Note: I forgot to upload this chapter yesterday. My bad ya'll. You will still get new chapters later.
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April 2nd, 7:30 AM.
In the girls' dormitory, Ieiri Shoko was brushing her teeth, her eyes still heavy with sleep, when the phone on the counter vibrated once.
She mumbled around her toothbrush: "At this hour... is there a new message in the class group chat?"
[Tokyo Jujutsu High Melon-Eating Duo]
[Asou Akiya: Shoko, I'm sorry to trouble you, but please keep your distance from Zen'in Naoya for the time being.]
She finished washing up, brought her phone to her bedside, sat down, and pulled on a pair of safety shorts under her JK skirt.
After confirming that her uniform was worn properly, she replied to her male classmate and half-best-friend.
[Ieiri Shoko: Is it the Zen'in kouhai I met before?]
[Asou Akiya: Yes.]
[Ieiri Shoko: Has he set his sights on me?]
[Asou Akiya: This guy is a feudal young master from the Three Great Clans. It's only a matter of time before he incurs everyone's wrath.]
[Ieiri Shoko: ...What is the point of his enrollment, then?]
[Asou Akiya: He is merely a negative example, serving to highlight how Gojo rose above the mud without being stained by it.]
Ieiri Shoko: "..."
She silently recalled the Gojo Satoru who had just enrolled—a thoroughly arrogant and domineering white-haired young master.
After experiencing school ostracism, cold violence, and collective teasing by his classmates, he had now evolved into a male classmate who had cast off his feudal airs. He occasionally acted unhinged, but it was understandable. After all, he was the "homeschooled Six Eyes" in Akiya's words.
The homeschooled Six Eyes. Pfft.
Ieiri Shoko smiled every time she thought of that nickname.
[Ieiri Shoko: I'll make sure to take a detour. If I get cornered, I'll come find you guys for help.]
[Asou Akiya: OK. Whatever you do, don't suffer in silence. I'd feel guilty.]
In the boys' dormitory, after finishing his conversation with Ieiri Shoko, Asou Akiya picked up breakfast and went to find Gojo Satoru. He knocked three times in succession but received no response. He had no choice but to pull out his key with one hand and unlock the door. Upon entering, he discovered that Gojo Satoru was suffering from spring drowsiness and had once again refused to get out of bed.
"What about your image? Are you just throwing it away?"
Asou Akiya placed the breakfast on the dining table and walked into the bedroom, remembering that the other party used to at least tidy himself up a bit.
On a large double bed, Gojo Satoru had wrapped himself in the blankets and was sleeping soundly.
"Satoru, it's getting late."
Asou Akiya glanced at Gojo Satoru, then headed to the bathroom, wrung out a hot towel, and returned to the bedroom. With a "whoosh," he pulled open the curtains, flooding the room with sunlight and causing Gojo Satoru to furrow his brow in his sleep.
He placed the hot towel over Gojo Satoru's eyes, smoothing out the crease between his brows, and urged the other to wake up as soon as possible.
Gojo Satoru pulled his right hand out from under the blankets and lazily draped it over the pillow. His fingertips were a pale pink, his knuckles prominent, each finger long and powerful. The skin on his hands was slightly inferior to that on his face, lacking proper care. His other hand covered his yawn. The lip balm that had protected his lips throughout the night still gave them a glossy sheen, with the lip lines barely visible.
As long as Gojo Satoru didn't show his foolish side, he excelled at creating an aura of expensive refinement.
—Well, one couldn't really call it an illusion, either.
Asou Akiya had not intended to give Gojo Satoru an eye massage, but Gojo Satoru's ability to climb up the pole as it was offered had grown considerably. He shifted half his body and leaned his head against his friend's knee as though it were a pillow. "So sleepy My eyes are sore."
Asou Akiya asked, "Being this lazy—has spring arrived for the Gojo Clan?"
Asou Akiya placed his fingers on Gojo Satoru's forehead, pressing on the acupoints. "You and Getou should cut back on that sort of thing."
His gaze drifted downward to look at Gojo Satoru's wrist, where familiar red strawberry marks were visible.
The aroma of breakfast drifted over from the dining area. The bedroom was filled with warm sunlight, and the hot towel covered his eyes. Gojo Satoru's entire body went limp and soft. Having watched so many small films recently, he naturally knew that spring was the season when animals went into heat.
Gojo Satoru said nonchalantly, "Akiya, I've been taking supplements. A little release is perfectly appropriate."
The big sister in his dreams had been kissing him and touching him all over, being far too passionate about it.
