In the summer of their second year at Jujutsu High, Gojou Satoru notices something wrong with his best friend. Getou Suguru is absorbing cursed spirits alone, coming back hollowed out and sick, wearing a smile that's thinner every time Satoru sees it. The strongest sorcerer in Japan can see everything through the Six Eyes—except how to put into words what's slipping away between them. In the neon-lit alleys and quiet dorm halls, between shared daifuku and unspoken worries, Satoru keeps reaching
Until the Strongest Choose Each Other Again - Don't bother with me, you laughed — The Twins of Gyousei Village and the Spilling of Their True Feelings
The summer sun blazed white against the floor of the covered walkway.
Ten days had passed since Haibara Yuu died. Since that day, the air at the school had been somehow stagnant. Only the cicadas' cries were sharp, piercing deep into Satoru's ears.
Gojou Satoru sat slumped against the wall in his dorm room, long legs sprawled out, carelessly raking a hand through his silver-white hair. Behind his sunglasses, his blue eyes drifted vaguely along the grain of the ceiling.
(What am I supposed to do?)
The same question circled endlessly in his head.
Since that night he'd greeted dawn outside Suguru's door, Satoru had tried countless times to call out to him. To invite him to eat. To toss some trivial conversation his way between missions. But every time, Suguru's faint smile surfaced in his mind, and the words caught in the back of his throat.
(The closer I get, the further he pulls away.)
He'd felt that sting more times than he could count.
Even so, he couldn't just do nothing. Since Haibara's death, the murk in Suguru's cursed energy had only thickened. He didn't need the Six Eyes to see it—he could feel it on his skin.
Satoru clenched his fist.
"...Right."
He muttered under his breath and stood.
Today, he'd talk to him properly.
Over some cold soba, nice and slow. It was Suguru's favorite. If it could get him to lower his guard even a little, that was enough.
Satoru left his room and stood before the door next to his.
Two knocks.
No answer.
"Hey, Suguru. Let's go eat. My treat—soba."
He kept his tone light. His heart was pounding loud enough to be annoying.
After a moment, the door opened.
"Satoru. What's this all of a sudden?"
Getou Suguru stood there wearing a gentle smile. His long black hair was neatly kept, the black gauge earrings at his ears glinting dully. His narrow eyes were as kind as ever.
But behind that smile was emptiness.
Satoru knew it, and it ached.
"What do you mean, what's this? I'm hungry. Come with me. Let's eat together for once."
Satoru said it deliberately bright.
Suguru tilted his head slightly. Then he lowered his eyes.
"Sorry, Satoru. I don't have much of an appetite today."
"Then just soba's fine. You've gotta eat or it'll catch up with you."
"...I'm really fine, you know."
Suguru's voice was soft to the very end.
But in those words was a definite refusal.
Satoru swallowed hard.
"Hey, Suguru. Have you been eating properly lately? You look pale."
"Do I? I think I'm the same as always."
Suguru touched his own cheek.
The gesture was painful to watch.
"...Hey, Suguru. About Haibara—you need to properly—"
The instant Satoru tried to push forward—
"Satoru. Leave me alone."
Suguru's voice split the air.
Satoru stopped breathing.
What did he just say?
The smile had vanished from Suguru's face. His narrow eyes looked straight at Satoru. There was no usual kindness there, no smile papering things over. Only a quiet rejection.
"...Huh?"
A stupid sound slipped from Satoru's mouth.
"I know you're worried about me. But please—stop."
Suguru spoke flatly.
"Being by your side has been getting harder and harder for me."
Deep in Satoru's chest, something collapsed with a sound.
Hard.
Being by my side.
Satoru lost his words. He had to say something. Something—some usual flippant remark to shatter this air. He thought so, but his throat stuck fast and wouldn't move.
"I'm sorry. But this is how I really feel."
Having said only that, Suguru quietly closed the door.
A small click.
Satoru stood alone before the shut door.
