April 8th, Saturday.
Asou Akiya did not cook. Instead, he tasted the light, simple breakfast Getou Suguru had prepared.
After washing the dishes clean, he returned them with an expression of gratitude, then prepared a breakfast for Gojo Satoru as usual.
Afterward, he asked Getou Suguru to deliver it on his behalf. He went out alone, picked up the pre-ordered spare parts from a shop, and crouched in the woods to repair the bicycle Principal Yaga had gifted him. He skillfully replaced the tires and the chain, drawing upon experience from his previous life. Given the abuse Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru had subjected it to, the fact that the bicycle hadn't fallen apart was nothing short of a miracle.
He worked for a while and successfully restored his means of transportation.
Without resting, he wiped his forehead with a wet tissue. There were faint traces of perspiration, but nothing that would affect his appearance. He headed in the direction of the girls' dormitory. After that, without pausing for a moment, he arranged through Ieiri Shoko to meet with Iori Utahime.
"Senpai, I heard you're preparing for your promotion to Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer." Asou Akiya chose a topic that would interest his senior. "My goal is to become a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer, and I'd like to learn from your experience."
As Iori Utahime generously shared her insights, a flicker of amusement passed through Asou Akiya's eyes.
Asou Akiya: "Has Principal Yaga notified you? Tokyo Jujutsu High will be rather busy next week. We may need you to stay on campus for a while and keep Shoko company."
Iori Utahime cared deeply for Shoko. "Ah, I understand. I'll protect Shoko twenty-four hours a day."
Iori Utahime lacked confidence in front of Mei Mei, but she thumped her chest and made a firm promise to her junior: "Call me if anything happens. I've already postponed my promotion mission—I'll complete it later in the month. It'll be good extra training for me."
"Thank you, Senpai." Having secured her promise, Asou Akiya bowed deeply.
He knew that what Iori Utahime wanted was the respect of her juniors.
After parting with Iori Utahime, Asou Akiya proceeded without hesitation to his next destination: collecting Zen'in Naoya's three sets of spring school uniforms.
Because Getou Suguru had torn Zen'in Naoya's uniform, Zen'in Naoya had realized his uniform consumption was higher than expected and placed a bulk order of seven spring uniforms for a week's worth of changes. This incident presented Asou Akiya with an opportunity to act. He moved through the interior of Tokyo Jujutsu High, gaining trust through his face alone. Over the course of a year, he had built a solid reputation and helped many people benefit. For something as minor as collecting uniforms, no one even thought to consult Zen'in Naoya's opinion.
Asou Akiya carried the uniforms to the back of a flowerbed.
Shielded from the glaring sunlight, he sat on the edge of the flowerbed and manually removed the golden spiral buttons from the uniforms.
Zen'in Naoya's uniform jacket was a custom design, shaped by Asou Akiya's own hand. Unlike the standard issue with a single button on the left chest, the front of the jacket featured three golden spiral buttons representing Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Asou Akiya replaced the original buttons with identical-looking substitutes that concealed hidden mechanisms.
The three fake buttons he swapped in contained, respectively: a listening device, a tracker, and a miniature electronic self-ignition device.
The listening device: to gather intelligence on Zen'in Naoya.
The tracker: to monitor Zen'in Naoya's movements.
The miniature electronic self-ignition device: to divert Zen'in Naoya's attention, ignite the clothing, destroy any pre-set "Projection Sorcery" he might have prepared in advance, and create a one-second freeze in his ability to act.
[That one second is my chance to launch a surprise attack on Zen'in Naoya. My chance to stop him from killing Gojo Satoru.]
Asou Akiya took out a sewing kit, lowered his head, threaded the needle, and meticulously replicated the dense, fine stitches of the original uniform buttons. He worked his needle with painstaking care, swapping out all the new uniforms with his own devices. He moved like a clockwork mechanism wound tight, strictly adhering to his plan, daring not to overlook a single critical step.
In the shadows where no one could see, the black-haired youth walked hand in hand with the kind of scheming that others would turn their noses up at.
This was his only edge—shameful and hidden from the light.
Returning to the boys' dormitory, Asou Akiya asked Haibara Yu to deliver the new clothing to his classmate, Zen'in Naoya.
Haibara Yu did not fuss over trivial matters, loved helping his seniors, had a cheerful disposition, and was easily trusted—making him the perfect "intermediary" for Asou Akiya to invisibly reach Zen'in Naoya.
