December 4th.
Three days remain until Gojo Satoru's birthday.
[Jujutsu High Mutual Aid Trio]
[Asou Akiya: December 7th is Gojo's birthday. Today we'll be discussing the birthday theme.]
[Asou Akiya: Once you receive this message, please come to the classroom as soon as possible.]
[Ieiri Shoko: Received.]
[Getou Suguru: I'm just about to head out. Give me a moment—I'll ride Rainbow Dragon over to meet you.]
—
"Mom, I already made plans with my classmates yesterday. I need to go back to school today for an important discussion."
Tokyo Jujutsu High was already on winter break, but Getou Suguru was the kind of student who simply could not stay home. From time to time, he would invent excuses to step out, performing his daily, self-appointed duty of exorcising the cursed spirits lurking nearby. Over time, this had honed in him the effortless ability to lie without so much as batting an eye.
"Suguru, do you need me to pack you lunch?" his mother asked, but before she could finish her sentence, her son had already dashed out through the entryway.
A full-time housewife, Mrs. Getou walked over to the window and caught sight of the young man's retreating figure—his hair tied into a neat bun—as he ran headlong down the street, vanishing at the corner. This was nothing like his usual departures, which were always secretive yet oddly calm and unhurried.
The emotional distance between mother and son had grown over the years. She could no longer truly understand the quiet, withdrawn boy who lived under her roof. She turned a blind eye to his pierced ears, his wide-legged trousers, his split-toe shoes, choosing tolerance so long as his academic results remained excellent.
They were not a wealthy family with deep pockets; as such, they placed the greatest importance on their only son's education.
The most serious conflict they had ever faced as a family was when Suguru refused to attend a prestigious high school with an outstanding university placement rate, instead stubbornly insisting—almost recklessly—on enrolling in a private religious school located on the outskirts of Tokyo.
When Suguru had gone so far as to leave home just to attend that school, the Getou couple had argued, raged, and eventually lost all hope. They stopped expecting him to aim for one of Japan's top universities, such as the University of Tokyo.
During a previous holiday, they had finally sat down with him for a proper discussion. Tokyo Jujutsu High was a five-year program, spanning from age fifteen to twenty. Tuition-free. Room and board provided. Upon graduation, students would be officially certified and assigned employment by the institution itself, with generous compensation.
Aside from the fact that, in terms of prestige, he could not compare with graduates of the nation's top-tier universities, in all other respects he was capable of supporting himself and standing on his own.
After Getou's mother stopped interfering with his studies, she limited her responsibilities to providing three meals a day, growing increasingly detached as she watched her son with cold, distant eyes.
She hoped—if only once—that he would listen to his parents, instead of continuing to live within that strange, incomprehensible world of his own.
Unfortunately, that wish seemed even less likely to come true.
With no other household chores to occupy her that morning, Getou's mother stepped outside and immediately put on the mask of a happy, fulfilled woman, chatting with the neighbors about their experiences raising children, sparing no hesitation as she lavished praise on how outstanding everyone else's children were.
When the conversation finally turned to her own son, Getou's mother—dressed in the conservative, traditional attire expected of a woman of her generation—sat in a neighbor's home, covering her mouth as she laughed softly and said,
"Oh, him? He was specially recruited by a private religious school. There's no need for the family to worry about his education anymore—he's already perfectly capable of living independently in Tokyo."
Tokyo was a city of exorbitant consumption, inflated prices, and staggering rent, where families who had lived there for generations looked down on people from the surrounding regions.
Even adults who had already graduated from university scarcely dared to claim that they could truly live independently in Tokyo.
As she carefully avoided mentioning the conflicts within her own household and instead boasted about Getou Suguru's future, Getou's mother cast an envious glance at her neighbor, who was busy preparing food for a dinner gathering that evening—apparently, the neighbor planned to invite her middle-school-aged son's classmates home to eat together.
After probing further into the situation of middle school students, she found herself troubled by a realization: Suguru-kun never brought a single friend home, and though he liked to put on the appearance of being popular within the household, the truth was that he had drawn an invisible boundary between himself and every person at his middle school.
So it turned out that Suguru-kun's "abnormality" had persisted for a long time and had not, as the child psychologist claimed, been cured at all.
Her child was skilled at deception—an undeniable fact that pierced his mother's heart.
Getou's mother thought bitterly to herself: [Suguru-kun… have you already become addicted to lying?]
Beyond the ordinary world lay a realm that belonged to the extraordinary.
Several thousand meters above the ground, a white colossal dragon—utterly invisible to ordinary people—soared freely through the sky, flying one ahead and one behind with a passenger plane.
Getou Suguru chased after the flight bound for Tokyo, spared the trouble of consulting maps, and surrendered himself to a boundless, unrestrained sense of freedom.