He wouldn't have these kinds of wandering thoughts back at the Gojo Clan. School was still better—it helped him learn about so many more interesting things.
Gojo Satoru felt Asou Akiya's massage pause and began acting spoiled. "Five more minutes." He placed his little tangerine's hand near his own temple. "Press here. Use more strength."
Asou Akiya enjoyed his affectionate posture and naturally indulged him this once.
The moment five minutes were up.
Asou Akiya pressed on with urgency: "Get up now!"
Gojo Satoru climbed out of bed slowly, scratched his hair, and reached toward the nightstand, nearly poking his sunglasses into his nose.
Asou Akiya quickly prepared the toiletries and took out a clean school uniform and dress shirt.
Gojo Satoru finished washing up with half-lidded eyes.
Because he did not treat Asou Akiya as an outsider, Gojo Satoru couldn't even be bothered to change clothes out of sight. He undid the buttons of his top directly. The youth's tall figure was gilded with a layer of warm gold by the light from the floor-to-ceiling window, bright and dazzling.
Gojo Satoru said proudly: "I have an eight-pack. Not one less than Suguru!"
Asou Akiya had originally averted his gaze to look at the scenery outside the window. Upon hearing this, he nearly looked back.
The glass window reflected a faint image, and it seemed there really were eight.
When Gojo Satoru began to remove his sleep pants, Asou Akiya could no longer tolerate his behavior. He stuffed a new pair of underwear with a SpongeBob pattern into his hand, then hurriedly gathered the bedsheets and dirty clothes and headed toward the washing machine.
Gojo Satoru shouted from behind: "Akiya! All the underwear with cartoon patterns goes in the dryer. Don't hang them out to dry anymore!"
Asou Akiya spared a moment to ask: "Why?"
Gojo Satoru hesitated: "I don't want people from the Zen'in Clan to see them from outside..."
Asou Akiya was shocked. Had their family feud really reached the point where they would broadcast each other's personal belongings to one another?
Gojo Satoru complained: "It's not that. I just find him repulsive. That little rotten orange shouldn't come within three steps of me."
Asou Akiya said with amusement: "You two young masters are quite the pair. One won't let rotten oranges come within three steps, and the other won't let women come within three steps. Outsiders can't tell whether you're misandrists or misogynists."
Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow. "I treat men and women equally. You know that."
Gojo Satoru clenched his fist threateningly. "If he dares say that sort of thing to Shoko, I'll tear his mouth off."
Asou Akiya: "Suit yourself. In the end, Shoko will still be the one working hard to treat him."
Gojo Satoru finished changing into his uniform, leaped over to the dining table in a single bound, sat down, and enjoyed his delicious breakfast.
Asou Akiya measured the height of Gojo Satoru's sitting posture.
"How strange. You grew taller when standing, but your sitting height is the same as before?"
"...I have long legs!"
Gojo Satoru choked for a moment, then shouted back loudly.
Asou Akiya could not comprehend such a phenomenon. The other's wrist line extended past his crotch. Before the start of the school term, his height had been 188 cm. After enrollment, he had officially reached 190 cm. And yet, those full two centimeters had grown only on his legs!
Suddenly, the door to Gojo Satoru's dormitory was knocked on by another person. Getou Suguru had come calling.
The youth with his hair in buns smiled pleasantly. "May I ask, is there still breakfast?"
And so.
Gojo Satoru's lavish breakfast was split in half.
Getou Suguru and Gojo Satoru each ate until they were about seventy percent full. They grabbed their school bags, and the three of them headed out the door, going to school together.
On their way, they ran into their juniors.
The group of three became five, and then Zen'in Naoya, who came chasing after them from behind, turned it into six. "Wait for me!"
Inside the teaching building, they parted ways, having not yet caused any trouble, and headed toward their respective classrooms.
"You guys are so slow." Ieiri Shoko sat in her chair, thoroughly bored, rocking the chair legs back and forth and treating a perfectly normal chair as a rocking chair. This bad habit she had picked up from Gojo Satoru.
"Satoru refused to get out of bed. After that, we ran into the juniors, and they chatted for a bit longer." Asou Akiya set down his school bag.
"Did you watch another new adult film?" Getou Suguru whispered to Gojo Satoru.
"No, I've been following a proper TV drama series, starring Inoue Waka." Gojo Satoru shared about the drama. No high school boy could resist a mature, sexy, older woman with a voluptuous figure.
"Doesn't Akiya also like Inoue Waka?" Getou Suguru turned his head to look at Asou Akiya, whose tastes remained an enigma.
"Yes, her character is quite good. I rather like her." Asou Akiya replied.
