Summer in Tokyo smelled of people before it smelled of the school.
While summer in the mountains was the kind that cooled the skin with a crisp breeze, the heat of the city was much heavier.
Heat baked into the asphalt, exhaust fumes scattered by passing cars, the blast of chilled air leaking out every time a convenience store door opened, and the scent of oil and food drifting from somewhere.
All these things layered together, ensuring the midday heat remained trapped in the city even as the night deepened.
Gojo Satoru looked like a man who was strangely out of place in such a street.
With both hands shoved in his pockets, his stride as he stepped through the building shadows was impossibly light. He looked like someone out on a lark, a bored wanderer taking a stroll—so nonchalant that it wouldn't have been surprising if he were the first to simply vanish into thin air.
But that lightness was never a lack of caution. He simply didn't show tension in a conspicuous way; his eyes were already scanning every entrance, blind spot, rooftop line, and reflective surface.
Geto Suguru followed half a step behind him.
If Gojo was the one clearing the path, Geto was the one verifying if that path was truly safe. His gaze was perpetually wide; his steps weren't fast, yet his judgment never lagged. There was zero waste in his movements.
Itadori Yuji stood in an awkward spot, neither behind nor in front of the two. Yet, his position was strangely the most natural. He occupied the space where he could instantly fill any gap that opened. Though he seemed unconscious of it himself, it was a habit of the battlefield already etched into his bones.
Gojo suddenly turned his head halfway.
"Are you going to stay that quiet the whole time?"
Yuji let his gaze drift sideways.
"It's better than being noisy."
"I disagree," Gojo retorted airily.
"It feels a bit unfair being the only one talking."
"No one asked you to."
"You hear that, Suguru? He's got an attitude already."
Geto let out a low exhale.
"Satoru, hearing that from you sounds more like a compliment."
"Wow. Throwing shade at me too, I see."
While the two traded words, Yuji's gaze was elsewhere.
He watched the shadows of the three of them flickering on street windows, the black trash bags piled at alley entrances, the resonance of a barrier flowing along a building's exterior wall, and the people standing at the bus stop across the crosswalk.
Right now, it was still a morning where nothing had happened. However, the mere fact that nothing was happening didn't feel like it would last. It was because of that unpleasant void that had been scraping at his senses since last night.
The sensation of something missing where it should be.
Cursed Energy detection couldn't catch it. If anything, that made it clearer. The world constantly fluctuates with living things, cursed spirits, Cursed Techniques, and the dregs of emotion. If only one spot in that flow was smooth and empty, it wasn't an absence—it was a footprint.
Yuji silently closed and opened his eyes before looking forward again.
Gojo stopped right after.
"We're here."
It was a mundane-looking building.
No particularly striking exterior, maintained in a way that seemed intended to blend in with its surroundings. The kind of building you'd pass by without a second thought if you weren't looking for it. However, a thin barrier was draped over the surface, invisible to human eyes.
It wasn't a grand defensive type. It was a protective shroud meant to blur a presence and slightly skew external tracking.
Geto's gaze swept over the barrier as if checking its integrity, while Gojo stepped through the entrance without hesitation.
That movement was so natural that Yuji could be certain.
Just as he remembered.
Gojo and Geto were already frequent visitors here.
Neither Amanai Riko nor Kuroi Misato could possibly be unfamiliar with their faces.
In this dynamic, he was the only foreign object. Even when they reached a single door at the end of the hallway, Gojo didn't bother knocking.
The moment the door opened, a sharp voice burst from within.
"Barging in as you please again, Gojo Satoru!"
Gojo leaned against the doorframe and smirked.
"Amanai is as healthy as ever today, I see."
"Who gave you permission to mock this body?"
The girl standing inside the classroom crossed her arms and tilted her chin up high.
Her expression was much more vibrant than in her photos. Her eyes were sharper, and her gestures were larger than he expected. She wasn't just pretending to be angry; she was genuinely fuming, but there was a certain formality in the way she displayed that anger.
It was as if some young princess was asserting her dignity in her own way, or perhaps like a girl her age putting on a grand display of bluster.
Amanai Riko.
She glared at Gojo before quickly shifting her gaze to Geto beside him.
"Geto. What are you doing not teaching this fool some manners?"
Geto offered a faint smile.
"He should at least have the decency to knock."
"See!"
Riko pointed a finger at Gojo.
"Were this body's words not correct?"
"The problem is Suguru's never on my side," Gojo muttered as if grumbling. Those few words were enough.
This wasn't the relationship of a strange guardian and their charge. It was the atmosphere that only formed after clashing several times, arguing back and forth, and grasping each other's personalities. Gojo countered with familiarity, and Geto smoothed things over with the same. Even Riko reacted with irritation rather than wariness toward them.
Kuroi Misato, standing beside her, let out a soft sigh.