On the surface, Asou Akiya appeared to ignore Zen'in Naoya. In truth, he treasured every opportunity to observe him.
To this end, he had calculated Zen'in Naoya's clothing rotation.
If he wanted Zen'in Naoya to wear the new uniforms on Monday and Tuesday, today was the precisely right moment. Much like Gojo Satoru when he had first enrolled, this person had no habit of washing his own clothes. Yet unlike Gojo Satoru, he possessed a smattering of largely useless common sense—he knew that personal garments should not be handed over to outsiders.
Asou Akiya surmised that Zen'in Naoya would still have a servant from the Zen'in clan collect the clothing.
Sitting in his dorm room, Asou Akiya put on his headphones. Through the listening device, he heard the sound of Haibara Yu knocking on the door. Haibara Yu smoothly handed the new uniforms over to Zen'in Naoya without arousing the slightest suspicion.
Zen'in Naoya possessed a certain talent for reading people, his sixth sense far sharper than that of ordinary individuals.
Zen'in Naoya might grow wary of anything that had passed through Asou Akiya's hands, yet he would overlook the harmless Haibara Yu.
Haibara Yu had a pair of large brown eyes, filled with clarity and uprightness.
Monitoring the exchange, Asou Akiya murmured to himself, "He took the bait."
Two hours later.
Zen'in Naoya gathered up a week's worth of accumulated dirty laundry and slipped out of the boys' dormitory in secret.
At the school gate, Zen'in Naoya reluctantly handed his dirty clothes over to a servant—thus resolving the inconvenience of staying on campus while also fulfilling his father's condition: to be self-reliant and not order servants around at school.
Back in Asou Akiya's dormitory, the curtains had long been drawn. He leaned against the headboard, one leg propped up, looking for all the world like someone listening to music through his headphones. Yet anyone who knew him well would take one look at this scene and know he was plotting something.
He sent a message on his phone to the auxiliary manager: [Are there any particularly troublesome cursed locations recently?]
After a moment, the auxiliary manager replied: [Not at the moment.]
Still uneasy, he asked again: [What mission is Mei Mei currently undertaking?]
The auxiliary manager replied: [That sorcerer is working as an auxiliary manager herself. She is not undertaking any missions.]
The Hidden Inventory arc's plot had been twisted!
Iori Utahime had postponed her promotion mission, and Mei Mei was not serving as her auxiliary manager for the advancement assessment.
Asou Akiya's spirits lifted. If fate itself could be altered, then nothing was truly impossible.
That afternoon, Asou Akiya remained exceedingly busy. He went to the bank and confirmed the balance in his newly opened personal account: 45 million yen. The transfer had come from Mei Mei, and would not draw scrutiny from either the jujutsu world or ordinary society. He was an unmarried civilian sorcerer with no family or support to speak of—at worst, the outside world would simply assume he was living off Mei Mei's generosity.
Asou Akiya did not concern himself with the 10% service fee. He was indifferent to fame and fortune, yet simultaneously ambitious—a man full of contradictory traits.
In this extraordinary world, he was determined to be someone sufficiently interesting.
That night, Asou Akiya moved with hurried steps. After a brief disguise, he made his way in secret to Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture.
In the familiar mountaintop villa, he met a family of three.
The daughter was asleep. The husband and wife received Asou Akiya with their lively little dog in tow. The family name was "Satou"—an ordinary surname in Japan—but Asou Akiya felt it was fate. Had he not read the news about mad cow disease and recalled the original story's incident of the yakiniku restaurant owner taking his own life, they would never have had the chance to speak in 2006.
Sato, read as sa-to.
Satoru, read as sa-to-ru.
There was no need to share this with the couple. After all, it truly was nothing more than a coincidence.
As they conversed, Asou Akiya felt two divergent fates weaving before his eyes. A faintly intoxicated sensation welled up within him. In one fate, the husband and wife existed only as black-and-white photographs on a memorial altar. In the other, their faces were alive with vivid gratitude.
"Mr. Satou, you kept your word. You did not sell the property."
Asou Akiya toured the villa, even standing at the bedroom doorway to look upon their sleeping daughter.
His gaze held a trace of something unhinged as he bore witness to a fate he had altered with his own hands.
All three of them had survived.
The Hidden Inventory arc would no longer begin with this villa.
