Gojo Satoru had been ignoring the messages all morning.
Another "urgent summons" from the elders. Another round of lectures about discipline, tradition, or whatever they were mad about this week.
He lounged in the faculty room at Tokyo Jujutsu High, leaning back in his chair, spinning his phone in his hand while the summons pinged for the fourth time.
"Persistent today, aren't they…" he muttered, smirking.
By the sixth message, the amusement was gone. By the seventh, it was just annoying.
With an exaggerated sigh, Gojo got up and made the trip.
The elders were waiting for him in one of the higher council chambers — a room that always smelled faintly of incense and dust. He strolled in like he owned the place, hands in his pockets, blindfold in place.
"You rang?" he said, dragging the words out.
The oldest elder didn't waste time. "We're sending you on an assignment."
"Pass," Gojo said instantly.
"You haven't even heard what it is."
"I already know I don't want it." He leaned against the wall, clearly ready to walk back out.
One of the elders pressed on. "There's been a string of disappearances — all sorcerers. Grade 1s."
Gojo tilted his head slightly. "And?"
"The rumors point to a single cause," the elder said.
Gojo's smirk widened. "A rumor? That's what you dragged me here for?" He laughed, shaking his head. "You guys finally lost it. Want me to exorcise the boogeyman next?"
The laughter died when one of the other elders slammed a hand on the table. "This is a serious matter, Gojo Satoru!" the man barked. "Three promising sorcerers are dead — and more will follow if we don't act. Whatever is behind this is beyond the ability of the rest of us to handle. That's why you're here."
Gojo didn't flinch, but the room had gone still.
"So let me get this straight," Gojo said after a moment, "you think a bedtime story for scared sorcerers is killing Grade 1s, and you want me to prove you right?"
The elder's voice was tight. "We want you to end it. Whatever it is."
Gojo adjusted his blindfold, already half-turned toward the door. "Fine. I'll play along. But when I get there and it turns out to be nothing, I'm sending you my travel fee."
He left the chamber with the same casual stride he'd entered, but a flicker of curiosity had worked its way into his thoughts.