April 1st. The first day of school for the new students.
Early in the morning, Yaga Masamichi drove out to pick up Zen'in Naoya.
At 6:00 AM, Asou Akiya did not accompany their homeroom teacher. Instead, he prepared the welcome activities together with his classmates.
The welcome activities were to be held in the new students' classroom.
Air pumps, balloons, colorful paper flowers, chalkboard drawings, ribbon cannons, party top hats—nothing was missing.
Having experience with doodling out of boredom during class, Asou Akiya's chalkboard drawings were absolutely top-tier. He sketched out three chibi-style versions of the juniors, but he did not take on the entire chalkboard drawing by himself. Instead, he delegated the text portion to Gojo Satoru.
Never mind that Gojo Satoru never paid attention in class—he was still born into a feudal clan, so his handwriting was perfectly fine.
The chalk characters written by Gojo Satoru's hand resembled brush calligraphy, with precisely controlled strength and perfect alignment in all directions. In the upper left corner, he even drew a "Super" character to express his delight at the welcome activities.
Getou Suguru stood on a stool, hanging ribbons and colorful paper flowers along the top of the chalkboard.
Ieiri Shoko inflated balloons. While pumping air into them, she said, "There's something I've been wanting to ask. Don't you all find it strange? At some point, two things appeared in every classroom this year..."
Asou Akiya's gaze drifted upward. "Are you referring to the two plaques in the classrooms?"
Ieiri Shoko: "Yes."
Getou Suguru happened to be standing right beside the plaques. He read aloud: "Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one."
Ieiri Shoko: "That was part of last year's exam content."
Getou Suguru said suspiciously, "I thought it was Akiya's handiwork, constantly reminding us not to forget the exam material."
Asou Akiya cleared his name of this false accusation: "No, it wasn't me. I'm skilled with fountain pens and chalk, but I'm not good with brush calligraphy. I didn't hang those two plaques above the blackboard, nor did I write their content."
Asou Akiya let the facts speak for themselves: "Please look down at Satoru's handwriting and compare."
Getou Suguru read out what Gojo Satoru had written: "Super! New Student Welcome Party!"
The chalk characters were lively and playful, showing traces of calligraphy study, but they lacked the imposing momentum of the brush characters on the plaques.
Gojo Satoru, who had shown off his skills just a little, gave them a brilliantly bright smile.
"I wrote them all!"
"Don't you think what Shakyamuni said is super cool?"
Getou Suguru and Ieiri Shoko's inner voices thundered in unison: [The culprit has been found!]
Because he thought it was super cool, he went home and wrote it out with a brush himself, then decorated it to look like antique plaques by famous calligraphers and hung them in every single classroom of the teaching building—only Gojo Satoru was capable of such a thing.
Getou Suguru moved the desks aside and placed chairs in the center of the classroom.
Asou Akiya counted the number of chairs—seven in total—and couldn't help but glare at Getou Suguru. "Getou, we need eight empty seats in the classroom. Don't forget that Teacher Yaga also needs a seat."
Getou Suguru laughed sheepishly. "I forgot, I forgot."
Ieiri Shoko walked toward the back of the classroom, thirsty, and rummaged through the shopping bags. "Who brought water?"
Asou Akiya ran over to help. "I bought mineral water, Getou bought sparkling water, and Satoru bought cola. Shoko, did you not have breakfast? I also made a few sandwiches here, just in case anyone gets hungry."
Ieiri Shoko gave Asou Akiya a thumbs-up and began eating breakfast on the spot.
At 7:40 AM, when Nanami Kento and Haibara Yu left their dormitories and met up, they were surprised to find that they did not hear any noise from their seniors.
They assumed that the two grades had different class schedules.
"Zen'in." Haibara Yu ran to the door of the dormitory next to Nanami Kento's, brimming with excitement. "This is our classmate, right? Someone from the Three Great Clans. I'm so excited. I'll get to meet him in person today."
Nanami Kento, having finished styling his hair, said coolly, "As long as he's not as erratic as Gojo-senpai."
After listening to Asou-senpai's explanation, Nanami Kento had gained a preliminary understanding of the people from the Three Great Clans, and his tolerance for them had improved.
The Three Great Clans—three sorcerer families that had been exorcising cursed spirits and maintaining public order for a thousand years.
The people of the Three Great Clans did not need to enroll in schools outside their clans. They received clan-based education. Those who were willing to enroll in outside schools were rare individuals, indicating that they were willing to abandon their privileged family lives and join the jujutsu sorcerer system of Tokyo Jujutsu High. However, these people had been disconnected from normal society for so long that they did not understand the affairs of ordinary people, and it would take some time for them to integrate into the school.
Nanami Kento thought to himself: [Asou-senpai said that Gojo-senpai's personality is a special case.]
