Tap. Tap. Tap...
A woman strode in, one hand on her hip, her sharp eyes landing on the exhausted Suguru Geto.
"So, you're Geto-kun, right?" she said, tilting her head. "Tell me—what kind of women do you like?"
Her unfamiliar yet striking face caught both Geto and Haibara off guard. Geto's guard went up instantly. Haibara, on the other hand, perked right up.
"I like gentle, kind women and who eat a lot!" he said cheerfully. His gut told him this stranger wasn't dangerous.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Yuki Tsukumo glanced his way and chuckled. "Pretty textbook answer, freshman."
"Hehe, well, I've got stuff to do, so... I'll leave you two to it."
Haibara scratched his head, grinned, and slipped out of the room.
Once he was gone, Geto asked flatly, "Who are you?"
"Yuki Tsukumo."
Geto blinked. He'd heard that name before—usually attached to bad rumors.
Seeing his puzzled expression, Yuki pointed to herself with a deadpan look. "Yup, that's me—the so-called Special Grade sorcerer who never takes missions and spends her days wandering overseas."
She flopped casually onto a stool, her gaze calm but unreadable. She was only here because Gojo and Geto had both been promoted to Special Grade—it would've been rude not to at least stop by.
"I'm not really a fan of Jujutsu High," she said plainly.
Then, without being asked, she began talking about her own issues with the system—how the school's way of hunting Cursed Spirits was nothing more than treating the symptoms, not the cause.
"What I want," she continued, "is to create a world where Cursed Spirits can't exist."
Geto's tired eyes flickered slightly. He stared at her, not quite understanding.
"You look confused," Yuki said with a faint smile. "Cursed Spirits are born from the buildup of leaked Cursed Energy. The residue of negative emotions humanity can't control."
"If we want a world without Cursed Spirits, there are only two options. One: eliminate Cursed Energy from every human being. Two: make it so every human can control it."
She leaned back, crossing her legs. "I used to favor the first option. After all, there are rare cases—like Heavenly Restriction—where people are born with little to no Cursed Energy. But after years of research... I never found a way to remove it completely."
She'd studied countless examples of Heavenly Restriction—people whose Cursed Energy had been reduced to near zero. But true zero? Only two known cases in the entire world.
And after all that time—and all that debt—Jinsuke Zenin still hadn't seen any results from funding her research.
"So I've put that direction on hold for now." She sighed. "Mostly because I'm broke."
"Lately, I've been thinking about the second approach," Yuki went on. "If everyone could use Cursed Energy, if everyone became sorcerers, then Curses wouldn't form at all."
Sorcerers leaked almost no Cursed Energy. They circulated it through their bodies, keeping it stable. Curses only emerged from negative energy that couldn't be contained—overflowing and congealing into monsters.
Geto fell silent.
A whole year of exorcising Curses, swallowing them, tasting the filth of human malice—it had warped him. The ugliness he'd seen in people, the constant cycle of hatred and corruption... it had rotted something inside him.
Yuki's words twisted that crack open a little wider.
"If that's true," Geto murmured slowly, "then... if we just kill every non-sorcerer, the second option would be complete."
Yuki didn't react. She rested her chin on her hand, eyes distant.
"That... would work," she said quietly.
It wasn't the first time she'd thought of it.
She just never included it in her plans.
"It's the simplest interpretation of that second option. But a better one would be to pressure humanity—to make survival force people to awaken as sorcerers."
She shrugged. "Basically, mass fear and constant crisis. Evolution through terror."
Then she smiled faintly. "Still, I'm not that extreme—at least, not anymore."
Conscience had a way of keeping her from crossing certain lines.
"Geto-kun," she asked, "do you hate non-sorcerers?"
"I... don't know."
His voice was low, lost.
"If you'd asked me before, I'd have said no without hesitation. But now... I'm not sure what their worth even is."
He stared at the floor, eyes unfocused.
The weakness and the ugliness of humans—he couldn't tell which was more real anymore.
"I don't even know which side of me is the real one—the part that wants to protect them, or the part that despises them."
Yuki smiled softly. "Whichever it is doesn't matter. What matters is that you're finally starting to choose for yourself."
Her eyes shifted toward the entrance, lighting up slightly.
"You're here."
Jinsuke Zenin appeared at the doorway, his tall frame blocking the light. He glanced down at Geto, taking in his hollow, worn-out expression.
So even though Riko Amanai had survived, the ugliness of humanity and the stench of Curses had still eaten away at this kid.
Geto's dazed look sharpened the instant he recognized the man. "You—!"
He tensed. "What are you doing at Jujutsu High?"
Jinsuke grinned and spread his arms. "What, it's weird for a teacher to show up at his own workplace?"
"Teacher? You?" Geto frowned. "I've never seen you teach a single class."
"Ah, come on. A PE teacher skipping class once in a while isn't unusual, right?"
Yuki arched a brow. "Well, well... haven't seen you in a year and you've already scammed your way into a faculty position? Must've pulled some strings, huh?"
Her tone was teasing, but she couldn't help thinking—him, a teacher? Seriously?
"Forget that," Jinsuke said casually. "How about settling that debt now?"
"..."
Yuki puffed up her cheeks and turned away. "Buy me dinner first, or you're not getting a single yen!"
"Fine, fine," Jinsuke said with a smirk. "Just didn't expect a Special Grade Sorcerer to be broke enough to need a free meal. Hey, kid—" he nodded at Geto, "don't turn out like this good-for-nothing senior of yours."
"Ugh."
Yuki clicked her tongue and stalked toward the door. "Anyway, Geto-kun, I just dropped by to say hi to you and Gojo-kun. And don't worry about the Star Plasma Vessel situation—Tengen's stable now, for... certain reasons."
She waved, then tossed her motorcycle keys at Jinsuke. "Think you can handle it?"
He caught them easily. "Please. Don't underestimate me."
Jinsuke eyed the bike with interest, slid the helmet on, and swung a leg over.
Yuki climbed on behind him, arms wrapping naturally around his waist.
"Bye-bye, Geto-kun!" she called, waving cheerfully.
Jinsuke looked over his shoulder at the young man standing motionless on the path, eyes dull and lost.
"Kid," he said, voice steady, "you look confused. So here's some advice from a teacher—if you don't know what to choose, just do whatever feels right. Do what you enjoy. And if someone pisses you off... knock their teeth in."
Why overthink it? If someone hits you, hit them back.
If you can't win, either run or take it on the chin.
Life's easier when you're a little selfish.
Yuki sighed. "And you're a teacher? You're gonna corrupt every student here."
The only response was the roar of the motorcycle engine.
Geto stood there long after they were gone, staring into the distance.
"Do what you enjoy...?" he murmured, eyes narrowing in thought.