[You were in front, walking at an easy pace. Riko Amanai followed behind you, Misato Kuroi at her side.]

[Skrrk.]

[The ball sailed through the air, nudged along by a thread of Cursed Energy. It drew a perfect arc and dropped several meters away with a hollow clunk, right into a recycling bin.]

[His eyes landed on the uniformed girl clutching a panda plushie to her chest like it was body armor. Every inch of her screamed wary, defensive, ready to bite if someone came too close.]

["Tch. So I’m supposed to babysit this brat? That’s the deal?"]

["That should be her. But Satoru, listen. When she’s in front of us, drop the attitude."]

["Huh? Why?"]

[Gojo laced his fingers behind his head and tilted his skull at a ridiculous angle. His face said, clear as day, That’s it?]

[Geto sighed quietly and looked ahead again.]

[Gojo didn’t immediately fire back, which was already unusual. He raked a hand through his white hair, lip curling in annoyance.]

[While they bickered, Geto’s attention had already sharpened on the three approaching figures.]

[Not loud. Not obvious. Just wrong enough to snag on his nerves.]

[Kuroi, composed maid uniform and all, was too pale. Too stiff. And both of them were walking a careful half-step behind you. Not like people staying close to a protector. More like people keeping distance from something dangerous.]

[Why? Touma isn’t anything like Satoru.]

[By the time Geto realized he had gone quiet, you had already brought Riko and Kuroi to a stop in front of them.]

[You turned slightly and made the introductions as if this were any other handoff.]

[The second you finished, Gojo’s brazen stare met Riko’s bristling glare.]

[The atmosphere between them practically started sparking.]

[Without missing a beat, you stepped around the pair just as they locked into their silent little war and headed for the black sedan.]

["Touma, where are you going?"]

["You all get acquainted. I need to brief the Assistant Manager on the cleanup upstairs."]

[Geto’s brow creased.]

[A breeze passed between you.]

[A chill crawled up his spine before he could stop it. He stepped forward, alarm slipping into his voice.]

[You met his stare with your usual easy smile.]

["Oh, that? Nothing serious. When I went up to collect them, a few Curse Users drawn in by the bounty were in the corridor. They were trying to reach the Star Plasma Vessel. It seemed better to remove the threat, so I dealt with them. I’m going to coordinate with the manager now so the civilians don’t panic."]

[At the sedan, you leaned down by the window and began speaking to the sweating assistant manager. Your voice stayed low and even as you explained the situation on the twentieth floor, told him to contact the Windows division for immediate cleanup, and had him start drafting an after-action report.]

[For a few seconds, his mind simply refused to work.]

[Killed people. Actual human beings. Curse Users, yes, but still human. You had described it with the same tone someone might use for bad traffic or a spilled drink.]

[As if ending lives was just another task on the list. A dirty one, maybe. Annoying, maybe. But not worth thinking about once it was done.]

[Because everyone at Jujutsu High knew Touma Hayase as a good person.]

[Warm, kind and reliable.] 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

[Aside from that one time you’d offered to coach Gojo and Geto in hand-to-hand combat, mostly to sharpen their survival odds, you avoided attention.]

[And with Kento Nanami and Yu Haibara, the two first-years who had enrolled not long ago, Geto had noticed something hard to ignore.]

[Yaga was strict and responsible. No one could deny that. But he couldn’t do what you did.]

[You held nothing back.]

[And yet that same person, that warm, reliable, absurdly patient young man who practically embodied gentleness at Jujutsu High, had just stood in front of him, smiled, and talked about killing several people without the slightest pause.]

[We’re Jujutsu Sorcerers. We have the right to eliminate Curse Users who threaten society. The obligation, even. That’s not the problem.]

[He couldn’t finish the thought.]

[But even Gojo noticed when Geto’s expression changed.]

["What’s wrong, Suguru? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Something happen with Touma?"]

[Slowly, he turned his head. His face still hadn’t quite recovered from the shock.]

["Touma said he killed several Curse Users upstairs. He’s talking to the assistant manager now about handling the bodies and the fallout."]

[One full second passed.]

["Suguru, you really have zero talent for jokes, you know that? Touma? That guy probably agonizes for ten minutes over whether to step on an ant. You’re telling me he went upstairs to pick someone up and just casually killed a few people on the way? Come on. Something that out of character isn’t going to make anyone laugh."]

[He held Gojo’s gaze, staring straight through the lenses at those pale blue eyes. His own look was flat, cold, and deadly serious.]

[The air between them went still.]

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