"Well then. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
Geto Suguru waved to Mirai, who was lounging in the red supercar.
"Shoko. See you again someday."
Geto smiled at his old friend—a sad, final smile—and stepped into the surging crowd without hesitation. He didn't look back.
Shoko watched him disappear, her expression dimming.
"Miss Shoko," Mirai's voice cut through her gloom. "Are you waiting for your other friend, or are you preparing to return to Jujutsu High?"
Shoko gave Mirai a meaningful look. "Just get the message through to Satoru. I don't want to wait for that idiot in the sun anymore."
"What? Are you planning to take me home?"
Mirai smiled. "I'd be more than happy to."
The driver immediately got out and opened the back door for her.
...
The Drive Back.
The convertible top was down. The summer breeze blew through Shoko's hair as they drove through Tokyo.
She brushed a strand behind her ear and looked at the back of Mirai's head.
"Does the Zenin Clan Head always have such a... flamboyant personality?" she asked.
"It's practical," Mirai replied without turning around. His voice was clear despite the wind. "A convertible makes it easier to use Cursed Techniques without wrecking the roof."
"Besides, even if ordinary humans can't see the Cursed Spirit tail, they'd definitely freak out if a giant hole suddenly appeared in my car."
Shoko nodded slightly. "So... was today's meeting really a chance encounter?"
Mirai smiled. "No."
"I sent people to follow you from the moment you left Jujutsu High."
"Oh?" Shoko raised an eyebrow. She had suspected it, but she didn't expect him to be so candid.
"I didn't feel it," she admitted. "And the Auxiliary Managers should have checked for residuals."
"It's normal that you didn't sense it," Mirai chuckled. "The people tracking you weren't sorcerers. They were ordinary humans on my payroll."
"It seems Jujutsu High hasn't learned its lesson," Mirai continued. "You still judge threats solely by Cursed Energy."
Shoko's face hardened. "Indeed."
"The Star Plasma Vessel. Toji Fushiguro. And now this."
"The leadership hasn't changed at all. They still think non-sorcerers are harmless."
Shoko didn't seem angry about being followed. She was too tired for anger.
"So what is your purpose?" she asked bluntly.
"Did you follow me just to find Suguru? To deal with the rats targeting you? Or... do you really intend to cooperate with him?"
Shoko analyzed the situation.
The Trap: Mirai used himself as bait to lure out the assassins.
The Show of Force: He used an unknown, Special Grade entity to crush them instantly.
The Message: He showed Geto that he has power and shares a similar disdain for the current order.
This boy was dangerous. Far more dangerous than his age suggested.
"Don't worry," Mirai said, sensing her wariness. "I don't share Suguru's desire to kill all non-sorcerers."
This was the truth.
Non-sorcerers produce negative emotions. Negative emotions create Cursed Spirits. Cursed Spirits feed the Gedo Mazo.
To Mirai, killing all humans would be destroying his farm.
"No?" Shoko asked. "Then why propose cooperation?"
"Cooperation doesn't mean we agree on everything," Mirai said softly. "We just have a common enemy. The stagnation of the Jujutsu world."
Shoko narrowed her eyes. She stopped asking questions. She knew he wouldn't give her a straight answer anymore.
...
Shinjuku. Sunset.
The sky burned with a mesmerizing orange-red hue.
Whoosh!
Gojo Satoru, panting heavily, skidded to a halt on the busy street. He hadn't mastered long-distance teleportation yet, so he had run all the way from the school.
He scanned the crowd with his Six Eyes.
"Suguru!"
Ten meters away, walking against the flow of people, Geto paused.
"Shoko told you, didn't she?"
Geto's voice, amplified by a sliver of Cursed Energy, cut through the noise of the crowd.
Gojo ripped off his sunglasses. His blue eyes were wide with shock and betrayal.
"Kill all non-sorcerers?!" he shouted. "Including your own parents?!"
Geto didn't turn around. He kept his hands in his pockets.
"Even if they are parents... I can't make exceptions. I have chosen my side."
"Create a world of only sorcerers?! That's impossible!!"
Gojo waved his arms, roaring over the crowd. Passersby stared at him, but he didn't care.
"Suguru! You used to say the strong exist to protect the weak! Why?!"
"Impossible?"
Geto finally turned around. He looked Gojo in the eye.
"If it were you... you could do it, couldn't you?"
"Satoru... you are the Strongest. If you wanted to kill every non-sorcerer in Japan, you could do it in a week."
"Just because you can do it easily... does that mean I shouldn't try?"
Geto's eyes were cold. "You really are arrogant."
"I have decided on my path. I will do my best to realize what you consider a foolish ideal."
Geto turned to leave, then paused.
"By the way," he added softly. "The Zenin Clan Head showed up today."
"An eleven-year-old boy. And even he seems to understand me better than you do."
With a sigh, Geto walked into the crowd, leaving only a lonely, receding back.
Gojo stood there. His fists clenched so tight his bones cracked. He raised a hand to fire Blue. To stop him. To kill him.
But he couldn't do it.
He lowered his hand.
...
Jujutsu High. The Front Gate.
The red supercar pulled up to the entrance.
"Miss Shoko. It seems we've arrived."
Shoko opened the door. She looked back at the boy in the passenger seat.
"Goodbye," she said tiredly. "If fate allows."
She walked toward the school, her shoulders slumped.
Mirai watched her go.
"Don't worry," he murmured to himself. "We'll see each other again soon. Very soon."
"Perhaps next time, our relationship will take a step forward."
The driver glanced sideways but wisely kept his mouth shut.
"Let's go," Mirai ordered. "Back to the mansion. I have a new bounty to manage."
....
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