Ms. Gojo thought she was dating an ordinary person's boyfriend.

Sumi Kichikawa has lived for a long time, and has traveled through countless planes and worlds to carry out missions.

In those experiences, he was more often just a detached observer.

In the past, when he was on missions in other worlds, he would always see those "protagonists" with very different personalities doing all sorts of outrageous and shocking things, which would often infuriate his teammates.

At that moment, Sumi Kichikawa sat upright to the side, a faint sense of confusion even passing through her mind.

I don't understand where their breakdown came from.

...It wasn't until she truly went from being a "bystander" to being a "participant" that Sumi Kichikawa finally deeply understood the overwhelming despair and absurdity of watching someone she cherished smash her way out, and the feeling of having her deepest nerves ripped apart.

Seeing his lover instinctively press his stomach, Gojo Satoru almost instinctively showed concern.

"Sumiko...does your stomach hurt? Do you want me to rub it?" Gojo Satoru cautiously leaned closer, blinking his big eyes.

Kikawa Sumi let out a long breath, forcefully suppressing the complex emotions churning in her chest.

He lowered his hand from his temples, and his warm, deep phoenix eyes reopened, landing on the obedient-looking face of Gojo Satoru.

The doctor's keen intuition, as his rationality gradually returned, instantly grasped a huge loophole in what had just been said.

"The black rope burned because it attacked you." Sumire Kikawa stared intently at Satoru Gojo, her gaze slightly narrowed. "What about [Heavenly Reversal Hoko]?"

Gojo Satoru's expression stiffened slightly.

"A spell tool that can break through the limitless spell and forcibly cancel the operation of the spell is extremely rare in the entire world of spellcasting."

"Given your personality, no matter how willful you are, you wouldn't rush to blast a cursed artifact to dust for no reason—Wu, you were in such a hurry to destroy it back then because it hurt you, right?"

Gojo Satoru's eyes darted around for a moment, then he gave a vague, ambiguous laugh:

"Well, this actually happened more than ten years ago when I was in junior high school! The cursed tool itself wasn't anything special, it was just that the assassin looked terrifying and had a really annoying personality, so when I got angry I would..."

"Enlightenment".

Sumire Kikawa interrupted his perfunctory reply.

Seeing the white-haired man stubbornly trying to downplay the matter, Kikawa Sumi calmly withdrew her gaze and said indifferently:

"It's okay if you don't want to say. When we get back to Tokyo College, I'll go to the infirmary to see Miss Shoko myself. She'll definitely remember everything clearly."

"No, no, no! Please don't ask Shoko!"

Gojo Satoru collapsed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

He drew out his words in a mournful tone, clasping his hands together in a pleading manner: "Please spare me, Xiao Cheng! That guy will definitely be smoking and laughing at me like I'm scum for a whole year!"

Kikawa Sumi simply watched him quietly, her eyes showing no coercion, only calm waiting.

Gojo Satoru's heart softened under the gaze of those deep, warm black eyes, and in the end, he could only give in, scratching his snow-white hair and muttering somewhat awkwardly:

"...Okay, I'll tell you."

He avoided Sumi Kichikawa's overly focused gaze, trying his best to keep his tone nonchalant:

"The year Jie defected, when Riko got into trouble... a Heavenly Curse-Binding assassin with no magical power came knocking on my door. That guy's physical skills were abnormally strong, and he used the Heavenly Reversal Blade, which could penetrate without limit, to launch sneak attacks. At the time, I was on guard for several days, and my mental state wasn't very good. I accidentally fell for his trick... and got a little injured."

He did not mention that his throat had been pierced through.

There was no mention of being brutally cleaved from his left shoulder to his thigh, collapsing in a pool of blood, and only managing to seize the chance to survive the reversal spell at the very last moment before death.

"Anyway... I was just a little badly injured." Gojo Satoru gestured with his hands, downplaying the fierce battle that nearly cost him his life as a minor skirmish.

