Sukuna had fun trying on clothes, and Gojo had played enough. With a wave of his hand, he bought everything Sukuna had tried on and liked.
Along with the clothes Fushiguro and Itadori had chosen, he instructed the store to wash them and send them directly to the school.
Sukuna thought for a moment and simply put on the white hooded sweatshirt he had originally chosen.
Gojo originally wanted to encourage him to wear the burgundy shirt and suit set he had picked out, but Sukuna glared at him as if he were an idiot—
"When we leave here in a moment, I'll have to switch back to Yuji. Do you think he'd look good in that outfit?"
Gojo: "..."
He imagined it, and his breath hitched. It really didn't seem right.
"Ahem, let's go eat lunch now," Gojo said, checking the time on his phone. "I've booked a Western restaurant. It's a rare chance to try something different~"
"And just so you know, the Western restaurant belongs to my family too."
Gojo winked at Sukuna.
Sukuna's eyes lit up. Didn't this mean he could come out during the meal too?
Gojo really was such a... good person!
He decided to magnanimously forgive the pranks the other party had played earlier.
Before leaving the store, Sukuna consciously switched back to Itadori. He was excited just thinking about having the chance to sit and eat in a restaurant today, and he did a little hop in his dark inner world... When they arrived at the location, Itadori quickly switched back to Sukuna. He had long wanted Sukuna to be able to eat a meal himself, so the cooperation was unusually swift.
The three of them sat down. Gojo quickly took the seat opposite Sukuna, while Fushiguro slowly sat down beside him, indicating he had no intention of fighting for a seat.
Lighting, roses, red wine... Oh, wait, no red wine. Minors couldn't drink alcohol, so Gojo decided to change it to watermelon juice.
"...I am an adult."
Sukuna frowned at the watermelon juice. He was over a thousand years old; why was he being served this?
Also, did Gojo misunderstand his preferences? He really wasn't obsessed with watermelon!
"But your body isn't yet. We have to take care of Little Yuji~"
Gojo reminded him thoughtfully.
Sukuna: ...Fine then.
He sighed.
But that reason was indeed very convincing.
Fushiguro calmly raised his cup beside him.
He always felt that Gojo-sensei's tone when dealing with Sukuna was just a little bit... Forget it, no comment... The food was quickly served.
Sukuna immediately picked up his knife and fork and started—who could understand the feelings of someone who hadn't actively eaten a meal himself for over a thousand years?
—Seeing food, he naturally dug right in!
Of course, as a King, he was still very mindful of his dining etiquette, cutting effortlessly and cleanly while simultaneously maintaining the speed of life and death... Wuwuwu, as expected of the Sugar Daddy's restaurant, it was truly delicious!
Sukuna appeared calm on the surface but was crying tears of joy internally.
He accidentally gave Gojo a thumbs up.
Gojo ate very slowly, spending most of the time watching Sukuna across the table with great interest.
Although Sukuna was eating quickly, he showed no signs of impatience; there was even a sense of elegance in his movements.
The corner of his mouth unconsciously curved up; just watching was entertaining.
But as he continued watching, the curve of his mouth slowly dropped, and his brow furrowed slightly.
He sensed a feeling of incongruity... a strong feeling of incongruity.
No, he should say that the sense of incongruity had been present ever since he first met Sukuna.
He looked at the person opposite him, the expression in his eyes obscure.
"Sukuna."
He suddenly spoke, interrupting Sukuna's next movement.
Sukuna looked up, gazing at him quizzically.
Gojo stretched out his hand, pointing at the hands holding the knife and fork, and asked.
"You... why do you know how to eat Western food like that?"
Sukuna: "?"
A question mark slowly formed in his mind.
Isn't this how Western food is always eaten?
Sukuna was about to retort when he suddenly realized something.
The hand holding the knife and fork suddenly froze mid-air.
That's right... He was slightly stunned... How did he know... that Western food was eaten like this?
He had never encountered Western food since waking up, and it was even more impossible that he had eaten it a thousand years ago.
So why did he know... that he should eat Western food "in this specific manner"?
"Not only do you know how to eat it, but your dining etiquette is quite standard, as if you specifically learned it..."
"Where did you learn this knowledge?... Don't tell me you watched a video; this is definitely not the first time you've actually done this."
"You..."
Gojo's voice paused.
A strange thought surfaced in his mind:
Is this person... truly Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses from a thousand years ago?
Gojo's question was so direct that Sukuna didn't know how to respond.
He was stunned for a moment, slowly put down his utensils, and took a deep breath.
"I don't know..."
He paused.
"...I don't know why I know this kind of thing."
He lowered his eyes, hiding the deep confusion within them.
He had never eaten Western food, yet this knowledge seemed to be inherently etched into his body, ready to be used the moment he needed it.
He suddenly recalled past occurrences; it seemed this situation had been happening for a long time.
—Right from the start, the knowledge he possessed about modern society was far greater than what he "should know."
For example, when he first possessed the body, he already knew what a mobile phone was... and when talking to Itadori about various modern foods... However, none of this should be known to someone who died a thousand years ago and only recently resurrected.
So why did he know all this...?
Sukuna looked blankly at the plate in front of him, his expression dazed.
None of them had the heart to continue eating.
Gojo thought about it and decided to take Sukuna back to the school to ask Principal Yaga.
Considering that the contents might involve Sukuna's own secrets, once Gojo returned to school, he told Fushiguro to go back to the dorms, while he took the switched-back Itadori to the Principal's office.
The intense feeling of doubt persisted until they stood before Principal Yaga.
"Satoru..."
After hearing Gojo's explanation, Yaga adjusted his glasses.
He spoke earnestly, as if tutoring a truant child.
"An Incarnated Individual successfully inherits the original memories of the vessel upon Incarnation..."
"—You seriously didn't know this?"
Gojo: ...???
Gojo was dumbfounded.
Was he supposed to know?
Why was it being treated like common knowledge? Nobody had told him this!
Yaga rubbed his temples, a headache forming.
"Not many people know this, since Incarnation is extremely rare. Perhaps everyone assumed you knew, which is why no one mentioned it to you..."
"When you faced incarnated targets before, you always instantly killed them in one move and never communicated with them... so it's not entirely incomprehensible..."
"...But I remember specifically covering this when I taught your class, didn't I? —Were you spacing out again back then?!"
Gojo: "..."
Great, his embarrassing past was exposed in front of his student.
And he had voluntarily come here to ask... Just how much strange knowledge did I miss during my student days?
"Um..."
Itadori, standing nearby, nervously raised his hand.
"What did that mean just now... Does it mean Sukuna has all of my memories?"
Was this some kind of public social death moment?
Sukuna quickly manifested a mouth to clarify: "Absolutely not! When I revived, I didn't even know your phone password!"
Itadori: ...Thanks, I feel comforted.
Yaga glanced at the mouth Sukuna had manifested, discreetly hiding his own interest, and continued speaking.
"The inherited memories vary from person to person. You might not have inherited everything completely, but you certainly have some, for example... your grasp of modern language and pronunciation. That's clear proof."
The vocabulary and pronunciation from a thousand years ago would definitely be different after a millennium.
All three suddenly realized: Oh, right... Gojo immediately turned to Itadori and asked, "So, Yuji, do you know how to eat Western food?"
Itadori looked at Gojo-sensei with a complex expression.
"...Sensei, how little do you think of me? Of course I know how to eat Western food."
Gojo: "..."