Inoue Waka's acting career was scandal-free, with no rumors of affairs, and she could serve as Gojo Satoru's sexual awakening object.
Gojo Satoru asked provocatively: "Suguru, do you think Inoue Waka would like me or you?"
Getou Suguru looked at him with disdain: "Me, of course."
Gojo Satoru slammed the table, refusing to agree: "If there's a handshake event with a female celebrity, let's go ask her together!"
Asou Akiya played with his phone, casually observing the dispute between his male classmates from the sidelines.
[Tokyo Jujutsu High Melon-Eating Duo]
[Asou Akiya: Shoko, who do you think it would be?]
[Ieiri Shoko: I choose Getou.]
[Asou Akiya: Based on my analysis, I choose Satoru. A cat-type might just suit an older woman's tastes better.]
From across the room, Gojo Satoru cursed: "Who's a cat-type? Don't just casually label me as a cat!"
Asou Akiya retorted without using a single vulgar word: "Whoever peeked at my phone is a sunglasses-wearing little white cat with no sense of boundaries, who meows the loudest and has the most unpleasant voice."
Gojo Satoru: "...Oh."
Getou Suguru noticed that the assistant supervisor was standing at the doorway, hesitant to enter. He straightened his posture, indicating that he was a good student.
The assistant supervisor at the doorway felt powerless. Student Getou, we all know you'll only keep up this pretense for five minutes.
The morning cultural classes were dry and dull. The assistant supervisor tirelessly lectured on the fundamental coursework of jujutsu sorcerers. Asou Akiya listened attentively, taking notes, ignoring the three "poor students" beside him from the combat faction and the healer faction.
Getou Suguru was no longer in a rush to take on missions. He took things easy, occasionally writing notes and tossing them onto Gojo Satoru's head. Gojo Satoru tossed them back, sparking a note war. Under Getou Suguru's intentional or unintentional protection, the notes never flew toward Asou Akiya's side. Ieiri Shoko stared blankly at her male classmates, and somehow ended up watching them throw notes at each other for a full hour.
During the break, Asou Akiya went out for a stroll and returned with four bottles of drinks. "The new students went to the training grounds. Teacher Yaga wants to assess their martial arts foundation."
Gojo Satoru instantly perked up and was the first to run out, as though firmly recalling his own unfortunate history.
Getou Suguru was the second to walk out, taking a bottle of cola from Asou Akiya's hand. "I'll bring this to Satoru for you."
Asou Akiya handed over another bottle of juice. "You drink the cola. Let him have the juice."
Getou Suguru: "..."
Getou Suguru: "You've really got it all figured out, Akiya. Aren't you worried about me drinking too much cola and getting osteoporosis?"
Asou Akiya patted his shoulder. "Learn Reverse Cursed Technique sooner rather than later. I have high hopes for you."
Getou Suguru laughed in exasperation, flipped him the middle finger, and quickly slipped away before he could be accused of improper conduct.
Ieiri Shoko passed by and took the yogurt. "This one is definitely mine."
Asou Akiya said gently, "Stand beside me in a bit. Don't get too close. We'll just hide under the shade of the trees."
Ieiri Shoko smiled warmly. "Alright."
The two of them watched the spectacle from the sidelines like spectators eating melon seeds, while the other two forever ran to the front lines to participate in the excitement themselves.
On the training grounds, Zen'in Naoya had defeated two of his classmates, his face a picture of shock. "Are commoners really this weak?"
Nanami Kento climbed to his feet, covered in dust and grime.
Haibara Yu rubbed his arms and thighs, aching terribly after being struck by Zen'in Naoya.
Yaga Masamichi assumed that the Zen'in young master lacked understanding of human relations and stepped in to ease the tension. "You've had people training you since you were young. They haven't. For new students to already possess abundant physical stamina is already an excellent foundation."
Zen'in Naoya blinked his upturned eyes. "But Suguru-kun's martial arts are quite good, aren't they?"
Dark lines appeared on Yaga Masamichi's face. "He's an anomaly." A Cursed Spirit Manipulator whose hobby was close-quarters combat.
Zen'in Naoya raised his hand. "Suguru-kun, I would like to spar with you."
Standing off to the side, Getou Suguru felt the familiar provocation from the young master of the Three Great Clans and couldn't help but smile. "Satoru, and you said your temperaments weren't alike. The moment school starts, he comes straight for me with a challenge."
Gojo Satoru's face looked as though he had eaten a rotten orange. "We are not!"
Getou Suguru, for the junior's sake, removed his jacket, tossed it to Gojo Satoru, and walked toward Zen'in Naoya.
