Megumi stepped up right beside her, fixing Yuji with a dark, completely silent glare. Wood creaked in Maki's hands as her grip tightened on her polearm, though her amber eyes bypassed the box entirely to zero in on their teacher.
Gojo just laughed, completely immune to the killing intent radiating off his students. "See? Great surprise."
Mai's hand rested on her hip, her glare fixed on her twin standing rigid on the stone steps. But then, her gaze snagged on the space just an inch to Maki's right.
A guy stood there. Dark hair, sharp jaw, hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets. He was perfectly still, quietly watching the Tokyo team implode.
Mai's breath caught in her throat.
A sudden, violent heat rushed up her neck, setting her cheeks on fire. Her heart hammered against her ribs, frantic and loud. It wasn't just a blush; it felt like walking face-first into a physical shockwave.
Her fingers clamped down around the leather holster of her revolver. The leather groaned under her grip.
She gritted her teeth, her breaths coming short and fast. Her instincts flared, defensive and sharp, yet her stomach churned with a heavy, twisting warmth.
It was a cloying, invasive sense of absolute safety. Of deep, unnatural comfort. What is wrong with me?
She didn't even know his name.
Mai forced her fingers to loosen. She stared hard at the stone steps, fighting the sudden flush burning her face.
Utahime rubbed her temples. The stupid surprise box stunt was already giving her a headache. She scanned the Tokyo lineup to count their numbers and stopped. Her eyes locked onto the tall guy standing quietly next to Maki.
"Satoru," Utahime snapped. She pointed directly at Ren. "Who is that? He isn't on the official roster."
Gojo clapped his hands together. He spun around, completely ignoring Nobara violently shaking Yuji by the collar.
"Oh! Where are my manners?" Gojo beamed. He walked over and threw a heavy arm around Ren's shoulders. Ren just kept his hands shoved in his pockets. "Kyoto, meet Ren-kun. Our brand new transfer student."
Utahime crossed her arms. Her eyes narrowed into a glare. "A transfer student. Three days before the event. From where?"
"Antarctica," Gojo answered instantly.
Silence dropped over the courtyard.
"It's true," Gojo nodded. He pulled his blindfold up just enough to wink. "He transferred from the secret South Pole facility. Fought off an entire colony of Special Grade Emperor Penguin curses. Very dangerous stuff. The frostbite alone is brutal. Tragic backstory."
A vein popped on Utahime's forehead. Her face turned red. "There is no Jujutsu branch in Antarctica, you moron!"
"You've never been there, Utahime. You don't know," Gojo countered smoothly.
"I know we don't fight penguins! Stop making things up!" she yelled, stepping forward.
Ren looked at Utahime. His expression stayed completely flat. "It was mostly ice. Really cold."
Nobara stopped strangling Yuji. She turned and glared at Ren. "Do not encourage him."
Maki let out a long, tired sigh. she rested her forehead against her wooden polearm and shook her head.
After the initial chaos finally died down, the rest of the morning proceeded exactly as expected.
Principal Gakuganji arrived on the scene shortly after. The old man hobbled up the stone steps with his wooden cane, fully prepared to give a boring, traditional speech to officially kick off the event.
Instead, he stopped dead in his tracks.
His eyes bulged out of his wrinkled face, staring in absolute, horrified shock at Yuji Itadori. The kid he had personally arranged to be assassinated was standing right there—alive, completely healthy, and smiling like an idiot.
While Gakuganji was busy having a silent, internal aneurysm over Sukuna's vessel, his furious gaze swept over the rest of the Tokyo lineup. He didn't pause. His eyes passed right over the new transfer student without registering him at all. He completely ignored him.
Ren raised a slight eyebrow, keeping his hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets.
Did he actually just not notice me? Ren thought.
He mentally checked his system interface. His innate charm trait was definitely still active. It had practically flash-banged Mai just three minutes ago. Ren watched the old principal continue to glare daggers at Gojo and Yuji, his grip trembling on his cane.
Ren let out a quiet exhale through his nose.
Good to know, he mused. The supernatural handsomeness trait doesn't work on grumpy old men.
...
The Tokyo branch waiting room was tense, loud, and entirely devoid of any actual strategic planning.
Yuji sat perfectly still in the center of the room, sweating profusely. Nobara was standing directly over him, violently kicking the leg of his folding chair every few seconds.
"I cried!" Nobara yelled, her voice echoing off the concrete walls. She delivered another sharp kick to the metal chair leg. Clang. "Do you have any idea how much I cried over you, you absolute idiot?!"
"I'm sorry! I really am!" Yuji pleaded, holding his hands up in defense. "Gojo-sensei told me it would be a hilarious surprise! He said you guys would be crying tears of joy!"
"I'm going to cry tears of joy when I bury you myself," Nobara snapped.
Megumi sat a few feet away, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He was projecting an aura of pure, freezing hostility. He didn't yell. He just stared a hole directly through Yuji's skull.
"Fushiguro, please say something," Yuji begged, looking at his dark-haired classmate. "The silent treatment is worse than the kicking."
"You should have stayed dead," Megumi stated flatly.
"Salmon," Toge nodded in absolute agreement from the corner.
Ren sat near the back of the room, leaning his chair against the wall on two legs. He watched the chaotic reunion play.
The Goodwill Event was starting in less than an hour. That meant...
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....
[Current Balance: 41,595 System Points]
Ren stared at the translucent blue interface hovering in his vision. He needed at least another 8,500 points to hit the 50,000 threshold.