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 - The Strongest Vow — On a Night Overflowing with Cursed Spirits, I Won't Let You Go
The summer sun had finally begun to tilt.
Orange light slanted through the covered walkway of the technical college. The cicadas were a little quieter now than they'd been in the morning. Even so, the air was still hot, and sweat plastered the collar of his uniform to his skin.
Gojou Satoru stood leaning against the corridor wall. His silver-white hair glowed, translucent in the evening light. Behind his black sunglasses, his blue eyes were fixed on the direction of the dormitory.
(Three days, now.)
Three days had passed since he'd greeted the dawn outside Getou's door that night. Getou was the same as ever—out on missions, back, out again, back again. He barely ate. When they passed each other in the hall, he'd offer a thin smile, say only "Good morning," and turn away.
And every time, something in Gojou's chest twisted tight.
(This can't go on.)
He knew it. He needed something decisive—some move that would turn Getou's heart back toward him. A place where the two of them could be alone, out of the higher-ups' sight. And those words—the ones that bastard couldn't possibly have forgotten—
"...Right."
Gojou murmured it under his breath and pushed off from the wall.
He nudged his sunglasses up.
Today. Today he'd do it.
Second floor of the dormitory. Outside Getou's door.
Gojou drew a deep breath. His heart was absurdly loud. It felt like the morning of his first mission, back when nothing had scared him. Back when, as long as Getou was beside him, he'd felt like he could do anything.
(Still true, isn't it.)
He knocked.
Knock, knock.
No answer.
"Hey, Getou. I know you're in there. Open up."
He pitched his voice deliberately light.
After a moment, the door cracked open.
" Satoru. What's this, all of a sudden?"
Getou Suguru peered out through the gap. His long black hair slid down from his shoulder. The black gauge earrings at his ears caught the corridor light in a dull glint. His narrow eyes were as quiet as ever—but behind them, a deep weariness had settled.
" What do you mean, what's this? You've been holed up in your room way too long. Get some outside air for a change."
" Missions give me plenty of outside air, thank you."
"That's not what I mean. I mean a break. A breather. Come on—you're coming with me."
Gojou wedged his hand into the gap of the door.
" ...Where to?"
Getou's brow furrowed slightly.
" Just shut up and come along. I'm taking you somewhere special."
Gojou grinned.
Getou let his gaze drop, as if hesitating for just a moment. Then, slowly, he opened the door.
" ...All right. But only for a little while."
"That's what I like to hear."
Gojou caught hold of Getou's wrist.
So thin. Far thinner than before.
(Gotta get some proper food into him.)
The thought sat heavy in his chest as he started walking.
The hill behind the college.
From the back of the school building, a narrow, animal-trail of a path wound up into the mountain. Weeds snagged at their ankles, and the smell of earth mingled with the green scent of the trees, reaching deep into his nose.
Gojou pushed on up the path, still holding Getou's wrist.
" Satoru, what's even out here?"
Getou's voice came from behind him.
" You'll see when we get there."
" ...You never change."
Getou gave a small laugh.
At the sound, something in Gojou's chest eased, just a little.
(He laughed.)
A real laugh, just for an instant.
Not the thin smile that had been plastered on him these past few days. A soft voice—like a little of the old Getou had come back.
Gojou quickened his pace.
They threaded between the trees, and suddenly the view opened wide.
Sunset, spread out before them.
A sky blended of orange and red and purple stretched all the way past the distant ridgeline. Below, the college buildings, and beyond them the lights of the town. The wind blew, stirring Gojou's silver-white hair and Getou's long black hair, slowly.
"...This brings back memories."
Getou spoke quietly.
This was the overlook on the hill behind the college.
The place they'd climbed to, late at night, on the day they'd finished their first mission as a pair. The sky had been beautiful that day too, and they'd laughed like idiots, and then—those words—
"Hey, Getou."
Gojou kept his eyes on the sunset as he spoke.
"Right here, we said we were the strongest. Didn't we."
Getou didn't answer.
Only the wind passed between them.
"Let's say it again."
Gojou turned to face him.
He took off his sunglasses. His blue eyes, lit by the setting sun, shone like jewels.
"We are the strongest."
Getou stared at him, motionless.
His black eyes, reflecting the sunset, wavered.
A long silence.
Somewhere far off, the cicadas sang.
The wind rustled through the trees.
Getou's lips moved—just barely.
" ...Yes. We are."
It was a very, very small voice.
But he had said it. Clearly.
From deep in his chest, Gojou felt something warm well up.
(Thank god.)
There was still time.
His heart was still here.
"Right?"
Gojou grinned.
Getou, too, let the corner of his mouth soften—just a little.
The sunset stretched their shadows long across the ground.
But.
Gojou's Six Eyes did not miss it.
Behind Getou's smile, his cursed energy was curdling—dark and foul.
(...What is this.)
Still smiling, Gojou caught his breath inwardly.
Getou's cursed energy had grown even denser over these past few days. A black vortex churned at the center of his body, round and round. Like a bottomless swamp—thicker, darker, deeper.
(This is the limit. That's already—)
Gojou clenched his fist.
The warmth of the sunset suddenly felt cold.
That night.
Gojou lay flat on his back on his bed in the dormitory.
He stared vaguely at the grain of the ceiling.
(Getou smiled today. Just a little.)
(But that cursed energy is bad.)
(How do I save him?)
The same question circled endlessly in his head.
No answer came.
Gojou Satoru, the strongest, could not find a single way to save his one and only best friend.
"...Damn it."
He muttered a quiet curse.
And then it happened.
Throb.
From the room next door, an abnormal pulse of cursed energy came surging through the wall.
