"No problem. He's safe now!"
Satoru Gojo held the child who had just been pulled out of danger in his arms and waved casually at the surrounding crowd, looking completely relaxed.
The onlookers had been full of worry just moments ago. Seeing that the child was unharmed, they immediately burst into cheers.
No one expected this strangely dressed white-haired young man to be so capable.
"Thank you so much!"
A figure squeezed out of the crowd and rushed over to Gojo, bowing again and again in gratitude.
"Mom!"
Hearing the child call out, Gojo handed him over.
"It was nothing."
Gojo waved it off lightly.
Amid the mother's repeated thanks and the approving looks from the crowd, Gojo led the still-dazed Subaru Natsuki away from the scene.
After they had walked a fair distance, Subaru was still staring at his own palm, the disappointment on his face impossible to hide.
"What's wrong, Subaru? You don't look too great."
"Don't tell me you're sulking because your magic didn't activate earlier, and I stole the spotlight?"
Gojo leaned forward slightly, smiling as he spoke from the side.
That comment hit like a knife.
"Huh?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Who would care about something like that, something like that, something like that…"
Subaru tried to put on a brave face and force out an excuse.
But when he saw Gojo's amused, teasing gaze and remembered how effortlessly cool he had looked earlier, he could not keep it up.
"Ahhh!"
Subaru grabbed his head and bent forward in a deep ninety-degree bow without hesitation.
"Please. Teach me."
"Huh?"
"Wasn't someone just saying they didn't care?"
"I'm sorry! Something must've possessed me earlier. That's the only reason I said something like that."
"Possession? Well, exorcism happens to be one of my specialties."
"That topic shift is way too stiff, Gojo-san. Please, teach me!"
Subaru looked up at him with eyes full of desperate hope.
"Well, let's talk while we walk."
Gojo shrugged.
"Gojo, did you just awaken your powers recently?"
"Nope. I've been training since I was a kid."
"What?"
"Then why didn't you tell me you had superpowers when you were asking me earlier?"
"You didn't ask."
Gojo spread his hands, looking completely innocent.
That expression somehow made him even more punchable.
Subaru's mouth twitched. "Wait, you said you've been training since you were a kid. Does that mean you're like some kind of superhero hiding in the city?"
"Or maybe a ninja from a secret family lineage or something…"
"Close enough. Strictly speaking, I'm a Jujutsu Sorcerer."
Gojo raised a finger, his expression turning a bit more serious.
"A Jujutsu Sorcerer?"
"Kind of like an exorcist. We deal with evil spirits and things normal people can't see."
"Whoa, that already sounds amazing. I can't believe stuff like evil spirits actually existed where I lived…"
Subaru spoke excitedly. Between being transported to another world and Gojo's abilities, everything today had shown him a completely different reality.
"I get it now why you said you're the protagonist."
"Compared to someone like me who can't do anything, a background extra, you really do need actual abilities."
After the excitement faded, Subaru had to face a harsh truth.
As things stood, Gojo had arrived in this world with his abilities intact. Subaru had gained nothing from the transition at all.
If nothing special happened, it felt like he might stay an ordinary person forever.
Thinking about it that way…
After finally getting transported to another world, ending up like this was honestly depressing.
Gojo watched Subaru bounce between excitement and gloom and could easily guess what he was thinking.
"Oh right, Gojo."
"What exactly is your ability?"
"Is it like summoning shikigami from legends, or using talismans or something?"
"Neither."
Gojo raised his finger and shook it.
"Simply put, it's a power called a Cursed Technique."
"That sounds pretty strong."
"Can you show me?"
"Sure. Let's find somewhere with no people."
With that, the two of them turned into a small alley off the street.
"It's actually pretty simple. Just think of it in terms of attraction or repulsion."
In the empty alley, Gojo spoke as he extended his hand.
There were no flashy movements or glowing effects. Stones on the ground were pulled as if by an invisible force and flew into his palm.
"So this is how you saved that kid earlier?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Then… can I learn it too?"
Subaru stared at Gojo with bright eyes, anticipation written all over his face.
"Well…"
"That's hard to say."
Gojo tilted his head with a smile.
"It depends on whether you have the aptitude."
"Some people are born tall with great proportions and are perfect for modeling. Others are born short and simply don't have that option."
The explanation was simple enough. Subaru nodded in understanding.
"Then do you think I have that aptitude? I mean, I'm your partner. I should be at least a little special, right?"
Gojo rubbed his chin.
Taking the protagonist as a student?
He still did not know whether Subaru could learn jujutsu, but if he could, it might be pretty interesting.
"Well, I'll need to confirm that fir—"
Before he could finish, footsteps echoed from the other end of the alley.
Three figures slowly approached, cutting their conversation short.
"Hey. If you don't want to die, hand over everything valuable you've got."
Subaru looked at the newcomers with a strange expression.
The three of them were… distinctive, to say the least.
The one in the middle, who was doing the threatening, was a lean young man around Subaru's height. He had silver-gray hair and wore thin, shabby clothes.
His features were fairly neat, but his face was pierced with a lip ring and a tongue stud.
As he spoke, he deliberately stuck out his tongue, giving off a gloomy, unsettling vibe.
On his left was a massive brute, nearly as tall as Gojo, probably close to six feet or more.
On the far right was a short man.