The circumstances of Gojo Satoru being targeted for assassination from the moment he was born were something Nanami Kento could not imagine and felt no real sense of. But once he accepted this background setting, he developed an additional perspective on Gojo Satoru: [That's a bit tragic. It's understandable that his personality is strange.]
No one in this world could resist the appeal of beauty, strength, and tragedy. Nanami Kento's eyes had been overlaid with a filter by Asou Akiya.
Haibara Yu was full of energy. "It's the first day of school. We're going to spend it with enthusiasm!"
The two of them left the boys' dormitory together.
At 8:00 AM, at the gates of Tokyo Jujutsu High, Zen'in Naoya stepped out of the car. No one held an umbrella for him, and the lawn at the entrance was somewhat unsightly. He frowned slightly, yet maintained a relaxed and cheerful expression a relaxed and cheerful expression on his handsome face, doing his best to adapt to days without servants following his every move. Dressed in a tailored black school uniform, he walked with a reserved stride, following behind Yaga Masamichi as they entered the school.
Yaga Masamichi sent a message to Asou Akiya.
[Yaga Masamichi: The last new student has arrived. Make your preparations.]
Three seconds later.
[Asou Akiya: Understood.]
The classroom was already filled with a lively and joyful atmosphere. Haibara Yu was full of pleasant surprises, Nanami Kento wore a helpless expression, and Gojo Satoru had completely forgotten his unpleasantness toward the juniors from days ago, chasing after them to put party top hats on their heads.
Haibara Yu's contribution to this was undeniable—he was exceptionally good at playing along and keeping the energy up.
Almost the instant he received the teacher's message, the corners of Asou Akiya's mouth curved upward, spreading into a smile carrying subtle, complex emotions.
There was nothing he could do about it.
Zen'in Naoya was coming. The final missing piece of the puzzle was about to be placed.
His game of chess against Kenjaku was about to begin.
Getou Suguru poked Asou Akiya's arm, saying perceptively, "What are you thinking about? That smile of yours is terrifying."
Asou Akiya replied innocently, "Nothing at all."
He then smoothed over the telltale crack in his expression with his hand, returning to a calm demeanor.
Getou Suguru spoke with malicious intent once more, "Today is a day for celebrating the new students' first day of school. You being this calm is even stranger."
Asou Akiya accepted the criticism with good grace, a gentle yet troubled expression appearing on his face.
"Getou, could you look at Satoru more and pay less attention to me?"
He did not need such high levels of attention.
"That doesn't sound like something at your level." Getou Suguru, having grabbed hold of Asou Akiya's weak point, was unwilling to let go easily. He leaned in close and whispered, "Of course I treat everyone equally. But have you made your own preparations to do the same?"
[Could it be...]
Asou Akiya's heart stirred. He was about to speak when, suddenly, Getou Suguru dodged aside, leaving him to take a face full of confetti from a ribbon cannon.
Gojo Satoru had only succeeded in ambushing one person, yet he laughed without a trace of guilt.
"Hahaha—"
The two juniors, seeing Asou-senpai covered head to toe in ribbons, couldn't help but laugh. It seemed the juniors weren't the only ones who got teased around here.
Asou Akiya calmly peeled the ribbons off his face and said, "Satoru, your fan is about to arrive."
Gojo Satoru's laughter immediately died. His Six Eyes unwillingly caught sight of the Zen'in Clan's little rotten orange.
Haibara Yu: "A fan?"
Nanami Kento: "There's a fan of Gojo-senpai at Tokyo Jujutsu High?"
Asou Akiya's smile deepened. "That's right. Let us welcome Satoru's devoted fan—your classmate Zen'in!"
Asou Akiya, whose cursed energy perception had grown increasingly formidable, only let his guard down around Gojo Satoru, Getou Suguru, and Ieiri Shoko. When the unfamiliar cursed energy of Zen'in Naoya drew near, he detected it with speed second only to Gojo Satoru himself.
Yaga Masamichi pushed open the classroom door, took one look at the atmosphere inside, and stepped aside to let the first person enter.
Zen'in Naoya stepped inside.
Seeing his classmates and seniors in the classroom, a single thought flashed through Zen'in Naoya's mind: Wonderful. No ugly people.
In a short span of time, he assigned a beauty score to each person present.
From highest to lowest, the top spot went to the white-haired youth (Gojo Satoru)—full marks for looks, minus five points for physique. The bottom rung went to the brown-haired youth (Haibara Yu)—seventy points for looks, with deductions for eyes that were too large and an insufficiently refined aura.
Haibara Yu: "Wow, a new classmate!" After Asou-senpai and Getou-senpai, here came yet another black-haired youth.