He profoundly loved the dazzling, ever-changing world seen through the eyes of a jujutsu sorcerer.
In order to climb toward the summit of the jujutsu world, even the nauseating curse orbs were something he could endure; within that world, he could find his own name, his own title, and the meaning of possessing power that was uniquely his—
to exorcise curses, rather than remain a rebellious, incomprehensible son in the eyes of his parents.
He regarded himself as a hero who protected ordinary people; a hero could remain nameless, need not be understood by those he saved, and he felt genuine joy in such a calling—let alone the fact that he had also entered Tokyo Jujutsu High, where he had come to know three classmates, each remarkable in their own way.
In an ordinary boy's high school, could there exist someone who claimed to possess "Six Eyes," likened to the Buddhist concept of the Five Eyes?
In an ordinary girl's high school, could there be someone who, with bare hands alone, had saved countless lives through mastery of the Reverse Cursed Technique?
Within the dull, flavorless routines of an ordinary student's daily life, could there be someone who could see straight through the human heart at a glance, a madman who would wager his very life simply to learn a single skill?
If he had not joined Tokyo Jujutsu High, where else could he possibly have found classmates this interesting?
Getou Suguru felt a sincere, heartfelt joy at having met them; his only regret was that Asou Akiya was far too stubborn with his words, refusing to acknowledge that the two of them were friends, maintaining that ambiguous, push-and-pull distance that was both frustrating and made one ache even more for clear, face-to-face recognition.
He believed his future to be nothing but brightness, like the vast azure sky itself, and at the radiant horizon stood the smiles of the other three.
The four first-year students of Tokyo Jujutsu High were a single collective.
They advanced and retreated together, entrusting their backs to one another.
By the time Getou Suguru arrived at Tokyo Jujutsu High, Asou Akiya and Ieiri Shoko had already been talking for quite some time.
Both were dressed for winter; compared to Ieiri Shoko, who insisted on wearing a skirt and long stockings beneath her coat, Asou Akiya's appearance was far simpler—a high-necked knit sweater paired with a solid-colored down jacket, relying entirely on temperament and looks to carry an air of effortless refinement.
Getou Suguru pulled open the classroom's wooden door and strode in briskly. "What's the theme for the birthday?"
Ieiri Shoko stomped her feet from the burst of cold air he brought in, hastily controlling her cursed energy to protect her legs.
Asou Akiya reminded him, "Close the door. We're cold."
Getou Suguru replied, "Is it really that cold?"
His coat zipper was left undone, worn open over an autumn-weight, jet-black hoodie, his excellent physique displayed without reservation. "I'm the kind of person who treats winter like autumn."
Asou Akiya turned to Ieiri Shoko and asked, "Who was it that lost their appetite in summer and had a weak stomach?"
Ieiri Shoko answered without hesitation, "Obviously Getou."
Asou Akiya continued, "And who's the one getting smug again now that winter's here?"
Ieiri Shoko replied, "A muscle-bound DK who burns cursed energy like fuel."
Getou Suguru wore an expression of complete surrender, shut the door properly, dragged a chair over to sit beside the two of them, and conceded defeat without argument.
Asou Akiya announced, "There are two tentative themes. The level of preparation required is roughly the same for both, and we haven't decided which one to choose yet. We'll use a voting system—the minority yields to the majority. The three of us will vote together."
Ieiri Shoko and Getou Suguru both nodded.
Asou Akiya raised his index finger. "The first theme: Tokyo Jujutsu High ten years in the future. We'll hire the most professional makeup artists to transform ourselves into what we imagine we'll look like ten years from now. I'll be responsible for your scripts, though you can write your own if you want.
"Our reason for appearing at the school today will be a reunion of old classmates, and in the end, we'll place the photographs and our wishes for the future into a time capsule and bury it beneath one of the trees on campus."
Asou Akiya then raised his middle finger. "The second theme: a parallel world where 'Gojo Satoru' never enrolled. We'll stage a large-scale immersive drama at Tokyo Jujutsu High called A Day Without Knowing Gojo Satoru. In this world, there is no student named Gojo Satoru; the first year has only three students. We don't know him, and when we see him, we must react with unfamiliarity and surprise.
"We're on winter break, and the reason we appear at the school today is that we heard the 'Six Eyes' young master of the Gojo family whimsically decided to visit the campus."
Asou Akiya curled his fingers back. "The basic requirement for completing the theme is this: within two days, we must coordinate both inside and outside the school and get as many people as possible to cooperate with our performance."
After listening, Getou Suguru couldn't help but say, "By that logic, our schedule is pretty tight. In less than three days, we'd need at least a hundred people to cooperate. Still, both themes are amazing—could you hold one for my birthday too?"
Ieiri Shoko asked, "When is your birthday, Getou?"
Getou Suguru answered, "February 3rd, next year."