"Later, I killed him in return. I was really annoyed by that broken knife. I just couldn't stand looking at it, so I disposed of it as I was doing."

Gojo Satoru spoke casually, even winking at Sumire Kichikawa, trying to prove that he was alive and well.

However, the townhouse fell silent once again.

As Gojo Satoru had expected, Sumirei Kawakawa did not press for details, nor did she reprimand him for his impulsiveness back then.

He knew better than anyone how dangerous and brutal the battle was that made Gojo Satoru, the "strongest" who was proud to the core, still awkwardly admit more than ten years later that he was "a bit badly injured".

That couldn't possibly be something like "a minor injury".

The frost and sharpness in Kikawa Sumi's eyes melted away completely, leaving only a deep, unfathomable softness and heartache.

He didn't speak, but simply stretched out his arms and gently wrapped them around Gojo Satoru's neck, pressing his lover softly into the crook of his neck.

Gojo Satoru was slightly taken aback, then let down his guard and obediently buried his face in Kikawa Sumi's warm shoulder.

"...I won't ask anymore." Sumi's voice was low as she gently stroked Satoru Gojo's soft white hair with her palm, as if smoothing over old, scabbed wounds. "It's all in the past."

The unique, cool fragrance of herbs emanating from Sumire Kikawa lingered around Gojo Satoru's nose, and his heart was warmed by this unreserved favoritism.

He reached out and wrapped his arms around Kikawa Sumi's slender waist, gently nuzzling his fluffy head against his lover's neck, quietly enjoying this moment of tenderness.

The two embraced quietly for a long time in the soft morning light.

Only when the morning breeze dispersed the thin mist in the courtyard did Sumi Kichikawa gently pat Gojo Satoru on the back, and reason regained its footing.

He looked down at the person in his arms, and sighed softly, somewhat unwilling to give up:

"So... is there really not even the slightest possibility? Both items are completely destroyed?"

Gojo Satoru lifted his head from his embrace, blinking his beautiful six eyes. He seemed to sense the lingering worry in Kikkawa Sumi, and quickly spoke up as if to claim credit:

"The Heavenly Reversal Blade is definitely gone forever. However... as for the [Black Rope], there might still be a tiny bit of scrap left overseas!"

Kikawa Sumi's eyebrows shot up sharply, a glimmer of hope rekindling in her eyes: "There really is more?"

"After all, it's a specialty product that an ancient overseas tribe spent decades compiling, even just a small part of it."

Gojo Satoru spoke eloquently and logically.

"I specifically sent Yuta to Africa before, to accompany that black sorcerer I beat up years ago on a business trip, so he could help find out the whereabouts of the Black Rope on that continent!"

Kikawa Sumi felt a sense of relief and hurriedly asked, "Did you find it? Did Yuta get the remaining stock?"

Before he could finish speaking...

On Gojo Satoru's handsome face, a smile that was even more radiant than the midday sun over the Kamo River instantly bloomed.

He snapped his thumbs up, revealing a set of white teeth, and announced cheerfully:

"Absolutely no clues! Not even a loose thread!"

"..."

The slight upturn of Sumi Kichikawa's lips froze in mid-air.

A breath caught in her throat. As Kikawa Sumi looked at the white-haired man in front of her who was giving her a thumbs-up, she felt her temples, which had just calmed down, throb wildly again, and she fell into a state of speechlessness that lasted for several seconds.

...Why on earth would he be here listening to this guy, who talks a lot of nonsense, telling jokes?

Gojo Satoru keenly sensed the almost out-of-control aura emanating from his lover.

The most powerful sorcerer acted decisively, sounding the survival alarm at lightning speed!

"Cheng~~Xiao Cheng~~"

The next instant, his slender body rolled smoothly, and Gojo Satoru, like a giant white long-haired cat, pounced softly into Sumire's arms, skillfully activating the cat-rubbing technique.

