"..."
No one answered.
Silence filled the air.
The three special grade sorcerers whose names Yuki had just called out all stared at her blankly.
"Um... I like girls who eat a lot!"
Haibara was the first to speak, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
"Haibara…"
Suguru sighed helplessly at his junior's honesty, though a faint smile tugged at his lips. That straightforward, unfiltered nature was exactly what he admired about the boy, something pure he himself had long since lost on his path as a sorcerer.
"It's fine, Geto-senpai. She's not a bad person. I trust my instincts!"
Haibara hooked a finger at himself, his face full of confidence.
"That's true, I suppose," Suguru said softly. A cautious mindset was good for a sorcerer, but there was still plenty of time for the boy to learn balance.
"Ah, shoot. Nanami's still waiting for me. Everyone, I'll get going!"
Haibara suddenly remembered something, waved quickly, and ran off.
"Seriously! What's with you three? Cat got your tongues? We're all special grade sorcerers here. Can't you at least give me a little reaction?"
Once Haibara left, the others started chatting among themselves, already getting ready to go. Even someone as thick-skinned as Yuki couldn't help but complain.
"Special grade? So you're that—"
"That's right, that's right! I'm that—"
Just as Suguru turned toward her, Yuki smiled proudly, encouraging him to go on.
"Huh? Oh, you mean that slacker who never takes missions and spends all her time traveling abroad? Yuki Tsukumo?"
Before Suguru could finish, Satoru cut in with a look of disdain.
"That's a little rude, don't you think?"
Yuki's expression visibly fell, though she quickly composed herself, her tone turning serious.
"Having Jujutsu High train students to exorcise curses is only treating the symptoms. The real cause remains. I've been traveling around the world to find a fundamental solution."
"What do you mean by 'fundamental solution'?"
As expected, her words immediately caught Suguru's attention.
If there really was a way to end the endless cycle of exorcising curses, then he wouldn't have to keep using Cursed Spirit Manipulation to absorb those disgusting things. No one would have to risk their lives on various missions anymore.
The strong and the weak could both live in peace.
"There are only two possibilities," Mukuro spoke up before Yuki could continue. "One, eliminate everyone's cursed energy. Two, teach every ordinary person to control their cursed energy, since only sorcerers can't produce curses while alive."
"Exactly! That's why I'm back, and because of you, Mukuro Fushiguro!"
Yuki's eyes lit up with excitement as she jabbed a finger against his shoulder.
She had searched all over the world, but found no one else like him or his brother: people completely devoid of cursed energy.
It was clear they were unique. And that uniqueness was the key to the solution she sought.
"Let me study you, please!"
She leaned in close, blinking her big eyes with a pleading look.
A year ago, while abroad, she had tried to contact Toji, but he'd refused her directly. Now that she was finally back, she had no choice but to turn her attention to his younger brother.
"I refuse. And both of your so-called solutions are impossible," Mukuro replied bluntly.
"No, it's still possible… if we kill off all the non-sorcerers."
Yuki's expression turned firm again as she voiced the most absurd yet, in her mind, the most feasible idea.
"By using fear and oppression, we could force ordinary people to learn how to control cursed energy, driving them to evolve into sorcerers!"
But the look on her face faltered when she noticed the way the three before her stared at her as if she'd lost her mind.
"Still, I'm not that insane..." She muttered under her breath, her toes curling against the floor from embarrassment.
"And then what?" Mukuro said flatly. "If only sorcerers remain, sure, curses would appear less often. But our new enemies would just be humans, ones far more troublesome than curses."
He had pointed straight at the heart of the problem.
If everyone was forced to become sorcerers, the resentment built during that process would be terrifying. And once that hatred grew within people capable of wielding supernatural power, who would they turn it on?
Jujutsu High? Or other innocent sorcerers who had been forced down the same path?
Ultimately, her plan only shifted the conflict: from curses versus sorcerers to sorcerers versus sorcerers. It wouldn't actually solve anything.
"Only an idiot would come up with something that pointless." Satoru mocked Yuki without any mercy.
"In the end," Suguru added quietly, gently patting the head of the spiky-haired little boy beside him, "the survival of the weak is the nature of this world. We're just guardians of that balance."
He'd once questioned whether the weak were worth protecting at all, especially after that incident with Riko and the twisted followers of the Star Religious Group. But after countless moments of reflection, and words from his friends, he'd come to realize something.
He didn't need to waste time on those meaningless thoughts.
Protecting the weak was meaningful. But deciding which weak were worth protecting? That was his choice.
Do what you can, as best as you can. That was how Suguru saw things now.
"Uh… I guess that makes sense," Yuki muttered weakly, her once-shining eyes now empty. As a fellow special grade sorcerer, she hadn't expected all three of them to reject her so completely.
But after a brief daze, she sighed in relief. Maybe it was better this way. Because whether her theory was right or wrong didn't matter, if they'd agreed with her, that would have been truly terrifying.
Four special grade sorcerers united under one belief could easily destroy the world.
"Hey, weren't we supposed to go eat? I'm hungry."
Just then, Megumi tugged at Mukuro's pant leg, his small stomach growling.
"Oh? Such a confident little kid. Who's this?" Yuki finally noticed the small figure among the group of tall teens.
"Take a guess."
Ignoring her question, Mukuro took Megumi's hand and started walking toward the exit.
"Let's go."
Satoru and Suguru followed right after. As the latter passed Yuki, he gave her a polite nod.
The place grew quiet again, leaving her standing there alone.
"Damn it... those guys are the worst!" Yuki yelled at last, clenching her fists and glaring up at the sky. "Not a single one of them answered what kind of girl they like!"
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