In the world of Jujutsu, there was only one being universally acknowledged as capable of breaking fate—the "Heavenly Restriction," Fushiguro Toji. In the original story, Kenjaku had exploited Fushiguro Toji to sever the causal link between Tengen, the Star Plasma Vessel, and the Six Eyes.
Now, Asou Akiya had formally confirmed that he was the second such person. He held a hidden trump card in secret.
Facing this couple who understood how to seize opportunity—of solid character, with a happy family, and the experience of building a business from nothing—were they not precisely the ideal assistants he could not find even if he searched with a lantern in hand?
He smiled with satisfaction, his expression carrying a hint of approval, as if they had passed an examination.
"Now, it is your turn to do something for me."
"The compensation is this—"
"From now on, I am your employer. And I will show you the hidden side of this society."
Since they regarded him as a benefactor and were willing to remain where they were to wait for him, he was more than happy to let things unfold as they would. There was no need to play a part—his every action and gesture exuded an air of mystery that stirred the curiosity of ordinary people. "This is our second meeting. I am Asou Akiya, sixteen years old this year, an unknown jujutsu sorcerer, and more or less a good person."
...
Once the Star Plasma Vessel mission began, he would need an adult to place a bet on his behalf.
The wager: 45 million yen.
...
Late at night, Asou Akiya returned to Tokyo Jujutsu High with dew clinging to his clothes, his expression betraying exhaustion. His attention wandered as he thought to himself: [Gojo must be misunderstanding things even more by now, thinking I truly don't care about him anymore.]
Just as Asou Akiya was about to unlock his door, a voice suddenly spoke up: "You seemed very busy today."
Asou Akiya, who had been operating under extreme mental tension all day, felt his hand tremble.
That voice... it wasn't Gojo Satoru.
"You're shaking?"
Getou Suguru stepped out, rather surprised. He had come to see his friend after sensing Asou Akiya's cursed energy.
"We sent you many messages, but you didn't reply. Gojo said you were meeting people all over the place today and told me to check whose birthday was coming up next. Those two birthday parties really gave us a scare."
Getou Suguru calmly recounted his and Gojo Satoru's situation.
"Was there?"
Caught red-handed, Asou Akiya put on a bashful act of feigned ignorance, shedding some of the sharpness he had displayed during the day and the easy conversational charm he had shown at the Satou household.
He was different when facing those he schemed against versus when facing his friends.
"No birthdays. You've misunderstood. Let me go back and rest." Asou Akiya tried to enter his dormitory, but Getou Suguru blocked his way and asked, "Did Master Tengen assign the Star Plasma Vessel mission? Is that what you've been busy with?"
Asou Akiya froze. Because of him, these two now knew a great deal of historical knowledge regarding Tengen's "assimilation."
Getou Suguru: "Gojo told you not to treat us like idiots. He even tried to talk me into tailing you, but I refused."
Getou Suguru: "Akiya, is there anything we can help with?"
Asou Akiya relaxed and leaned against the door, amused to hear Getou Suguru borrowing Gojo Satoru's manner of speaking. "Thank you for not running wild with him. Half of what I did was for myself, and half was for the Star Plasma Vessel mission. I've finished everything within my power."
Getou Suguru observed Asou Akiya's complexion. His eye sockets seemed utterly exhausted, yet sixteen years of life had left him with little experience in making friends.
"Do you need a warm compress? I could massage around your eyes the way you do for Gojo to help Gojo to help you relax?"
"...Really, there's no need."
Asou Akiya declined Getou Suguru's obvious attempt at imitation.
Asou Akiya taught him the proper approach. "All I want tonight is sleep. Shall we go out and have fun together tomorrow?"
Getou Suguru: "Will Shoko be there?"
Asou Akiya smiled. "No, we're not bringing her. We DKs will go on a spring outing by ourselves."
Asou Akiya's gaze rested on Getou Suguru, yet it also seemed to pass through him, looking toward some point in the corridor beyond, as he said, "Shibuya, Akihabara, Shinjuku, and so on. We'll buy game cartridges and anime merchandise to our hearts' content. It'll be just the three of us. We can talk about guy stuff to our hearts' content and discuss two-dimensional characters."
In the darkness, a breathtaking shade of deep blue flashed and vanished, like a glowing firefly.
"Ah, right. I also bought three tickets for a handshake event—Miss Inoue Waka's."
"—?!"
"Eight in the morning. Everyone up on time. I'll come get you."
"Okay."
Getou Suguru wore an expression of having learned something new once again, filled with admiration for Asou Akiya's social finesse.