His silver-white hair swayed in the corridor's draft.
The strongest, Gojou Satoru, had been knocked off his feet by a single sentence.
(My being beside him—is hard for him.)
The words echoed in his head.
I wanted to protect Suguru. I wanted to bring back his smile. That's why I stayed close. But that very closeness was tormenting him.
(What have I been doing?)
Satoru clenched his fist. His nails bit into his palm.
The pain pulled reality back.
But that pain felt good to him now.
He felt he could drown the ache in his heart with the ache in his body.
Satoru sank down where he stood.
He folded his long legs and leaned his back against the wall.
"...Damn it."
The murmur dissolved into the quiet corridor.
That night, Suguru departed for Akeboshi Village.
A small mountain village in the northern Kanto region, population around three hundred. He'd been dispatched there alone on a mission before. Back then, too, Satoru had offered to go with him, but the higher-ups had assigned him a separate mission.
This time was the same.
No—this time it was even more blatant.
The mission handed to Suguru was clearly excessive. A case that should have taken several sorcerers had been forced onto him alone. The old men in the upper echelons were trying to crush Suguru.
(Those bastards—they're seriously trying to...)
Satoru watched from the dorm window as Suguru climbed into the assistant supervisor's car.
His long black hair swayed in the night wind. Suguru turned back once, toward the dorm.
But that gaze never reached Satoru.
"I'll be back soon."
He thought he heard Suguru's voice from far away.
Maybe it had been meant for the assistant supervisor.
But to Satoru, it felt like a faint smile aimed at him.
The car vanished into the dark.
The red glow of the taillights shrank and disappeared.
Satoru stepped away from the window.
(This time, I'll give those higher-ups a piece of my mind.)
Determination blazed in his heart.
To protect Suguru, he'd use the Gojou family's power if he had to, and get those missions reduced. He'd make those old men understand Suguru's worth.
Satoru decided to head to the Jujutsu Headquarters Tokyo Branch first thing the next morning.
Third basement floor of a mixed-use building in Chiyoda. The Tokyo branch of the national agency that governed the jujutsu world. Satoru had clashed with the higher-ups here any number of times.
(This time, I won't back down.)
Satoru pushed up his sunglasses.
Jujutsu Headquarters, Tokyo Branch.
A sterile space spread out beneath the mixed-use building. White walls, white floor, the cold light of fluorescent lamps. The air was dry, carrying a faint smell of disinfectant.
Satoru opened the door to the upper echelons' meeting room without knocking.
"Yo, old men. Hard at work this early, huh."
The moment the tall Satoru entered, the room's air snapped taut.
Several old men sat around a long table. All of them turned toward Satoru, brows furrowing.
"Gojou Satoru. We're in the middle of a meeting. This is beyond rude."
A white-haired old man spoke in a low voice.
"Yeah, yeah, my bad. But I can't afford to take my time either. I'll get straight to it. Cut Getou Suguru's missions."
Satoru leaned over the table, pressing his hands to it.
"Reduce Getou Suguru's missions? Don't be absurd. That man is a special-grade sorcerer. Fulfilling his duties as a special grade is only natural."
"Duties? Do you have any idea how many missions you've dumped on Suguru? Too many solo assignments. At this rate, he won't hold up."
"Won't hold up? A special-grade sorcerer wouldn't crumble over something like that. Gojou Satoru, you're too soft on Getou Suguru."
One of the old men snorted.
"Soft, my ass. I'm just stating facts. You're treating Suguru as a threat. That's why you're piling on excessive missions, trying to wear him down."
"Treating him as a threat. Exactly right. Getou Suguru is a risk factor. He harbors hatred for non-sorcerers within him, and with Cursed Spirit Manipulation, there's no telling what he might do. He's too influential to keep at your side."
Satoru's temple twitched at the old man's words.
"Suguru isn't that kind of man. He has more conviction as a sorcerer than anyone. You're the ones treating him as a threat on your own and trying to crush him."
