After that whole ordeal, Satoru Gojo spent the rest of the day chasing me like a possessed man.
The moment I tried to pull a 180 and bolt after the whole "You're so right!" incident, he came after me without a shred of hesitation. He didn't even look surprised—he just had that deranged, wide-eyed grin plastered on his face.
Honestly, if he had just chased me, it would have been fine. If it were a simple game of tag, I could've handled it. But that brat? He started throwing techniques at me.
I mean, who does that? Who fires off a Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue at full power inside a massive family estate full of people? If anyone else caused a scene like that, they'd be in a world of trouble. But no, not him. He's Satoru Gojo, so he just does whatever he wants. Damn that kid.
As a result, I spent the entire time until Grandpa and the current Gojo Clan Head arrived playing a life-or-death game of keep-away. He didn't care where we were; he just kept firing Blue at me. Picking a safe path to run was exhausting.
Even when the adults showed up, Satoru didn't stop. He basically told them to shut up and even aimed a technique at his own father and Grandpa. I had to use Domain Amplification to get close, put him in a bearhug from behind, and try to talk him down. I promised we'd finish our fight later in a place where no one could interrupt us.
And then the kid—well, he is a kid—started throwing a tantrum. He insisted it had to be now and started ramping up his cursed energy to maximum output. He was completely out of control.
I had no choice. While I still had him in that bearhug, I performed a… what was it called again? Oh, right. A Dragon Suplex. I tried to knock him out with the impact, but he just started smiling even wider, so I had to settle for a good old-fashioned chokehold until he went limp.
Once he was out cold, I dumped him onto the Gojo Clan Head, gave a quick bow and an apology, and high-tailed it out of there with Grandpa.
On the way home, Grandpa gave me a massive, proud smile and told me I did a good job. It felt nice to be praised, I guess… but wait, why are you praising me? Shouldn't you be angry that I choked out the Six Eyes user?
Before I could voice the question, the exhaustion from the "Satoru Chase" caught up to me. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. I could have sworn I heard a wolf howling in the distance as I faded out.
+++
"Yo."
"Don't 'yo' me. Why are you even here, you demon?"
When I opened my eyes, the demon was standing right in front of me.
I was in a room at the Zenin estate—my room, actually. I had been sleeping soundly on my futon; Grandpa must have carried me in. I'll have to thank him later. Maybe I'll give him that bundle of black rope cursed tools I found recently.
But that wasn't the point. The point was the person standing over me.
In front of a freshly awoken, perfectly refreshed version of myself stood the very person who had caused me to pass out in the first place. I don't know how much time has passed, but it's clearly been a while. So why… why are you here?
"I came to see you."
"Get out."
I gave him an immediate, ice-cold rejection. Even I was surprised by how flat my voice sounded.
But can you blame me? This is Satoru Gojo we're talking about. He's a dangerous lunatic who fires off Blue as easily as breathing. If I don't get him to leave, he might blow up the entire house.
Satoru pouted at my response, looking genuinely annoyed.
"What gives? You were the one who said we'd finish this later."
He stuck his lip out, acting like I was the one being irresponsible.
..........
...…I mean...… yeah… okay, I did say that. I definitely said we'd finish it. But you were the one screaming "No! No!" and ignoring everything I said! You were about to blast your own father into orbit!
Wait… why is he acting so smug after doing something that crazy? Because he's Satoru Gojo. Right. I should have known.
"…Fine, whatever. But it looks like you're alone… did you seriously come here by yourself?"
I looked around. No one else was in the room. Satoru is the heir to the Gojo clan. He has the Six Eyes and the Limitless. He's a high-value target for every assassin in the world. At this age, he should have a massive bounty on his head.
Normally, he'd have a fleet of bodyguards. But I couldn't sense anyone, even outside the room.
Satoru scratched his head, looking bored.
"I came with my old man. I couldn't exactly walk here on my own."
I watched him lie down lazily on the floor and let out a long sigh. I could guess why the Gojo Head was here. He was probably complaining to Grandpa about me punching and choking his son, or maybe demanding compensation for the damage Satoru himself caused. The families are on terrible terms, after all.
"This is such a pain…"
I flopped back onto my futon. I didn't care that Satoru was there. Everything about the modern Three Great Families is a mess. It's not my fault.
I glanced over at him. He was sprawled out in someone else's house like he owned the place. What a loafer.