He kept burying his head into the crook of Kisakawa Sumi's neck, the fluffy hair making Kisakawa Sumi both itchy and helpless. His long legs even straddled her, pressing his entire body against Kisakawa Sumi's, his voice as sweet as if it were soaked in syrup:

"Don't be angry~ Think about it carefully, I'm Gojo Satoru!"

He tilted his handsome face up, his azure eyes filled with the morning light, and earnestly leaned in to kiss the corner of Kisakawa Sumi's tightly pursed lips:

"Now that we've already exposed Lu Suo's true colors and know that those rats in the gutter are plotting against the prison gates, do you think I'd be stupid enough to stand still for a whole minute and let him close the door? If the strongest didn't even have this much awareness, he would have died eight hundred times over."

Seeing that Susumu Kisakawa's expression had softened slightly, Satoru Gojo hooked his arm around Susumu's neck, rested his chin on Susumu's chest, and looked incredibly soft in his eyes:

"Besides... even if there's a one in ten million chance of something going wrong, don't I still have Cheng?"

"Didn't Xiaocheng promise herself that she would always protect me?"

"As long as Cheng is outside, I'm not afraid of anything."

That soft murmur was like a spoonful of warm honey, completely extinguishing the last bit of anxiety in Kikawa Sumi's heart.

Sumire Kikawa's expression finally softened completely.

……yes.

No matter how unbreakable that so-called prison gate is, no matter whether there are still top-grade spell tools in the world that can restrain the barrier, so what?

If that day ever comes, even if he overturns the entire world of sorcery and grinds that broken box and the rope behind it to dust, he will definitely snatch the person in his arms back unharmed.

Kikawa Sumi tightened her arms, firmly pulling Gojo Satoru into her embrace. She lowered her head and placed a deep kiss on his cool forehead, solemnly promising:

"Yes. No matter what happens, I will find you."

Gojo Satoru nestled in his arms, his eyes crinkling into a satisfied smile.

The two of them completely ignored the uproar that the Kamo family scandal had caused in Kyoto's high society circles.

During the remaining days in Kyoto, Gojo Satoru seemed to completely let loose.

Sumi Kikawa leaned on him and accompanied him to all the signless confectionery shops in Pontocho, filling the trunk with konpeito, nama-yahashi, and matcha daifuku; at night, they strolled hand in hand along the cool Kamo River, watching the fallen cherry blossoms turn into spring mud at their feet.

The elders of the Kamo family were still struggling to survive amidst the painful backlash; while Principal Yoshinobu Rakuganji of the Kyoto school, upon hearing of the Kamo family's tragic situation, feigned illness and remained secluded in his office for three whole days.

It wasn't until the date of the Kyoto sister school exchange meeting was approaching that the two leisurely returned to Tokyo Jujutsu High School.

The early summer breeze caressed the ancient, long steps of the college built against the mountain, and the lush ancient trees cast dappled light and shadow among the trees.

"Phew—Tokyo is still so relaxing!"

With his hands in his uniform pockets, Gojo Satoru strode forward with his long legs, and for the first time ever, he wasn't wearing his blindfold. But he had reverted to his arrogant and domineering "strongest" teacher persona.

Kikawa Sumi walked half a step to his side, carrying several boxes of limited-edition sweets she had brought back from Kyoto. Her expression was gentle and calm as she prepared to ask him about the arrangements for the exchange meeting.

However, the two had just passed through the vermilion torii gate of the college, and hadn't even had a chance to walk up the stone ramp leading to the training ground—

A powerful, thunderous roar pierced through the forest behind the college like a bolt from the blue, startling the birds in the treetops into a flurry of fluttering air and scattering to the ground.

"Japanese knotweed Yuhito————!!!"

"What kind of woman do you like?!"

Kikawa Sumi's steps suddenly paused slightly.

He turned his head somewhat blankly to look at Gojo Satoru beside him, his eyes filled with confusion.

...So, communication actually includes this kind of thing?