"Conviction? Don't make me laugh. Getou Suguru's conviction is already wavering. You of all people should know that. Or haven't you noticed? And you call yourself the head of the Gojou family."
Satoru was at a loss for words.
He knew.
He knew, painfully well, that Suguru's conviction was wavering.
But to admit it would be to admit Suguru was a risk factor.
"...Anyway, cut his missions. I'll protect Suguru. I'll support him. So you old men back off."
Satoru lowered his voice.
"Gojou Satoru. Don't disrupt the field with your personal feelings."
Another old man spoke coldly.
"Think again about your position as head of the Gojou family. The more you act on Getou Suguru's behalf, the worse his standing within the organization becomes. You should know that too."
Satoru caught his breath.
He knew.
He'd known, and he'd looked away.
I act for Suguru.
That very thing corners Suguru.
My goodwill kills Suguru.
"...It's known throughout the organization that you're acting on Getou Suguru's behalf. Because of that, the higher-ups have their eyes on him, and surveillance has only tightened. You are the one cornering Getou Suguru."
The old man's words pierced Satoru like a blade.
"...I'm the one cornering him."
"That's right. Your goodwill is cornering Getou Suguru. And still you'll act for his sake?"
Satoru clenched his fist.
His fingertips trembled.
"...Even so, I'll protect Suguru. He's my best friend. I won't hand him over to you."
Having said only that, Satoru turned on his heel.
"Then Getou Suguru's missions will only increase from here. Because of you."
The old man's voice stabbed into his back.
Satoru didn't turn around.
But his feet were heavy.
Step by step, with every tread on the floor, the fact that he was cornering Suguru pressed down on him.
(What am I supposed to do?)
No answer came.
Several days later, Suguru returned from Akeboshi Village.
In the dorm corridor, Satoru sensed Suguru's cursed energy.
The Six Eyes reacted on their own.
(...What the hell is this?)
Satoru stopped in his tracks.
Suguru's cursed energy was muddied beyond comparison with before.
A black sediment, like muddy water.
Within it, sharp thorns were mixed in.
Hatred.
A strong hatred for non-sorcerers.
It wasn't the lingering trace of a cursed spirit. It was rawer—human negative emotion. It was eroding Suguru's clear cursed energy from the inside.
(What happened in that village?)
Satoru broke into a run.
He rounded the corridor, raced down the stairs.
At the entrance, Suguru was just taking off his shoes.
"Suguru."
Satoru called his name.
Suguru slowly raised his face.
His long black hair slid from his shoulder.
"Satoru. I'm back."
Suguru smiled.
But that smile was no longer the Suguru of before.
Thin.
Thinner than paper.
And behind it, something cold was flowing.
"...What happened in that village?"
Satoru asked point-blank.
"What happened? I simply carried out my mission. I exorcised every cursed spirit in Akeboshi Village."
"Liar. Your cursed energy is wrong. There's hatred for non-sorcerers mixed in."
Satoru spoke while staring at Suguru's cursed energy through the Six Eyes.
Suguru looked faintly surprised.
Then he gave a soft laugh.
"As expected of the Six Eyes. I suppose I can't hide anything."
Suguru's voice dropped slightly.
"In that village, I took in twin girls who were being abused. They were locked in a cage, barely given food. The villagers knew and looked the other way. No—some of them even took part in the abuse."
Suguru spoke flatly.
But in his voice was a cold ring.
"The twins had cursed energy. The villagers feared it, loathed it. So they abused them. They locked away those weaker than themselves, hurt them, and laughed."
"...They laughed?"
"Yes. They laughed. With a sickening amount of enjoyment."
Suguru's eyes narrowed.
"Satoru. Is there any meaning in protecting non-sorcerers?"
Suguru suddenly posed the question to Satoru.
"...What?"
"We risk our lives exorcising cursed spirits to protect non-sorcerers. Haibara died for that too. But non-sorcerers will happi
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