The next afternoon, Sukuna yawned.
Itadori was probably too excited last night, dragging him into continuous chatter, talking from last night until this afternoon, making him feel sleepy.
He greeted Itadori, intending to take a quick nap.
[Huzi... Call me when it's time for my three-hour evening release...]
"Okay."
Itadori agreed very happily.
And so, at eight o'clock in the evening—Itadori's affectionately provided wake-up service rang out right on time.
"Sukuna, Sukuna, it's time, you can wake up now!"
Sukuna lazily got up, yawned, and rubbed his eyes in his inner world.
How is his kid so energetic? He hasn't slept every night, doesn't he ever feel tired?
Sigh, he really is getting old... After all, he's over 1,000 years old; he can't compare, he just can't compare.
[Coming, coming.]
Sukuna shared Itadori's vision and saw Yuji walking toward the dormitory room. As he walked, he told Sukuna, "You can come out now, everyone else is gone."
[...Alright.]
Sukuna reluctantly switched over, walked to the door, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he reached out to open it.
The moment his hand touched the doorknob, he paused.
There's someone inside the room...?
An extremely familiar presence came from the room, and he sighed in relief.
Oh, it's Gojo... Why did that guy come so early today? What about his three hours of release time?
Depressed, he opened the door and walked in.
"Gojo, why are you here so..."
"Bang, bang, bang!!—"
Several loud noises came from the room the instant he opened the door, startling Sukuna.
Then a loud voice, mixed with various familiar tones, rang out:
"Sukuna! Happy Birthday!!—"
Hearing this, he froze.
He remained in the motion of opening the door, completely stunned—
—In the brightly lit room, it wasn't just Gojo.
—Maki, Panda, Inumaki, Fushiguro, Nobara... everyone was there.
They held small party poppers and coiled whistles for birthday celebrations and wore tiny birthday hats. Confetti slowly rained down from the air following the noise, some pieces landing on him.
Everyone wore blessed smiles, looking at him, their eyes sparkling.
He stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the scene.
Th-This is... In his mind, Itadori's soft, smiling voice sounded.
[Sukuna, although it's probably not today, but...]
[—Happy Birthday!—]
[We promised to make up for your birthday, hope you like it~]
[Gojo-sensei is here tonight, so you don't have to worry about anything else; you can stay switched out the whole time.]
Sukuna's heart trembled slightly.
He finally understood why Itadori had kept talking to him all day until he fell asleep... Only after he was asleep could Itadori notify everyone and involve them in this event.
He looked up at the familiar faces brimming with happy smiles before him—
A sudden surge of scorching warmth welled up in his heart—
His eyes suddenly stung—
...N-No... He quickly raised a hand and covered his eyes.
His other hand, hanging by his side, trembled at the fingertips, slowly clenching into a fist—
Damn it... These guys... they really are... His throat felt dry, and he pressed his lips together, afraid to speak—
Afraid that the sound coming out would be terribly shaky.
Hold it in!—
He is the magnificent King of Curses!... How can he let these guys see him burst into tears!
Damn it... His breathing was rapid and shaky... How could he not hold back... Sukuna's reaction was observed by everyone.
Yet, not a single person mocked him.
Everyone simultaneously raised their hands to cover their faces, silently and excitedly cheering in their hearts. Kugisaki even shed two wide, noodle-like tears—
Help!... Their Sukuna... is absolutely adorable!!!—
Although they knew he might be touched... they didn't expect him to be this touched!—
What kind of King of Curses is this... Can they please have a dozen Cursed Kings like this?! They want them all!!
..."Alright, alright~ Come and cut the cake!~"
Gojo cheerfully pushed a small cart out from behind the crowd.
A huge three-tier cake on the cart emitted an enticing, sweet aroma.
The cake was made by the Gojo Family's chef team. The Family Head specifically instructed them, so they used their best skills.
Gojo took out a cake knife and paper plates from the box, signaling Sukuna to come quickly and blow out the candles.
Sukuna, who had finally managed to calm his emotions and resisted bursting into tears after a long effort, lowered his hand—
His eyes were slightly red, but he managed to maintain his composure, walking calmly to the cart.
—Then, looking at the four numeral candles "1016" on the cake, his expression became quiet for a moment.
[Ahem...]
Itadori lightly coughed in his mind, explaining awkwardly.
[Because we didn't know how old you are, we decided to use my age, 15, plus your millennium, and then add one year for the birthday, settling on this number.]
Sukuna:...Fine, there's nothing wrong with that.
It's just that the cake probably never expected to become the pinnacle of the cake world, bearing such a heavy number of years.
After blowing out the candles, Sukuna somewhat awkwardly pulled them out.
—At the same time, seeing the crooked characters on the cake, clearly written by different people, spelling out "Happy Birthday Sukuna," his heart trembled again.
Including Itadori, there was exactly one character per person... Help, what should he do? He wanted to cover his face again... He quickly took a deep breath, stopping the turmoil rising in his heart.
He raised the cake knife and gently touched the center of the top layer of the cake.
An invisible Cleave sliced through, dividing the enormous cake into 8 perfectly even pieces.
One piece for everyone, he thought, plus one for his Huzi; not a single person could be left out.
Of course, they couldn't finish the three-tier cake. Everyone only ate the top layer; the rest was used in the ensuing chaos to smash onto everyone's faces, with no one, including Gojo, spared.
Everyone tacitly agreed not to use Cursed Energy, making Nobara and Fushiguro the two who suffered the most in the battle.
Both of them:...We definitely have to practice Physical Techniques more in the future!!!
"Wait, I think this is the first time I've seen Sukuna, right?"
Maki exclaimed this while chasing the rapidly dodging Sukuna with a piece of cake.
Nobara was shocked: "Huh?!—I thought I was the last one! Maki-senpai, you haven't met him yet?"
Maki: "...? Wait, all of you have met him?"
Everyone nodded in unison, looking at Maki in collective silence.
Maki looked betrayed, staring at Inumaki and Panda in shock—
Forget the Blindfold Idiot and the first-years... Why did you two secretly meet him behind my back too?!
"Ahem... it was that time Sukuna made cake for the first time..."
Panda awkwardly began to explain, which earned him a heartbroken slap of cake to the face from Maki.
She then looked at Sukuna, her eyes filled with killing intent—
"Very well! Sukuna, you stop moving right now! Let's have a 'friendly' first meeting!!"
Sukuna:...—Should I move, or should I not?
...Waiting online, urgent!
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