"—!"
Gojou shot upright.
His Six Eyes analyzed the cursed energy in the next room at full power.
(It's Getou's room.)
(His cursed energy is going out of control—!)
Gojou tumbled off the bed and burst out of his room.
The corridor was pitch black.
But Gojou's Six Eyes saw it clearly.
From the gap beneath the next door, black cursed energy was leaking out like smoke.
"Getou!"
Gojou grabbed the doorknob.
It wasn't locked.
He flung the door open.
The room was filled with an unnatural air.
A lukewarm, heavy presence of curses.
And—
In the center of the room, Getou sat collapsed on the floor.
His long black hair clung to his face with sweat. His narrow eyes were wide open, unfocused. In his hand, he clutched a pitch-black, spherical mass—a clump of cursed spirits.
"...Ngh, ah..."
A pained sound escaped Getou's lips.
With trembling hands, he was trying to force the mass down his throat.
Cursed Spirit Manipulation. Getou's technique—condensing cursed spirits into spheres and swallowing them to command them at will.
Every spirit he took in became fighting strength. But each one exacted a toll on his mind.
Right now, Getou was trying to force down more cursed spirits than he could bear.
"Stop it, Getou!"
Gojou shouted.
He closed the distance in a single step and seized Getou's wrist with all his strength.
Such a thin wrist. So thin the bones might snap.
" ...Satoru."
Getou slowly lifted his head.
And when Gojou saw his face, the words died in his throat.
It was a wreck, soaked with tears.
That face—the one that had always worn such a gentle smile.
Now it was smeared with tears and sweat and the residue of curses, ruined.
" Satoru... will you stop me?"
Getou's voice was frail, trembling.
" I can't stop myself anymore. The curses keep overflowing from inside me. It hurts, it hurts so much... if I don't swallow this, I feel like I'll break apart."
Large tears spilled from Getou's eyes, one after another.
" But every time I swallow one, I stop being me. My heart keeps turning black. At this rate, I won't be able to stay by your side anymore."
"So please. Stop me."
The clump of cursed spirits fell from Getou's hand to the floor.
The pitch-black mass warped, slumped, and vanished.
Gojou stood frozen, still gripping Getou's wrist.
(You want me to stop you.)
(You want me to stop you.)
Deep in Gojou's chest, something burst with a sound.
Not anger. Not sorrow.
Something deeper. Something hot.
"...Of course I will."
Gojou said it.
His voice was shaking.
"Of course I will. Obviously. I'll stop you. I'll protect you. If you ever start to lose yourself, I'll grab your hand—as many times as it takes."
Gojou pulled Getou into his arms with all his strength.
That wasted, thin body.
Bones pressing against him.
But warm.
Getou was still here.
"I'm never letting go. Never."
Gojou whispered it against Getou's ear.
"I won't leave you alone. The strongest is telling you this. Believe it."
Getou's body trembled faintly in Gojou's arms.
Then, slowly, Getou's hands came around Gojou's back.
" ...Satoru."
Getou began to cry, stifling the sound.
Clinging to him like a child, sobbing.
Gojou stroked his back, slowly.
(It's all right.)
(I'm here.)
(So don't carry it all alone anymore.)
His Six Eyes caught it—Getou's rampaging cursed energy gradually settling.
The black vortex quieted, little by little.
In its place, the cursed energy of Gojou's Limitless technique filled the room, quietly, as if wrapping them both.
(Is my cursed energy calming his?)
Gojou dimly realized that his own cursed energy was suppressing Getou's outburst.
Limitless. The technique passed down through the Gojou family, commanding the infinite.
And that infinite power now cradled Getou's heart, gently.
"...It's all right, Getou. I'll be right here."
Gojou whispered it again.
Getou's tears soaked slowly into his chest.
How long had they stayed like that?
Getou's sobs grew quieter and quieter, until at last they turned into the soft rhythm of sleeping breath.
Gojou lifted Getou's body gently.
Light.
So terribly light.
(Like this, a gust of wind would blow him away.)
Gojou smiled wryly to himself.
He laid Getou on the bed.
He brushed the sweat-plastered black hair gently away from his face.
His sleeping face still looked a little pained.
But far more peaceful than before.
"...Good night, Getou."
Gojou whispered softly.
Outside the window, the moon shone pale blue.
A summer night.
The cicadas could no longer be heard.
Dawn.
Outside the window, the sky was beginning to pale.
Gojou sat beside the bed, watching Getou sleep.
He hadn't slept a wink.
And yet, strangely, he wasn't sleepy.
(I wish the morning would never come.)
That was what he thought.
When morning came, Getou would go out on missions again.
By order of the higher-ups—exorcise curses, swallow curses, and wear his heart down again.
(This can't go on.)
(I have to do something.)
Gojou clenched his fist.
His nails bit into his palm.
The pain sharpened his mind.
(I'll appeal directly to the higher-ups.)
(Getou is under my charge. Take him off missions for a while. I'll bring his heart back.)
(And if they won't allow it—)
Gojou took off his sunglasses.
His blue eyes, lit by the morning sun, shone cold.
(I'll give up my seat as head of the Gojou family.)
Gojou Satoru, the strongest.
Head of the Gojou family.
Special-grade sorcerer.
He was prepared to throw away every one of those titles.
(I'll protect Getou. For that, I'll throw away anything.)
Quietly, Gojou resolved it.
And then it happened.
Bzzz—his phone vibrated in his pocket.
Gojou took it out.
When he saw the caller displayed on the screen, all expression drained from his face.
"Jujutsu Headquarters — Higher-Ups"
(...Tch.)
Gojou clicked his ton
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