Looking at Satori Gojo waving at him, Yami could not help but sigh.
'Kenjaku first, now the Peng clan's young master.'
Though ignoring her would be rude.
He walked towards her and gave a slight nod. "Welcome to my birthday party, Gojo heiress."
Satori Gojo grinned and shrugged casually. "I was kind of forced to come." However, her eyes lingered on him a little longer than normal.
Standing beside her was the Kamo clan heir, Shigetsuni Kamo, wielder of genuine Blood Manipulation, dressed in neat formal attire, he completely ignored Satori's attitude.
He stepped forward and handed Yami a box.
"It's some handpicked chocolates. Hope you like them," Shigetsuni said with a closed-eye smile.
'He looks pretty shady,' Yami thought, though he still tucked the gift away and thanked him politely.
Satori turned to look at Shigetsuni, her expression darkening. "This snake! He told me he didn't get any gifts either when I asked him!"
Yami noticed the look Satori was giving Shigetsuni and thought, 'So not only is she the strongest female, she's also an overprotective red flag?'
Yami shrugged inwardly.
'Not my problem.'
****
"I'm bored," Yami muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose with clear irritation.
In response, Naobito simply shrugged his broad shoulders, his expression remaining as relaxed as ever. "Well, you can just go chill on the balcony. Your work is pretty much done anyway."
Yami gave a small nod, but his sharp eyes narrowed slightly with lingering restlessness. "Hey, lend me your ear for a bit."
Naobito looked mildly confused yet still leaned down toward him.
"Be careful of that guy Mukari," Yami warned in a low voice.
Naobito's confusion only deepened. He stared at Yami with a strange look, as if he were dealing with someone who had lost his mind, the way his eyes scanned Yami's face made the atmosphere between them grow slightly heavier.
"Huh? What's with that look?" Yami asked, his eyes twitching in annoyance.
'This bastard takes nothing seriously!' Yami thought, frustration bubbling inside him. However, Naobito's reason for reacting this way was actually far different from what Yami assumed.
"Yami… who is Mukari? " Naobito asked with genuine bewilderment.
Yami Zenin's voice abruptly came to a halt, his entire body froze on the spot, muscles locking up as a chill ran through him.
"What do you mean?" he said, his breaths suddenly shaky and uneven.
Naobito repeated himself, tilting his head slightly. "Who is Mukari? I don't know that guy."
'Does he… seriously not remember… or?' The dangerous implications began eroding Yami's mind, planting seeds of doubt and unease.
'No, it's more probable for him to not remember, right?' he thought, trying to steady his racing thoughts.
'I need to talk this up with him later on,' Yami decided, his expression growing darker as he kept those words locked inside for now.
****
Outside, at the far edge of the balcony, Yami Zenin leaned against the railing and let out a heavy, exhausted sigh.
'This is getting far too annoying… My brain's starting to clog up.'
He tapped his temple repeatedly with two fingers, as if trying to forcibly reboot his thoughts.
'Kenjaku's early appearance… No, it actually makes complete sense.'
Yami's thoughts raced. 'The guy who proudly declared he had "lived on" right in front of Tengen never openly moved around the jujutsu world, at least not before Satoru Gojo became the strongest and those stitches… in the manga they were clearly visible, but on Mukari I didn't notice them at all until I squinted like a damn fool. Just how many unknowns surround this guy…?'
A wave of pure dread washed over Yami Zenin, his body chilling up.
'This… This is way too terrifying.'
Yet even as the fear gripped him, something else stirred in his chest.
'Why the hell do I feel so excited?'
A dangerous grin ghosted across his lips.
'Bring it on, world. This time… I won't die so easily.'
The second the thought left his mind, Yami choked on his own spit.
"Ugh, damn, that was fucking cringe," he hissed, clicking his tongue in embarrassment.
Then instinctintively he felt something; his body moved before his mind could catch up.
Paranoia and honed reflexes fused as he summoned the Divine Dogs while launching himself backward.
His claws of cursed power slammed into an invisible wall.
CLANG.
"Oh… it's you," Yami exhaled, shoulders dropping in relief.
Satori Gojo stood there with one finger still raised, an annoyed pout on her flawless face.
"Hey dude," she said, voice dripping with mock disappointment, "I know I'm irresistible, but I do have standards. Consent is important, yeah?"
Though she chuckled, her crystalline blue eyes shimmered with genuine surprise.
'He's as fast as Muyami… and he noticed me instinctively? Not quite Six Eyes level, but those senses are terrifying.'
The same shock flickered across Yami's face.
'She didn't activate Infinity automatically. She timed it perfectly. Those damn cheat eyes…'
For a brief second, the exact same thought echoed in both their minds:
'What a monster.'
Satori stepped forward, leaning casually on the railing beside him. "So what are you doing sulking out here all alone on your own goddamn birthday?"
Yami gave a dry chuckle. "I think you already know the reason."
Her eyes gleamed with understanding. "Bored? Too many ordinary people?"
"You're right about the boredom," he admitted, "but I'm not arrogant enough to call them ordinary. Not in a room where most of them could kill me if they felt like it."
Satori immediately clutched her chest in exaggerated horror.
"Wowza~ 'I am Yami Zenin, the ideal Zenin heir~ I am not arrogant, ahhh, look at me I'm so cool~'"
Yami shot her a lethal side-eye. "You wanna go, Six Eyes?"
From the shadows behind him, the Divine Dogs materialized again with menacing growls.
Satori smirked, raising her finger skyward.
A massive, concentrated sphere of cursed energy began forming above her, withholding catastrophic power.
"First cross the infinite gap between us, you damn zoo—"
She suddenly froze.
In a split second, her aim shifted toward the balcony entrance. A violent stream of blood-red lanced through and collided with her cursed energy mass, detonating both into sparkling particles.
Satori gritted her teeth. "Buzz off. Mind your own business."
The newcomer simply flexed his fingers with a lazy smile.
"I am older than you two. It's only natural I'd be better," Shigetsuni said smoothly.
"Go cure your diabetes, you punk!" Satori shot back, though a grin was already tugging at her lips.
Yami narrowed his eyes. "Does she seriously think she's funny?"
Shigetsuni sighed. "Ignore her. She knows no rules and acts like she's mentally ill, but… she's a good person at heart."
"Okay," Yami said, hands on his hips as he watched Satori still wheezing with laughter on the floor. "She's also got a very punchable face."
Shigetsuni nodded solemnly. "Too bad you can't punch it."
"For now…" Yami muttered darkly.
A comfortable silence fell between the two young men as they stared out into the night. Shigetsuni eventually spoke again with a meek tone.
"You know… compared to the rest of the Zenin clan, you're actually refreshing to talk to."
Yami let out a short laugh. "Yeah. I know how that feels."
Shigetsuni's gaze drifted toward the sky. "That's not the problem, though. No matter how much I try to reason with them… it hurts watching them not even recognize Satori during the big three clan meetings. Especially as her friend."
Yami reached over and patted the older boy's back.
"Let me tell you something."
Shigetsuni looked at him.
"You can't reason people out of positions they weren't reasoned into in the first place."
"The only thing you can do is stop talking," Yami continued with a tired voice. "There's really no point… none at all."
Shigetsuni chuckled softly. "Okay, old man."
"LOOK AT ME! I'm philosopher Yami Zenin! The coolest, big-dick Socrates-sama!" Satori suddenly screamed from the floor in a dramatic narrator's voice.
Yami clicked his tongue. "This girl…"
But even as he muttered the words, a small, genuine smile had already bloomed across his face unnoticed by him.
For the first time that night, the weight on his shoulders felt just a little lighter.