He smiled at Asou Akiya and said, "You definitely know about my birthday. For something this interesting, I'd choose all of them. And since tomorrow is Gojo's birthday, we should prioritize the second theme—the parallel world."
Asou Akiya pressed a hand to his forehead. "Why do you have to turn a single-choice question into a multiple-choice one?"
Getou Suguru, imitating Gojou Satoru's way of shamelessly fighting for what he wanted, said bluntly, "Just tell me whether it's a yes or not."
Asou Akiya said, "Fine. Let's vote first."
When the votes were cast between the two themes, the second theme won with all three votes.
The theme for Gojou Satoru's sixteenth birthday: a parallel world in which "Gojo Satoru" never enrolled.
According to the plan Asou Akiya laid out, the three of them split up to act separately, saving time and racing against the clock to set up the stage for the immersive drama.
Asou Akiya was responsible for dealing with the homeroom teacher and the auxiliary supervisors, and for erasing all traces of Gojo Satoru's daily life, such as:
hiring a construction crew to repaint the walls of the boys' dormitory, relay the flooring, and then apply "invisibility" measures to Gojo Satoru's luxurious dorm room—locking it, cutting off water and electricity, and pretending that it was nothing more than three ordinary, empty rooms.
Ieiri Shoko was responsible for handling the two senior students and the school's ordinary staff who remained on campus during the holiday.
Getou Suguru was responsible for coordinating with the bus drivers, the restaurants Gojo Satoru frequented, and clearing away traces of cursed techniques on the athletic field.
Working together with complete unity, they turned Gojo Satoru into a person who "did not exist."
The objective was simple: scare Gojo Satoru—if they could frighten him for even a single second, it would count as a success.
For Gojo Satoru, fright and surprise were rare occurrences in the world; monotony and unchanging routine were the greatest boredom of all.
They planned to give Gojo Satoru a birthday prank, with everyone following the script provided by Asou Akiya and acting it out together, performing solely for an audience of one, so that Gojou Satoru would understand that a world without him would lose a great deal of its fun.
That day.
Utahime Iori eagerly responded to the prank, stating that she would definitely pretend not to recognize Gojo Satoru.
Mei Mei wanted money, but Ieiri Shoko offered a single reason: "You can record Gojo Satoru's look of utter bewilderment."
In the principal's office, Yaga Masamichi steeled himself and went to the old principal to request approval for a special application.
On December 7th, Tokyo Jujutsu High would delete the cursed energy information registered under Gojo Satoru's name, with a time limit of twenty-four hours, during which he would be treated as a complete stranger.
A pinned message appeared in the auxiliary supervisors' group chat: On December 7th, Tokyo Jujutsu High will be holding a large-scale immersive drama titled A Day Without Knowing Gojo Satoru. Please pretend not to recognize Gojo Satoru and act as though you have only heard of the "Six Eyes." The scripts for auxiliary supervisors have been uploaded to the group files.
The person in charge of the suburban routes at the bus company stared in astonishment when Getou Suguru from Tokyo Jujutsu High appeared before him.
Faced with Getou Suguru's request, the supervisor agreed with enthusiastic readiness.
"We will clean the buses in advance and also give the drivers a lesson in acting. When December 7th arrives, every driver on this route will definitely pretend it's their first time seeing a white-haired boy around 187 centimeters tall."
"Alright, thank you very much."
Getou Suguru bowed deeply, unable to hide the anticipation written across his face for that day to come.
At the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Tengen noticed their actions; all four eyes curved slightly as an additional directive was added to the information flowing into the massive barrier:
On December 7th, enter a state of high alert and block the 'Six Eyes' from observing most areas of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
…
At midnight on December 7th, Gojo Satoru slept soundly as usual, and no one in the household dared disturb his rest in the dead of night.
Then the phone he had placed beside his pillow vibrated faintly, receiving four new messages.
[Asou Akiya: Happy 16th birthday. We'll be waiting for you at the school. See you in the daytime.]
[Getou Suguru: Happy 16th birthday. We'll be waiting for you at the school. See you in the daytime.]
[Ieiri Shoko: Happy 16th birthday. We'll be waiting for you at the school. See you in the daytime.]
[Yaga Masamichi: Happy birthday, Gojo.]
A pair of "Six Eyes" opened in the darkness, heavy with lingering drowsiness, and their owner immediately unlocked his phone to check the messages, only to find that every single one of them was a private message sent solely to him.
A surge of cursed energy—enough to send chills down any sorcerer's spine—flashed into existence and vanished just as quickly.
A trace of surprise, a trace of joy…
They converged within those icy pupils, blending into the most beautiful "blue" on the spectrum; like a flawless, cloudless sky, without the slightest shadow, it constructed the radiant and luminous inner world of the person known as Gojo Satoru.
—Wow. I'm another year older again!