The first Six Eyes user in centuries. He can see cursed energy and techniques with the clarity of a high-definition thermograph. It's the ultimate cheat code of the jujutsu world—the source of his power. Those eyes… they look just like the blue-sky eyes my best friend had.
Looking at him brought back the memories again. I feel like I've been doing that a lot lately. People are going to start thinking I'm just an old man stuck in the past.
When did I first meet my friend? Was it when we were kids, or when we were a bit older? I don't remember clearly, but I know for a fact he didn't start blasting Blue at me five seconds after we met.
Actually, is every Six Eyes user's default expression "boredom"? Despite their polar opposite personalities, Satoru's face keeps overlapping with my friend's. Even though I know they're different people, that strangely lonely expression makes me feel nostalgic.
"Hey, Meguru… let's finish our fight!"
Satoru, now fully comfortable rolling around in my room, called out to me in a tone that was almost… sweet? It was hard to believe he had tried to kill me just a few days ago. He was calling my name so casually, looking at me like a kid begging his parents for a new toy. It was giving me a headache.
What is it about me that makes him act like this? Knowing what he becomes in the future, it's a very strange sight. The worst part is that when he acts like this, it's hard for me to just kick him out. Is he doing this on purpose?
I massaged my temples and tried to dodge his demands. I really didn't want to fight him in this state. The scariest part was the thought that if he somehow figured out Reverse Cursed Technique during our fight, I'd be his first test subject.
I've been hit by Red and Hollow Purple before. I don't care how much I respect him; I never want to experience those techniques again. They were dangerous enough coming from my friend, but from this kid? I wouldn't even have a scrap of flesh left.
"Come on, let's go! Let's do the rest!"
"I told you, no!"
I guess he decided the "sweet" act wasn't working, because he suddenly sat up and started pestering me. He was being so incredibly… annoying.
"I said no! You're already using Blue, and you'll eventually have Red and Hollow Purple, right? I'll die if I take one of those head-on!"
I was so fed up that I raised my voice and shoved him away. Satoru just stared at me with a blank, confused look on his face.
Oh, crap. Did I go too far? He might be Satoru Gojo, but he's still a kid. Maybe I actually hurt his feelings—
"Hey… what's a 'Hollow' technique?"
His voice was quiet, filled with genuine curiosity.
"Huh?"
"I said, what's a 'Hollow' technique? I've never heard of that before."
I felt like I had been dropped into a pit of confusion. Wait… he doesn't know about Purple? Why?
I knew he couldn't use it. Without Reverse Cursed Technique, he can't use Red, and without Red, you can't create Purple. But how could he not even know it exists?
He's the heir. He has the Six Eyes and Limitless. They should have told him about it. My Heian friend knew about it by the time he was seven, but… wait. Back then, cursed spirits were so strong that the elders taught us everything as fast as possible just so we could survive. And Purple is a closely guarded secret even within the Gojo family.
Oh. Oh, this is bad.
I looked at Satoru. His eyes were glowing with a predatory light. He looked like a lion cub that had just found a very interesting new toy.
"…Hollow technique? What are you talking about? I didn't say anything like that. I'm just a background Zenin; how would I know about some top-secret, ultimate trump card? That's… impossible. Absolutely impossible."
It was a pathetic excuse. Even I knew how suspicious I sounded. Satoru just watched me with those glittering eyes and then…
"…I see."
He broke into a massive, terrifyingly bright smile.
"I'm gonna go ask my old man about this 'Hollow' thing right now!"
"Wait! Get back here!! Do you even have a heart?!"
After a grand game of tag that lasted nearly ten minutes, I finally managed to catch Satoru—or rather, Satoru(he threatened to never leave if I didn't drop the family name). The deciding factor was a Black Flash flying kick.
I was so exhausted that I spent the rest of the day watching anime with Grandpa. He was surprisingly comforting.
+++
The Gojo Clan Head came over to complain. He started mocking me, saying that Meguru choking out Satoru was just a fluke and I shouldn't get cocky. My veins were practically popping out of my forehead.
A few minutes later, we heard a massive commotion—the sound of a high-speed chase. We went to check it out (with the Gojo Head looking very smug). We found Satoru embedded in a wall and Meguru panting, completely exhausted.
I was filled with pure, unadulterated joy. The Gojo Head looked like his soul had left his body.
By the way, when I told Toji about this over the phone, he laughed so hard I thought he was going to suffocate.
***
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