…
April 9th, Sunday.
The three DKs ran off to Akihabara and had the time of their lives, even attending Inoue Waka's handshake event.
Facing Inoue Waka, whom they had seen on television, Gojo Satoru showed not the slightest trace of shyness. He put his social butterfly side on full display, removing his sunglasses and letting his Six Eyes work their charm as he shook her hand with delight. "Waka-san, who's the most handsome out of the three of us!"
Inoue Waka was utterly charmed by the adorable pose of the high school boy—white hair and blue eyes, a color palette as clear and bright as could be.
"While I'd love to say you're all handsome, you stand out quite exceptionally."
"Ha ha ha—of course it's me!"
Good looks were justice! Cuteness was invincibility! Throughout heaven and earth, he alone was the handsome one!
Gojo Satoru was ecstatic, convinced he had discovered the greatest advantage he possessed beyond his jujutsu technique. Seeing his elation, Inoue Waka good-naturedly held his hand a little longer, granting the boy a touch of indulgence.
Who didn't love a cat-like pretty boy? Inoue Waka herself was fond of them.
The two of them even took a photo together.
A new picture was added to Gojo Satoru's phone wallpaper.
Behind them.
Getou Suguru and Asou Akiya, waiting in line: "..."
This guy had no shame—removing his sunglasses, working his charm, and deliberately acting spoiled toward a celebrity!
For lunch, the three of them ate at a maid café, each ordering the lunch set that caught their interest. Gojo Satoru's eyes darted around constantly, the corners of his mouth tilted upward, as he gathered all sorts of fun and fascinating information.
Getou Suguru sat across from the two of them, utterly unable to compete with Gojo Satoru, who had suddenly become clingy.
Gojo Satoru latched onto Asou Akiya and asked, "Akiya, do white stockings look better or black stockings?"
In the maid café, there was no shortage of maids in various styles wearing short skirts and stockings.
They walked back and forth, pouring tea, serving water, and attending to customers—their legs beneath their skirts a dazzling sight to behold.
Asou Akiya glanced at the maids, then took a look at Gojo Satoru's slouched posture and his legs.
"White stockings."
Teacher Gojo could make black fitted trousers look like black stockings. It looks simple yet tantalizing.
But high schooler Gojo could not. His aura was far too pure.
—He chose white stockings.
Getou Suguru cut in: "I choose black stockings. I wore black stockings during the cross-dressing incident last time."
Gojo Satoru wavered, his aesthetic sensibilities warring between the two colors, before ultimately leaning toward Asou Akiya's choice.
"I'll go with white stockings. I see Shoko in black stockings at school every single day. I'm a little tired of looking at them."
"Shoko will hit you, Satoru."
"If Getou doesn't tattle, how would Shoko ever find out? This is a DK secret!"
"Could our secret possibly be something a little more proper?"
"No!"
"You're learning to be bad awfully fast. The Gojo clan would probably die of anger if they knew."
Getou Suguru and Gojo Satoru bickered back and forth.
After the maid brought his set meal to the table, Asou Akiya heard the maid's barely suppressed laughter at his ear and realized his two classmates were making a spectacle of themselves. He quickly changed the subject. "Gojo, were you happy to meet Inoue Waka?"
Gojo Satoru flashed a peace sign. "So happy! I even took a photo with her! Waka has an amazing figure!"
Getou Suguru muttered under his breath, "You basically forced her to take it with you."
Gojo Satoru shoved a jumbo-sized burger into Getou Suguru's mouth. "You're just jealous of me!"
Asou Akiya rested his chin on his hand, smiling involuntarily. This was the true source of joy in going out today.
Miss Inoue Waka, you truly are an excellent guide to aesthetic appreciation.
It was difficult for an ordinary person to marry into one of the Big Three Clans, and the Big Three Clans looked down on female celebrities besides. Asou Akiya was not the least bit worried that the Gojo clan would cause "trouble" for Inoue Waka—after all, if such a thing happened, Gojo Satoru would be the first to fly into a rage.
Seven regular-sized burgers were stacked before Gojo Satoru. The sole jumbo burger had been given to Getou Suguru, who polished it off completely. He would never display any signs of aversion to food in front of them.
Compared to the bottomless pit that was Gojo Satoru, Asou Akiya's appetite was far too small, and he did not eat much.
Gojo Satoru spoke with his mouth full. "Akiya—you should eat faster too."
