The Cursed Spirits were fully contained, and Sōjun Minamoto had properly dressed himself. His previously loose hair gathered on its own, tied back at the nape by a single looped strand.
He was now wearing the Tokyo Jujutsu High uniform—enough to clearly identify his affiliation.
"Let me introduce myself." Sōjun Minamoto smiled and greeted the group. "I'm Sōjun Minamoto, a bounty sorcerer from Jujutsu High. I was sent to assist with deploying the Curtain."
He then mimicked Masamichi Yaga's tone: "'They always forget to deploy the Curtain before a mission.' Sensei really knows you guys well!"
As fellow students of Masamichi Yaga, by seniority, they were technically supposed to call him senpai.
That line left the group slightly embarrassed.
Suguru Geto stepped forward, glancing around with a puzzled look.
"So, where's your Curtain?"
Sōjun Minamoto pointed to the sky, and everyone followed his gesture.
Snap—
He snapped his fingers.
A transparent Barrier, like a pane of glass, shimmered into view in midair—then shattered with a crack, breaking apart and dissipating before reaching the ground.
Sōjun Minamoto clapped his hands.
"Mission complete! See you all back at school!"
His purpose here was fulfilled. The Curtain had been deployed, the Cursed Spirit contained. The only letdown was that he hadn't expected much from that spirit to begin with—and now, even that was a disappointment.
Sōjun Minamoto didn't bother with the others' reactions. His form twisted in place and reappeared roadside.
He opened the car door and got in.
Everyone stood there, momentarily stunned—only then realizing the mission was done, and the Cursed Spirit had already been taken.
Utahime was still stewing over how Sōjun Minamoto had completely ignored her earlier. She muttered under her breath, "Another one who just does whatever he wants."
Whirr—
The car window rolled down.
"I heard that, Utahime." Sōjun Minamoto rested one hand on the steering wheel, the other on the window frame. He glanced at the group. "Still got room for three. Anyone want a ride?"
Utahime froze and stepped back awkwardly. She took seniority seriously—and this guy looked so mature, he was clearly a senpai, right?
Still fuming over Satoru Gojo, she'd let her emotions spill over and snapped at the wrong person.
All that idiot in the blindfold's fault.
That thought made her dislike for Gojo grow even more.
"Me!" Mei Mei raised her right hand and slipped into the front passenger seat. She looked at Sōjun Minamoto.
"You're not going to charge me, are you?"
Sōjun Minamoto turned away slightly.
Tch.
He had been hoping to make a little cash.
Lately, he was tight on money. Buying biomimetic organisms on the black market wasn't cheap—and legal sources didn't carry everything he needed...
"Of course it's free. We're all Jujutsu High. Gotta help each other out when we're out in the field."
He forced a polite smile.
Suguru Geto and Shoko Ieiri quickly grabbed the back seats.
That left just two people still standing outside—the one who really hated Satoru Gojo, and the one who kept unknowingly doing things to make her hate him even more.
The car pulled away. Before leaving, Sōjun Minamoto waved to the two of them. The others smiled and chimed in.
"See you at Jujutsu High!"
"We're heading out first."
"Bye-bye."
A faint trail of dust kicked up behind the car.
"You guys! Wait, I—!"
Utahime's voice faded in the distance.
"Ah, Utahime, we've been abandoned." The blindfolded man clenched his fists, still upset he hadn't jumped in sooner. He should have used a technique.
"Don't lump me in with you!" Utahime shouted, turning away without even glancing at him.
...
Jujutsu High, inside a classroom.
Suguru Geto, Satoru Gojo, Shoko Ieiri, and Sōjun Minamoto were kneeling on the floor. Masamichi Yaga sat on the edge of a short platform, glaring intently at all four of them.
"One of you said you could put up the Curtain by yourself, then ran off and left the assistant supervisor behind, didn't you?" Yaga leaned forward, closing in on the group, deliberately pressing down with a heavy sense of authority. "And you forgot the Curtain! We had to waste what little manpower we had to clean up after your mess. Who was it? Own up."
Suguru Geto and Shoko Ieiri pointed at Satoru Gojo in unison.
Gojo raised his hand weakly. "Sensei, can we not play detective anymore?"
"So it was you, Satoru," Yaga said, unsurprised, then smacked him hard on the head.
Sōjun Minamoto straightened his back, raising his hand too. He was the one who had to cover for them—though "cleaning up the mess" felt like a weird way to put it. "I put up the Curtain. Don't worry!"
"Oh? Don't worry?" Yaga rubbed his temples. "Driving without a license, racing on the highway, showing up before the second-years even though you left later! And I'm supposed to not worry?"
I did say I wanted to get there early. It was urgent. But wasn't that a bit too rushed?
Sōjun hunched over slightly, trying to lower his presence.
"Hmph! All of you, reflect on what you've done!"
Their apologies sounded sincere, but anyone who knew them understood what that meant—plenty of remorse, no intention to change. They'd pull the same stunt next time without hesitation. Yaga, frustrated beyond words, shoved the door open and left, leaving the four to reflect.
Bang—
The door slammed shut. The volume of the sound said plenty about Yaga's mood.
The three remained kneeling, heads bowed in perfect sync, while Sōjun had already gotten up and taken a seat nearby.
"Seriously though, is the Curtain even that necessary?" Gojo asked, clearly irritated. "Normal people can't see Cursed Spirits or Cursed Techniques anyway. So does it really matter?"
Shoko, sitting off to the side, grabbed his sunglasses and started fiddling with them, not bothering to join the conversation.
Sōjun leaned back in his chair, balancing it on two legs. The wood creaked under the shifting weight as he clasped his hands behind his head.
By now, he'd already figured it out—the promotion wasn't the main goal. This mission was mostly an excuse for Yaga to formally introduce him to the others.
He could've been promoted to Grade 1 a while ago. His success in the Cursed Womb mission had already met the standard.
Lost in thought, Sōjun tuned out of the discussion.
"Of course it's important. The best way to suppress the appearance of Cursed Spirits is to keep people's minds calm," Geto explained patiently. He didn't want his best friend heading down the wrong path. "That's why we hide even the invisible threats. And not just that—"
"Yeah, yeah. Always worrying about the weak ones. So exhausting," Gojo muttered as he sprawled onto the floor, adjusting his posture to make kneeling more comfortable.
"Huh? Listen up, Satoru. 'Survival of the weak' is how society should function." Geto's brow furrowed, his voice rising slightly as he looked Gojo dead in the eye.
"Jujutsu Sorcerers exist to protect non-sorcerers!"
"Isn't forcing meaning and responsibility onto jujutsu itself just another form of weakness?" Gojo replied casually, waving it off. He didn't care much for the philosophy—or for Geto's mood. A crooked, taunting smile spread across his face.
"What... did you just say?" Geto's gaze lowered, expression darkening.
Gojo stood up and made a gagging face. "Ugh, could you not go all dramatic from your own little soapbox?"
"Outside. Now. We're settling this, Satoru!" Geto shouted.
They squared off, Cursed Energy surging around them. An invisible pressure filled the room. Behind Geto, a Cursed Spirit began to take form.
Shoko bolted out of the classroom, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.
Sōjun, on the other hand, watched the standoff with interest. He lounged back in his chair, completely unbothered. He even felt like applauding—cheering Geto on to show some spirit and not embarrass himself.
In the end, of course, they didn't actually fight.
Creak—
The door opened again. Masamichi Yaga was back.
The two instantly dropped the act, kneeling obediently and putting on their best "we're reflecting" faces.