"Even so, I would appreciate it if you spoke up before entering."
"That wouldn't be any fun."
"This is not a situation where we act for the sake of fun."
Kuroi's voice was calm but sharp.
Yet, she too didn't treat Gojo and Geto as total strangers. This was the texture of a conversation that had taken place many times before.
And then, her gaze fell upon the final member of the trio.
Yuji.
Kuroi's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"I don't believe we've met you before."
Riko naturally looked his way as well. Their eyes met for the first time. Yuji stared at Riko without a word.
Amanai Riko.
A name from a past that Gojo had recounted many times.
Someone he had only ever known as 'the deceased.'
That name was now standing right in front of him on its own two feet—angry, speaking in that stylized tone, and breathing.
Strangely, his first impression wasn't tragedy.
'She's louder than I thought.'
That was the first thought that entered his head.
Silence usually clings to the names of the dead. The more a name is repeated in someone's reminiscence, the more that holds true. But Riko wasn't a silent person at all. She was full of life, full of grumbles, and she had a certain grit—knowing full well what position she was in and trying to endure it in her own way.
A name he had only heard was destined for death appeared so vibrantly alive.
"What is it?"
Riko asked Yuji bluntly.
"You have been staring so intently at this body for some time now."
Gojo laughed as if he'd been waiting for this.
"Itadori, you shouldn't stare like that."
"Satoru," Geto called out lowly. It sounded like a reprimand, but he was half-enjoying the spectacle. Yuji finally spoke.
"Itadori Yuji."
Riko murmured the name as if rolling it around in her mouth.
"Itadori Yuji, hm?"
She narrowed her eyes and took a step forward.
"Suspicious."
Yuji's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
"It's not the first time I've heard that."
"Doesn't that make it even more suspicious?"
Riko was dead serious. Gojo couldn't hold back a laugh nearby.
"I agree with her."
"Satoru."
"What? He really is suspicious. He's been like this since yesterday."
Ignoring Gojo's commentary, Riko tilted her chin at Yuji.
"Were you also planning on saying you came here to protect this body?"
"Yeah."
"Brief, aren't you?"
"Making it longer won't change anything."
Riko snorted as if she didn't like the answer.
"What an insolent fellow."
But contrary to her words, her gaze had changed very subtly.
Usually, people who came before her brought up things like Tengen or the Star Plasma Vessel first. Or they showed excessive pity, or they were overly formal.
But Itadori Yuji gave an answer that didn't use those words, as if no further reason was truly needed.
Kuroi cautiously chimed in.
"I heard this gentleman would be accompanying us starting from this mission."
"Yeah. New member."
Gojo waved a hand dismissively.
"Just an optional add-on those old geezers tacked on because they got scared."
"Satoru."
"It's the truth."
Riko reacted immediately to those words.
"They got scared?"
"Yeah."
Gojo laughed, making no effort to hide his amusement.
"I guess those geezers feel safer if the three of us are grouped together."
Riko blinked.
"The three of you?"
Geto summarized it briefly.
"The core of this escort mission is still me and Satoru, as originally planned. Itadori has simply been added to the team."
Riko's gaze returned to Yuji.
"I suppose that means you are quite capable yourself."
Gojo interjected with a grin.
"The problem is he's a bit more than just 'capable.'"
"Satoru."
"Fine, fine."
It was then that Yuji asked Riko his first question.
"Are you afraid?"
The air in the classroom momentarily froze. Gojo turned his head, and Geto looked toward Yuji. Kuroi's gaze hardened into wariness.
But Riko was the first to react. She fell silent for a moment.
She could have brushed it off playfully, or she could have gotten angry. But several seconds passed without any answer.
Then, Riko very slowly lifted her chin.
"...It would be a lie to say I am not afraid."
Her tone was different this time.
The habit of referring to herself with superiority remained, but the emotion beneath it was unfeigned.
It was quieter, and more real.
"However, this body is the Star Plasma Vessel. I knew such a day would come. Therefore, trembling changes nothing."
Gojo's grin faded. Geto blinked as if closing his eyes. Kuroi silently watched Riko's shoulder with a somber gaze.
As he listened to those words, Yuji thought to himself.
Right. This kid isn't weak.
She isn't someone being dragged along because she's weak; she's the type who endures in her own way while knowing exactly how terrifying it is.
That was actually a relief. It's hard to save a child who has already given up. But it's possible to hold onto someone who is trying to stay alive until the very end.
"Then that's enough," Yuji said. Riko narrowed her eyes.
"What is?"
"It means you have the will to live."
A brief silence followed.
Riko couldn't immediately respond to that. Instead, she very slowly quirked a corner of her mouth.
"...You are an odd fellow."
"I hear that a lot."
"I don't particularly like that phrase."
Gojo laughed again.
"See? He's really unique."
Geto exhaled a small breath and returned to the main point.