Nanami Kento thought to himself: "His total cursed energy is stronger than ours." Were all the people from the Three Great Clans this powerful?
The moment Zen'in Naoya appeared, he drew away everyone's attention in the room.
Among the seven jujutsu sorcerer students present, Zen'in Naoya's total cursed energy ranked third. He was a full tier below Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru, yet a full tier above Asou Akiya as well—truly worthy of the Zen'in Clan's genius reputation.
"Satoru-kun, we meet again."
The Zen'in young master, with his upturned eyes, always kept his attention fixed on the strongest. Without a moment's hesitation, his gaze locked onto Gojo Satoru.
"Still as pathetically weak as ever."
Gojo Satoru offered a "friendly" response that made Zen'in Naoya's heart seize with frustration.
"There aren't many people qualified to claim they can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Satoru-kun, are there..." Zen'in Naoya's ability to regulate himself was exceptionally strong. On the bright side, Gojo Satoru had noticed his strength level.
"Nah, Suguru is super strong." Gojo Satoru pulled Getou Suguru over to prove the quality of his judgment.
"The Cursed Spirit Manipulator?" Zen'in Naoya inquired politely.
"Yes." Getou Suguru did not strike a smiling face, and his impression of Zen'in Naoya rose by several degrees.
"Congratulations. I heard you're about to be promoted to Special Grade." Zen'in Naoya revealed insider information. The fact that Getou Suguru had been frantically taking on missions in recent days had reached the ears of all Three Great Clans—the difference being that the Gojo Clan had not dared to tell Gojo Satoru.
"...What?" Gojo Satoru was completely stunned.
Gojo Satoru's gaze pierced through his sunglasses like sharp arrows, pinning themselves onto his greatest rival.
"Thank you." Getou Suguru deliberately avoided looking at Gojo Satoru's shocked expression.
"A Special Grade sorcerer?" Haibara Yu cried out in surprise. His senior was about to be promoted to Special Grade.
"Getou-senpai, the second Special Grade sorcerer of the modern era?" Nanami Kento gained a new understanding of the jujutsu world.
The next moment, Gojo Satoru chased after Getou Suguru, who ran in circles around the chairs. A fresh round of laughter filled the classroom, and Zen'in Naoya's presence was completely drowned out by the news of the "Special Grade sorcerer."
Only Ieiri Shoko noticed Asou Akiya quietly slipping out of the classroom to meet Teacher Yaga outside.
"Tch." Ieiri Shoko withdrew her gaze and turned to watch the new student welcome party that had descended into chaos.
Outside the classroom, Asou Akiya asked Yaga Masamichi, "Teacher, has Suguru's certification come through?"
Yaga Masamichi: "Soon. The Headquarters is processing the paperwork."
Asou Akiya: "He really went all out..."
Asou Akiya suddenly realized that he was not the only one pushing himself to the limit. When true geniuses went all out, that was when the real rat race began.
In the race to become a Special Grade sorcerer, Getou Suguru had managed to outcompete Gojo Satoru once through sheer effort.
Well, that was something worth commemorating for the rest of Getou Suguru's life.
"Teacher?" Asou Akiya noticed that Yaga Masamichi had placed his hand on top of his head.
"This is a world for you upperclassmen and new students. Why did you come out here?" Yaga Masamichi mistakenly assumed that Asou Akiya's mental state was unbalanced, adopting the posture of a teacher having a heart-to-heart conversation with his student.
"Ah, you're asking about this..." Asou Akiya allowed the other party to pat his head.
Asou Akiya appeared bashful, yet the words he spoke carried a deeper meaning.
"The first time I met Junior Zen'in, I realized that as a senior, I have yet to earn his recognition."
In Zen'in Naoya's eyes, there existed only the strong.
A male sorcerer without an innate technique, at best a Grade Two, would at most avoid being treated with contempt by Zen'in Naoya.
"But that's all right."
Being treated as air was precisely the result Asou Akiya desired.
"I will have my opportunity to change all of this."
Ignore me all you wish, be as arrogant as you please about your family background and strength. Asou Akiya did not like Zen'in Naoya, nor did he need Junior Zen'in's attention. Once the Star Plasma Vessel mission began, the Zen'in Clan's "love at first sight" trope would remain timeless no matter how many years passed.
Those who heard him inside the classroom did not react much, but Yaga Masamichi outside the classroom shuddered.
Yaga Masamichi saw the coldness on Asou Akiya's face.
To be perfectly honest, Yaga Masamichi hoped that Zen'in Naoya would apologize... After all, admitting defeat now would be far better than the endless string of misfortunes that would follow later.
Tokyo Jujutsu High was a place where even Gojo Satoru could be subjected to school bullying!
...
Star Plasma Vessel Mission Countdown: 12 days.