surprised.
He was silent for two seconds.
"...Your instincts are good."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"They don't contradict each other," Nanami said. "The more you notice, the more you know when to run. But the more you notice, the easier it becomes to see things you should never have seen."
Akira thought about that, then nodded.
"That makes sense."
Nanami looked at him and suddenly realized something else.
That line just now, Don't be so serious...
Had the kid been trying to ease his mood?
A grown man, and a teenager had already read him that clearly.
Nanami smiled despite himself.
"Since you already understand the basics, I'll leave it there. Someone from the school will contact you later about enrollment. In a few days you'll transfer and begin at Tokyo Jujutsu High."
"Wait." Akira stopped him. "How long does enrollment take? Do I need to prepare anything? Is there an entrance exam? What happens if I fail?"
Nanami turned back and looked at him.
"...You ask a lot of questions."
"It's my first time dealing with any of this. Asking a few extra seems normal."
Nanami considered that.
Fair enough.
"About a week. You don't need to prepare anything. Someone will help handle the paperwork. There is an entrance exam, but for someone like you, it probably won't be a problem."
"What does it test?"
"Resolve."
Akira blinked. "How do you even test that?"
Nanami did not answer. He just turned and kept walking.
After a few more steps, without looking back, he said, "By the time you understand, the test will already be over."
Akira stayed where he was, watching Nanami's back disappear around the corner.
...
Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Nanami stood in front of the principal's desk.
"...He's a kid with a decent heart."
"Hmm."
Yaga Masamichi fell silent for a moment.
"And his technique?"
Yaga leaned back in his chair, tapping a finger lightly on the desk.
That was the kind of thing words could not really explain.
It had to prove itself.
Nanami remembered the look in the boy's eyes.
There really had been fire there.
He did not say that part out loud. He simply gave a small nod.
"Then I'll be going. Take care, Principal."
He turned toward the door.
Nanami closed his eyes for a second.
Gojo Satoru.
"Long time no see! What brings you back to campus all of a sudden?" Gojo swooped in, voice overflowing with enthusiasm. "And you didn't even come looking for me. I'm honestly hurt."
Nanami answered in a flat tone, like he was reading from a textbook. "Gojo-san, my business is finished. I'll be leaving now."
He tried to go.
The hand on his shoulder did not move.
"Don't be like that." Gojo threw an arm around him and steered him farther inside. "You're already here, so talk to me. I heard you found a new student?"
Nanami said nothing.
"What's the deal? Boy or girl? How old? What's the technique? How much cursed energy? What kind of personality?"
Yaga finally cut in, looking mildly annoyed. "Gojo, don't you have a new student on your side too?"
"I do!" Gojo brightened instantly. Even with the blindfold on, everyone in the room could feel it. "Perfect timing. I found one too. Might even have special-grade potential."
Nanami's eye twitched.
"So what about yours?" Gojo leaned in again. "What's the story?"
"Awakened in the wild. Ran into a cursed spirit two weeks ago. Turned it around and killed it."
Gojo let out a low whistle.
"Interesting. More and more sorcerers are showing up out of nowhere these days. Right, what's his name?"
"Hayashi Akira."
"Hayashi Akira..." Gojo repeated it once, then nodded. "Got it. I'll check him out later."
Nanami stared at him for two seconds.
Then he turned and walked away.
Behind him, Gojo called out, "Nanami, give the kid my regards!"
Nanami did not slow down.
In fact, he walked even faster.
Yaga watched the whole thing and shook his head.
"Couldn't you be quiet for once?"
"Nope." Gojo dropped onto the couch and crossed one leg over the other. "Too boring."
He looked out the window, a smile still lingering at the corner of his mouth.
But the light in his eyes had sharpened.
Then he glanced toward the empty air nearby.
Empty, to him.
But in Akira's eyes, someone was standing there.
At some point, Yuji had pulled his hood up.
Since Nanami appeared, he had said nothing. He had watched in silence, listened in silence, and stood half a step behind Akira the whole time.
That stretch of life had become part of him now.
It could not be cut away.
It could not be separated.
And now, after decades, he had seen again someone who should have been gone forever.
"You alright?" Akira asked.
A long silence.
Then Yuji spoke, very softly.
"He's still the same."
"...Yeah?"
Akira did not know what he was supposed to say.
Yuji continued, "When he died, I was right there. I couldn't save him. Couldn't stop it. I couldn't do anything in time. He just fell... and told me, 'I'm leaving the rest to you, Itadori.'"
His voice stayed even.
"Yuji..."
"I'm fine." Yuji cut him off. Under the hood, his expression could not be seen. "I just didn't think I'd ever get to see him again."
Akira was quiet for a while.
"You'll see him a lot more after this."
Yuji did not respond.
He only kept looking in the direction Nanami had left.
For a long time.
Then he gave a faint nod.
"Yeah."
Akira glanced at him.
Best to let him have the silence.
So Akira smiled and kept walking home.
Then he stopped.
Wait.
What was he going to eat for lunch?
He turned and looked at Yuji.
"...I'm a Heroic Spirit."
"So?"
"So I don't need to eat."
"Can you?"
Yuji thought it over.
"...Probably. But it'd be a waste."
Akira nodded. "Got it. You can eat, you just don't need to. Fine. I'll eat alone."
He kept walking.
After two steps, he turned back again.
Actually...
He pulled out his phone, opened the map, and started searching for food nearby.
Half a step behind him, the hooded figure followed in silence.
Every now and then, Akira thought he could hear a very soft sound from behind him -
A laugh.