.Although Mechamaru's conscience was aching, Itadori had agreed to send him the link, and he didn't want to miss out, so he quickly took out his phone.
Through the pizza connection, the two became the first pair from their respective schools to add each other as friends during this Exchange Event.
...Thanks...
Mechamaru looked at the pizza parlor link Itadori had just sent him on his phone and murmured his thanks.
Having obtained what he wanted more easily than expected, he felt a wave of intense guilt wash over him as he let out a sigh of relief.
This vessel of Sukuna—no, Classmate Itadori—was much better than he had imagined.
His cheerful personality was a bit like Miwa's... Maybe he shouldn't group him with that hateful Special Grade Curse.
"Regarding the previous Exchange Event... well, I apologize..."
He apologized in a low voice, though he didn't expect forgiveness.
He just wanted to apologize; otherwise, he couldn't live with himself.
"Oh, oh, it's fine, it's fine!"
The smile on Itadori's face widened, and he reached out to pat Mechamaru's shoulder.
"I know you guys didn't want to kill me; you were just following orders. Anyway, the Exchange Event is over now, and you can't attack me anymore, so let's just let bygones be bygones~"
"Besides, you're actually a pretty nice guy~"
Looking at the radiant smile on Itadori's face, Mechamaru felt...! This personality, which allowed him to laugh off being harmed, was even more similar to Miwa's!
His favorable impression of Itadori instantly shot up to 80%!
Itadori smiled, waved, and walked away.
"I'll be going now. Enjoy your pizza!"
After speaking, he turned around, lowered his head, and quietly voiced the key point he had just realized with some confusion.
"...Wait, can he actually eat pizza?"
Can a robot eat pizza? How does he digest it? Can the ingested pizza be converted into electrical energy?
[If he can eat, I'd like to see it too.]
Sukuna, who had observed the entire interaction, was also very curious.
[How about we invite him out to eat later? See if he can really consume food?]
Itadori: "..."
He felt this wasn't a good idea; if the guy couldn't eat, wouldn't that be incredibly awkward?
Sukuna said carelessly.
[It doesn't matter. We can invite everyone from Kyoto Jujutsu High to eat together, and we can secretly observe him then. As for paying... let Gojo foot the bill? The excuse could be... to deepen the friendship between both sides after the Exchange Event? — See, didn't this 'friendship event' kind of fail anyway~]
Itadori: "...?"
Did Gojo-sensei agree to you deciding this?
And sending a link was one thing... how big of a hole did he have in his head to invite the group that had just tried to kill him out to dinner?
...After saying goodbye to Mechamaru, Itadori quickly ran toward the vending machine.
Having eaten too much pizza and feeling a bit greasy, Maki-senpai had asked him to go buy some water.
And at the vending machine, he once again ran into his good brother—Classmate Todo.
Itadori: "???"
Why did he run into this guy every single time he ran an errand?
Did this person have some magical psychic connection with vending machines?
Aoi Todo: No, brother, I only have a magical psychic connection with you!
"I never thought I'd run into you here! My brother!—"
Aoi Todo raised the can of cola he had just opened in his hand and greeted Itadori.
[Wow, your brother came looking for you~]
Sukuna sat up straight, extremely excited to watch the show.
Every time he encountered Aoi Todo, it became his source of joy.
Itadori: "..."
Sukuna, can you stop being so gleeful?
You're making me feel just a tiny bit sad, okay?
He looked up at Aoi Todo, his gaze complicated.
Actually, he was still very grateful to Aoi Todo; after all, he taught him how to use Cursed Energy and Black Flash, and helped him save Fushiguro and Maki-senpai... but he was really too familiar, and Itadori couldn't quite handle it.
Itadori lightly coughed.
"Oh, Aoi Todo, are you here to buy water too?"
He walked over, waving his hand naturally, and quickly pressed the vending machine button.
If I buy fast enough, he won't catch me!
"My brother—"
Aoi Todo suddenly moved closer. Itadori jumped in surprise and cautiously took a step back.
He listened as Aoi Todo asked him with a meaningful tone—
"How did you know that was a Special Grade Curse?"
Aoi Todo looked at Itadori, an unreadable expression in his eyes... Itadori had actually detected the Curse in that direction earlier than he had, and could immediately identify it as "Special Grade"... How did he know?
At such a distance, it was impossible for Itadori to sense the Curse's grade... and judging by his confident tone at the time, he must have already known it was a Special Grade Curse...?
For a student to know something of this magnitude, there had to be a problem, no matter how he looked at it.
On the surface, his expression was natural and relaxed, but inwardly he was highly vigilant.
Hearing Aoi Todo's question, Itadori relaxed.
Oh, so he was asking about that... "I ran into that Special Grade Curse with Gojo-sensei before... Unfortunately, the Curse got away because sensei was busy saving me..."
His tone held a slight hint of disappointment and awkwardness.
Aoi Todo was stunned, not expecting such an answer.
—With Gojo?
...Then there should be no problem.
Itadori wouldn't tell a lie that could be exposed with a single question.
His vigilance vanished, and he immediately resumed his enthusiasm, slapping Itadori heavily on the shoulder several times, laughing.
"I see! Well, it's fine. You already have Grade 1 strength now, so if you run into a Special Grade Curse again, you won't be without the power to fight!"
Itadori's speech was choppy from being slapped.
"...Okay... but... can you... stop... hitting... me?"
Aoi Todo silently stopped, sorrowfully moving his hand slowly away from Itadori's shoulder, then pausing hesitantly.
Itadori immediately added another warning.
"No hugging either!"
He was sick of that "hug, hug, hug" Curse; he even dreamed about it at night!
Aoi Todo: "..."
A look of sudden realization flashed in his eyes, and then, just as Itadori was about to relax, he swiftly stepped forward and gave him a big hug—
The kind that was extremely forceful and passionate—
"Hahaha, brother, you don't need to be shy! You should have said so sooner! As expected, only a hug can truly express the intensity of our friendship!!"
After hugging, he let go, leaving behind Itadori, whose face was blank with shock.
He was completely bewildered—
...No... wait a minute... I clearly just said no hugging, right?!
Does this guy have a problem with comprehension?!!
He stood rooted to the spot, silent for a long time.
—As if he had lost his dreams and his soul.
All that remained around him was the lingering pain from Aoi Todo's hug... and Sukuna, who was deep inside, nearly laughing hard enough to sound like a goose.
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