The Arrogance of the Strongest

"Well then. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
​Geto Suguru waved to Mirai, who was lounging in the red supercar.
​"Shoko. See you again someday."
​Geto smiled at his old friend—a sad, final smile—and stepped into the surging crowd without hesitation. He didn't look back.
​Shoko watched him disappear, her expression dimming.
​"Miss Shoko," Mirai’s voice cut through her gloom. "Are you waiting for your other friend, or are you preparing to return to Jujutsu High?"
​Shoko gave Mirai a meaningful look. "Just get the message through to Satoru. I don't want to wait for that idiot in the sun anymore."
​"What? Are you planning to take me home?"
​Mirai smiled. "I'd be more than happy to."
​The driver immediately got out and opened the back door for her.
​...
​The Drive Back.
​The convertible top was down. The summer breeze blew through Shoko’s hair as they drove through Tokyo.
​She brushed a strand behind her ear and looked at the back of Mirai’s head.
​"Does the Zenin Clan Head always have such a... flamboyant personality?" she asked.
​"It's practical," Mirai replied without turning around. His voice was clear despite the wind. "A convertible makes it easier to use Cursed Techniques without wrecking the roof."
​"Besides, even if ordinary humans can't see the Cursed Spirit tail, they'd definitely freak out if a giant hole suddenly appeared in my car."
​Shoko nodded slightly. "So... was today's meeting really a chance encounter?"
​Mirai smiled. "No."
​"I sent people to follow you from the moment you left Jujutsu High."
​"Oh?" Shoko raised an eyebrow. She had suspected it, but she didn't expect him to be so candid.
​"I didn't feel it," she admitted. "And the Auxiliary Managers should have checked for residuals."
​"It's normal that you didn't sense it," Mirai chuckled. "The people tracking you weren't sorcerers. They were ordinary humans on my payroll."
​"It seems Jujutsu High hasn't learned its lesson," Mirai continued. "You still judge threats solely by Cursed Energy."
​Shoko’s face hardened. "Indeed."
​"The Star Plasma Vessel. Toji Fushiguro. And now this."
​"The leadership hasn't changed at all. They still think non-sorcerers are harmless."
​Shoko didn't seem angry about being followed. She was too tired for anger.
​"So what is your purpose?" she asked bluntly.
​"Did you follow me just to find Suguru? To deal with the rats targeting you? Or... do you really intend to cooperate with him?"
​Shoko analyzed the situation.
​The Trap: Mirai used himself as bait to lure out the assassins.
​The Show of Force: He used an unknown, Special Grade entity to crush them instantly.
​The Message: He showed Geto that he has power and shares a similar disdain for the current order.
​This boy was dangerous. Far more dangerous than his age suggested.
​"Don't worry," Mirai said, sensing her wariness. "I don't share Suguru's desire to kill all non-sorcerers."
​This was the truth.
Non-sorcerers produce negative emotions. Negative emotions create Cursed Spirits. Cursed Spirits feed the Gedo Mazo.
To Mirai, killing all humans would be destroying his farm.
​"No?" Shoko asked. "Then why propose cooperation?"
​"Cooperation doesn't mean we agree on everything," Mirai said softly. "We just have a common enemy. The stagnation of the Jujutsu world."
​Shoko narrowed her eyes. She stopped asking questions. She knew he wouldn't give her a straight answer anymore.
​...
​Shinjuku. Sunset.
​The sky burned with a mesmerizing orange-red hue.
​Whoosh!
​Gojo Satoru, panting heavily, skidded to a halt on the busy street. He hadn't mastered long-distance teleportation yet, so he had run all the way from the school.
​He scanned the crowd with his Six Eyes.
​"Suguru!"
​Ten meters away, walking against the flow of people, Geto paused.
​"Shoko told you, didn't she?"
​Geto’s voice, amplified by a sliver of Cursed Energy, cut through the noise of the crowd.
​Gojo ripped off his sunglasses. His blue eyes were wide with shock and betrayal.
​"Kill all non-sorcerers?!" he shouted. "Including your own parents?!"
​Geto didn't turn around. He kept his hands in his pockets.
​"Even if they are parents... I can't make exceptions. I have chosen my side."
​"Create a world of only sorcerers?! That's impossible!!"
​Gojo waved his arms, roaring over the crowd. Passersby stared at him, but he didn't care.
​"Suguru! You used to say the strong exist to protect the weak! Why?!"
​"Impossible?"
​Geto finally turned around. He looked Gojo in the eye.
​"If it were you... you could do it, couldn't you?"
​"Satoru... you are the Strongest. If you wanted to kill every non-sorcerer in Japan, you could do it in a week."
​"Just because you can do it easily... does that mean I shouldn't try?"
​Geto’s eyes were cold. "You really are arrogant."
​"I have decided on my path. I will do my best to realize what you consider a foolish ideal."
​Geto turned to leave, then paused.
​"By the way," he added softly. "The Zenin Clan Head showed up today."
​"An eleven-year-old boy. And even he seems to understand me better than you do."
​With a sigh, Geto walked into the crowd, leaving only a lonely, receding back.
​Gojo stood there. His fists clenched so tight his bones cracked. He raised a hand to fire Blue. To stop him. To kill him.
​But he couldn't do it.
​He lowered his hand.
​...
​Jujutsu High. The Front Gate.
​The red supercar pulled up to the entrance.
​"Miss Shoko. It seems we've arrived."
​Shoko opened the door. She looked back at the boy in the passenger seat.
​"Goodbye," she said tiredly. "If fate allows."
​She walked toward the school, her shoulders slumped.
​Mirai watched her go.
​"Don't worry," he murmured to himself. "We'll see each other again soon. Very soon."
​"Perhaps next time, our relationship will take a step forward."
​The driver glanced sideways but wisely kept his mouth shut.
​"Let's go," Mirai ordered. "Back to the mansion. I have a new bounty to manage."