"We don't have time. We're changing the route starting now. It's better to move earlier than originally planned."
Kuroi responded immediately.
"Is there movement outside?"
Geto cast a glance toward Yuji. Instead of answering, Yuji turned his gaze toward the window.
The void had been scratching at the edges of his senses for a while now. It was too subtle to conclude it had moved closer, yet too clear to say it had moved away.
No Cursed Energy. No presence. Yet, somewhere outside his line of sight, there remained a sensation as if a shadow had been erased from a place where a person should be.
"I'm not certain yet," Yuji said slowly.
"But I think we're being watched."
The smile vanished from Gojo's face.
"From where?"
"I can't see them."
Those words carried even more weight. Both Gojo and Geto knew that saying 'I can't see them' didn't just mean he couldn't find them. When someone of Itadori Yuji's caliber said that, it meant the person couldn't be caught by ordinary detection methods.
Geto immediately scanned the barrier again.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
No traces of anyone entering through the barrier with a Cursed Technique either.
That was even more bizarre.
Yuji added in a low voice,
"It's not a sorcerer."
At those words, Gojo's eyes narrowed.
"A Heavenly Restriction user?"
It was a question laced with conviction.
Yuji didn't answer, but his silence was enough.
Kuroi quickly moved to stand in front of Riko.
Riko didn't look terrified, but the tips of her fingers were slightly stiff. Even so, she didn't take a single step back.
"Then moving now is the right choice."
"Right," Geto said shortly.
Gojo glanced out the window, his expression devoid of playfulness.
"Good."
"What is?" Riko snapped back.
"It's finally getting interesting."
"This body doesn't find it good at all!"
Gojo shrugged.
"That's why we're here."
His words were casual, but strangely, in that moment, they didn't sound like bluster.
Riko fell silent, and Kuroi gave a short nod.
Everyone finished their preparations to move. The mundane air that had momentarily occupied the classroom vanished in an instant.
As he headed for the door, Geto said, "From here on, move according to my lead. Satoru is on point; I'll handle the flanks and rear. Itadori, you're on perimeter detection."
Yuji gave a short nod. Riko started toward the door with Kuroi, then suddenly stopped. She turned around and asked Yuji,
"You."
"What?"
"The way you were looking at this body earlier."
Riko paused to choose her words.
"You had the eyes of someone who was finally seeing a person they had only ever known to be dead."
Yuji's eyes flickered very subtly. Gojo and Geto both stopped in their tracks.
The statement was too accurate.
Even without anyone telling her, Riko had instinctively picked up on the anomaly.
Yuji said nothing for a moment.
He could lie if he wanted to. He could gloss it over. But strangely, in that moment, he didn't feel like doing so.
"Something like that."
A short answer. Riko didn't pry further even after hearing it. Instead, she narrowed her eyes slightly and spoke.
"It is quite bothersome to have you look at this body with such eyes."
"Why?"
"Does it not make a living person feel like they are already dead?"
Her words weren't mature; they were direct, like those of a child. That made them all the more piercing.
Yuji answered very slowly.
"I won't do it again."
Only then did Riko look away.
"Good."
She lifted her chin once more and added, "Because this body has not died yet."
The classroom door opened, and the five of them stepped into the hallway. The outside air had clearly changed in that instant. Yuji raised his head almost instinctively.
On the rooftop railing of the building across from them—
A man dressed in black was sitting with one knee pulled up. A loose posture, disheveled hair, and a face that looked thoroughly bored. Yet, strangely, a solid, condensed weapon of destruction was hidden beneath that laxity.
Their eyes met.
It was brief. Incredibly brief. Yet, it was enough for Yuji.
That man had a body that was built for killing people. Despite having no Cursed Energy—or perhaps because of it—the stench of death was all the more vivid. He was the kind of human who harmed others by habit rather than emotion.
In the next instant, the man's figure vanished.
No smoke, no lingering scent, no traces of a technique. He simply erased himself as if he had never existed from the start.
Geto asked immediately, "Did you see him?"
"Yeah."
Yuji's voice was low.
Gojo was also looking in that direction, his mirthless blue eyes narrowing.
"Definitely him."
Yuji stared at the empty spot on the railing for a moment longer.
Now he knew for sure.
Fushiguro Toji.
He hadn't spoken the name aloud yet, but his senses had already registered the man's presence.
Death was close. Much sooner and much quieter than he had expected.
Riko asked softly, "Is something there?"
Yuji answered as he withdrew his gaze, "Just a simple curse user..."
The corners of Gojo's mouth turned up slightly.
"Excellent."
Geto cut him off firmly.
"This is no time for excitement. Move out."
Kuroi grabbed Riko protectively, and Riko didn't talk back this time.
The steps of the five people quickened simultaneously.
In the middle of the city on a summer morning, an invisible blade was silently sinking into a street that appeared as though nothing had happened yet.