Getou Suguru ordered another spicy burger for Asou Akiya, only for Gojo Satoru to accidentally eat it.
Gojo Satoru forced down the heat, gnashing his teeth. "Disgusting!"
Asou Akiya coaxed him, "Take a sip of milk. It'll stop being disgusting right away."
Gojo Satoru obediently drank his milk, a white ring forming around his lips, making him look exactly like a little sunglasses-wearing kitten lapping up cream.
Gojo Satoru inwardly grumbled about Asou Akiya's preference for spicy food.
Getou Suguru teased Gojo Satoru, remarking that after being conditioned by Asou Akiya for so long, his ability to handle spice remained woefully inadequate. Dissatisfied, Gojo Satoru kicked out under the table, but his foot connected with nothing—Getou Suguru had anticipated his childish attack pattern in advance.
Dodging Gojo Satoru's immature maneuver, Getou Suguru leisurely turned his attention to the television in the restaurant.
Getou Suguru watched with great interest. "Satoru, look quick—it's a shoujo manga adaptation."
Gojo Satoru, led along by Getou Suguru, found himself watching too.
A crisp slap rang out.
On the television screen came the classic scene: the female protagonist tripped and fell to the ground, the male protagonist accidentally taking advantage of her. The female protagonist shielded her chest, delivered a fierce slap, and shouted, "Pervert!"
Because this trope was so thoroughly classic, Getou Suguru and Gojo Satoru regarded it purely as amusement.
Beside them, Asou Akiya ate his burger in silence, chewing again and again yet unable to swallow.
—Just like this boring old trope.
Some people watched the scenery from beneath the bridge, while others watched those beneath the bridge from above.*
*{Note: a variation of Bian Zhilin's poem titled "Fragment."}
Asou Akiya's heart flared with a stabbing pain, needle-sharp. He suddenly understood the malice he harbored toward Amanai Riko. This malice had not existed before his transmigration; it had deepened bit by bit after his arrival, and now he saw it with perfect clarity.
[The person most precious to me. The person I cannot bear to hurt in the slightest.]
[Was slapped by her.]
In the original story, Gojo Satoru had not taken advantage of Amanai Riko. He had saved her, only to be slapped by her in return.
This was the root of Asou Akiya's greatest aversion toward Amanai Riko.
Getou Suguru: "The female lead ran off."
Gojo Satoru: "The male lead is so sleazy, just standing there in a daze! He should apologize!"
Even Gojo Satoru, born into a feudal clan, knew that one must apologize for one's mistakes and that a girl's chest was not to be touched carelessly.
Asou Akiya listened with his mind elsewhere, yet he did not wish for his negative emotions to be caught by the Six Eyes.
In the end, he silently drank his coffee.
Processing his emotions alone.
...
That weekend night, they rode the Rainbow Dragon through the Tokyo nightscape, the view breathtakingly beautiful. Even as the wild wind roared past their ears, it was filled with the exhilaration that the extraordinary world brought.
Getou Suguru and Gojo Satoru feared neither heaven nor earth. They relished the thrill, all the while shielding Asou Akiya.
Only at this moment was Asou Akiya willing to expose his vulnerable side.
He clung tightly to Gojo Satoru.
Rather than fearing a fall, it would be more accurate to say... he feared being swallowed whole by his own negative emotions, all alone.
The malice one person bore toward another. The panic one person felt toward the world. The pressure one person carried for the future.
Gojo Satoru laughed at him softly. "Scaredy cat."
The white-haired boy wore the lip balm he had bought, and his Six Eyes shone brighter than the neon lights, illuminating Asou Akiya's body and soul.
Asou Akiya made no sound. His fingertips turned white as his five fingers gripped Gojo Satoru's wrist. Then, suddenly, in the momentum of a dive, he pitched forward and collapsed on top of Gojo Satoru, pinning him down—drawing protests from Gojo Satoru and peals of laughter from Getou Suguru.
The world had never been before his eyes.
It had always been in his embrace.
[You just keep moving forward.]
[I'll be behind you, keeping my malice in check for your sake, becoming a better person for your sake, climbing to greater heights—for your sake.]
[I must become even more outstanding, until... until...]
Tokyo Jujutsu High was right before their eyes. They had returned once more to the most dangerous world of jujutsu...
_____________________
Note:
This is the end of the Star Plasma Vessel Mission Countdown.
Next up: The Second Years' Hidden Inventory Arc