Gojo Satoru was forced to catch the clothing. "Suguru, hit him hard."
As he spoke, Gojo Satoru habitually rolled up the jacket and applied a repulsive force, training "Red" in his daily life.
With a "whoosh," Gojo Satoru hurled Getou Suguru's jacket to an even farther spot.
Getou Suguru: "?"
Getou Suguru turned back and saw the jacket fall into Asou Akiya's arms. He let out a breath of relief. "Satoru, you're troubling Akiya again."
Gojo Satoru said mischievously, "None of your business. Don't toss your clothes at me next time."
In the distance, Asou Akiya folded the jacket with resignation. "I really want to curse at them, but I am a civilized person..."
Ieiri Shoko sighed in sympathy. "Civilized people have it too rough."
Before their eyes unfolded a performance that was not quite a fist-to-fist brawl, but rather a rather marvelous display of cursed techniques and martial arts.
Zen'in Naoya activated his high-speed ability, moving so fast that he surpassed dynamic vision, and swung his fist at Getou Suguru. Getou Suguru instinctively released cursed spirits to block the attack.
Getou Suguru heard Asou Akiya's voice from behind him.
"The Special Grade Imaginary Vengeful Spirit, Tamamo-no-Mae... According to the legends, she's said to be quite beautiful."
Getou Suguru turned his head. "Where is it?"
Asou Akiya: "I don't know. You can ask the Higher-ups."
Asou Akiya: "Teacher Yaga, let's call off the combat. It looks like Zen'in-kouhai is unable to continue fighting."
Yaga Masamichi nodded, but he did not end the martial arts lesson. He blew his whistle. "All new students, run fifty laps around the training grounds."
What followed went without saying.
Someone ran fifty laps at breakneck speed in brand-new shoes and ended up with blistered heels.
Getou Suguru stood there speaking without feeling the pain, gazing at the three juniors running. "Is this what people from the Three Great Clans are like?"
None of them had experience wearing normal shoes?
Gojo Satoru didn't see any problem with it at all and said cheerfully, "He's too stupid. Serves him right. Shoko, absolutely do not treat his heels."
Getou Suguru: "..."
Satoru, as long as you don't overthink things, nothing can make you feel awkward, right?
Asou Akiya urgently explained the situation to Shoko: "Shoko, leave quickly. Pretend you don't exist. You wouldn't want to end up marrying into the Zen'in Clan in the future just because you touched the Zen'in young master's body parts."
"Terrifying." Ieiri Shoko received the message.
Ieiri Shoko fled at high speed, kicking up clouds of dust, and made her escape.
...
Step one of school cold violence: no healer present at this location. Students must rely on themselves. The seniors enjoy watching the spectacle.
Nanami Kento was drenched in sweat, panting as he rested. Haibara Yu was in slightly better condition—he had always been particularly fond of exercise. He said gratefully, "Thankfully, Asou-senpai gave us heel pads yesterday."
Zen'in Naoya wore an unpleasant expression on his gorgeous face. His feet hurt, yet he maintained an air of pride on his face.
"Suguru-kun, where is the school doctor?"
"There is no school doctor. Everyone relies entirely on self-recovery."
Getou Suguru told a bald-faced lie with his eyes wide open, having absorbed about thirty percent of Asou Akiya's essence.
"..." Zen'in Naoya found it unbelievable.
He wanted to shout out loud: Tokyo Jujutsu High has nothing! It's garbage, complete garbage!
But before Gojo Satoru, Zen'in Naoya withered.
Asou Akiya nudged Getou Suguru. Getou Suguru: "???"
Asou Akiya passed over two band-aids, asking him to deliver them. He couldn't let Zen'in Naoya run away over such a trivial matter.
Getou Suguru prepared to take them.
Gojo Satoru snatched the band-aids away, tore them open, and stuck them onto the red marks on his own wrist.
"I just happen to be injured. Thanks!"
"..."
"..."
Gojo Satoru ignored his two speechless friends. Drawing from his experience as someone who had been through it all, he said bluntly to Zen'in Naoya: "Just endure it. Isn't martial arts training always like this? This is Tokyo Jujutsu High, not the Three Great Clans. If you can't even endure this much hardship, it means you're not cut out to be a jujutsu sorcerer."
Stung by Satoru-kun's words, Zen'in Naoya gritted his teeth and said, "I won't let Satoru... senpai look down on me."
Where was the legitimate son of the Kamo Clan?! Where was the alliance of the Three Great Clans?!
Damn it all. He would meet him first, then run away!