"Ah, it feels like a weird type of routine now, doesn't it, Shoko?" Gojo Satoru spoke casually, smiling like this was all normal.
Shoko looked anything but amused. She had dark bags under her eyes, slightly messy hair, and an expression that looked like she had not slept the last night...
"Yes, it does," she said flatly.
"And I hate it. I see this boy more than 3rd-grade sorcerers… And each time he's somehow more damaged. Like, what the hell was he doing before, huh? His body kept getting new cuts throughout the night. And this was more annoying than the last time — the damage was slowly appearing instead of all at once. Last time it was faster. It's almost like he was in a grinder or something…"
Gojo laughed and shrugged like this was somehow impressive.
He pushed his blindfold up as he looked at the boy lying on the bed. An IV needle was fed into Ren's hand. Bandages wrapped around his arms, chest, and legs — almost everything. He wasn't awake.
"Well, I don't know."
Gojo squinted his eyes as he saw Ren…
"When I found him, he was in the sky, moving upward and already bleeding. He said he was training with some binding vows and messed up. This is probably what he was doing in Congo too… The damage on his body isn't the same, but the way it kept appearing is similar."
As he spoke, Shoko pulled out a cigarette. She glanced at Gojo.
"Do you have a lighter? Also, if you know he's training with something like binding vows, why didn't you stop him?"
Gojo's smile faded for a second. "Ugh… You told me you quit smoking, right?"
Shoko shrugged. "What? I just need one today. It's been a tiring day. Also, don't avoid the question."
Gojo blinked, shook his head, and tugged his blindfold back down. His voice dropped slightly.
"I know whatever is happening to him isn't because of some binding vow. He's hiding things from me, and honestly? I respect his privacy. Simple as that. And no — it's not a problem that he hides things from me. Up till today he hasn't harmed anyone innocent; in fact, he harms himself more than anyone else… And I only hope he quits harming himself."
Shoko exhaled, pulled the cigarette from her mouth, and threw it out the window. Sunlight streamed in, harsh and bright.
"Has not hurt anyone innocent… my ass… That's not the problem; the problem is that he has the potential to hurt a lot of people… but eh, who cares? I am sure Gojo knows that…" Shoko muttered under her breath…
Shoko tried to ignore the fact that she just noticed that Gojo was on Ren's side… Gojo always has been…
Gojo had already left the room.
Halfway down the hallway, he stopped. The thought hit him hard enough to freeze his step.
''Hmm… what's going on with Ren? His soul looks way better than before; it healed so fast… It's almost unhuman… But I suppose that's just a sign of genius. And it's not due to binding vows… Whatever is happening to Ren is not because of binding vows… because his cursed energy is in a flux.'
He rested his hand on the window frame, staring at the bright campus outside.
'I couldn't understand it last time because I didn't have enough time to look at him. But now… his cursed energy is diverging. That's impossible… unless he has another catalyst to put his cursed energy into.'
Gojo's mind accelerated—faster than words, faster than breath.
'What if someone helped him? But no one was there. I scanned everything. No one hid from me. And no one used their cursed technique on Ren like this.'
He smirked.
'So the only possible answer is that… Ren Sato has more than one cursed technique.'
The memory of the video resurfaced — Ren flying, clashing, pushing through impossible odds.
'Last time I checked, his technique didn't let him fly. So unless he awakened another technique… and using it comes with backlash, probably… Ren having two cursed techniques would also explain how he beat Geto and Mahoraga... Rika held Mahoraga back while Ren finished Geto. Then Ren and Rika ended Mahoraga together.'
His mind kept spinning, searching for cracks in the logic.
'There's one problem… After he fought Geto and Mahoraga, he didn't have damage like this. He was knocked out, and his cursed energy dropped, but nothing like this. Maybe he's trying to deal with that backlash? Trying other binding vows?'
Gojo's grin sharpened.
"How scary," he muttered. "A 17-year-old with a special-grade curse and maybe more than one cursed technique… Yeah, he has two for sure. Everything makes sense now. But I still have one question."
He turned away from the window, the hallway bright.
"How strong is Ren truly?"
For a split second, his smile became wild — thrilled. Then it vanished, and he walked on.
Back in the infirmary, Ren jolted awake — a sudden full-body snap like freezing water hitting skin.
'What? Where am I?'
He looked down at the bandages wrapped around his arms and legs.
'I'm not dead?'
He touched his cheek — the bandage there was already loose.
Sunlight hit his face, warm and alive.
'I live, hahahaha. My last-second gamble actually worked? HAHAHAHAAH!'
Ren laughed hard, threw his hands up, then dropped back onto the bed with relief shaking through him.
A voice cut through his moment:
"Why are you laughing? Did you hit your head while training or something?"
Shoko stepped closer, looking down at him like she was deciding whether he had brain damage or just terrible life decisions.
Ren smiled weakly. "Ah, no, I didn't hit my head! It's just… I'm a little excited to be alive! Thank you again for healing me. But, uh… why am I in bandages?"
Shoko's smile was small, tired, and a little terrifying…
"I couldn't heal all of your body again and again. You kept me awake the whole night. I have not even spent a night with anyone else for that long. Don't worry — I healed all the important spots. But some parts of your body might have scars. And also, Ren Sato… next time I won't be healing you again."
She turned and walked out of the room before Ren could respond…