[5] : Saeko Busujima

Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High is located on the western outskirts of the city, nestled in a lightly developed woodland area.

From a bird's-eye view, it hardly looks like a "school." Rather, it more closely resembles a centuries-old temple compound.

It's 7:25 in the morning.

Warm spring sunlight pours over the wooden railing of the second-floor outdoor corridor in a traditional Buddhist temple building, illuminating a tall, purple-haired swordswoman dressed in the school's uniform. Gazing into the distance across campus, she lowers her phone with a soft sigh.

Just then, footsteps approach from behind.

Although she can guess the person's identity merely by footstep pattern, her swordswoman's instinct makes her turn anyway.

She sees a black-haired boy with spiky hair—also wearing the Jujutsu High uniform—emerging from the interior hallway. Behind him is another student, seemingly an athlete type, with half of his hair dyed a wine-red hue and the other half its natural black. Beneath each eye, faint lines curve, almost like a pair of closed extra eyes.

Their gazes meet in midair. The spiky-haired boy lifts a hand in greeting.

"Morning, Busujima-senpai."

"Fushiguro… and—"

Saeko Busujima nods slightly, then focuses on the dyed-athlete behind him.

"Oh, hi, Senpai! I'm Yuji Itadori. I'm in the same class as Fushiguro."

The athletic boy rubs the back of his head, flashing a friendly grin.

"Nice to meet you."

Saeko smiles politely.

She remembers him—just a couple days ago, Satoru Gojo brought him in. Supposedly, he's the only person so far who has survived eating one of Ryomen Sukuna's fingers, retaining both his life and his own consciousness.

Impressive, sure, but… it doesn't really concern her.

While most classes at Jujutsu High form small action teams of three, Saeko has flown solo since enrollment. She finishes missions without backup, so getting chummy with an underclassman feels pointless—just an added social hassle.

With introductions at an end, conversation ceases. Silence settles over the hallway.

After a few seconds, Megumi Fushiguro breaks the stillness.

"Senpai, you seemed worried just now. Did something happen?"

"…You could say that."

Since he asked directly, Saeko Busujima shakes her head and unlocks her phone again, switching to a forum page.

"Remember that post on the forum last night? Someone claimed they 'Found Sukuna's finger' while out night-fishing?"

"Yeah, I remember. Weren't you the first to contact them? Did you manage to recover it?"

Megumi asks quickly.

"Unfortunately, no…"

Saeko shakes her head again.

Just as she's about to show her message history, Yuji Itadori leans in, looking curious.

"Sukuna's finger? That's the thing I ate, right?"

"Indeed," she replies calmly, glancing at him. "Gojo-sensei should've told you there are twenty of Sukuna's fingers total. The Jujutsu Association has custody of six. The one you swallowed was just one among those twenty."

"Right, I know…"

Yuji nods, only for Megumi Fushiguro to push him aside, his tone urgent.

"So what's the situation now?"

They all know how dangerous even a single one of Ryomen Sukuna's fingers can be. Once unsealed, it can attract swarms of Curses within a several-mile radius. Megumi's mind flashes to the night he first met Yuji: in less than half an hour after the seal broke, the entire school was overrun with Curses.

But Saeko-senpai says the finger hasn't been recovered… and that was last night's post. Judging by the photo, the finger appeared unsealed. A whole night has passed without any jujutsu sorcerer securing it—

He doesn't want to imagine the result.

After all, if that finger lured in so many curses overnight, they'd be fighting one another in some twisted "king of the hill"—possibly creating something even more monstrous. And the unfortunate soul who made that post would likely be…

"They responded to me, just before you two came out."

Saeko's light remark brings Megumi back to reality.

Wait… the poster replied? Meaning they're alive?

"Take a look."

The swordswoman pulls up her private messages and shows them to her underclassmen.

Fushiguro leans in, holding his breath. The reply consists of just seven characters:

—[Hi there, I'm Marcus Aurelius.]

"…What the hell?" Megumi's eye twitches.

Judging by the time stamp, the sender is probably fine. But clearly, they aren't taking her message seriously at all.

"And that's the problem." Saeko sighs quietly. "Usually, once it gets to this point—no matter what else we send—they won't listen. So I planned to report it directly to the principal—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's all this talk about reporting to the principal?"

A casual, playful male voice cuts her off from a short distance away.

They turn to see a tall young man with white hair and sunglasses. He's waving as he saunters down the corridor.

"Gojo-sensei?"

Yuji Itadori seems surprised, but quickly points at the phone in Saeko's hand.

"Uh, it's like this: apparently someone posted on the school forum saying they found one of Sukuna's fingers last night—"

"Huh?"

In an instant, Satoru Gojo—who had been strolling at a lazy pace—accelerates to triple speed, bounding over in a few strides. Taking Saeko's phone, he glances through the chat log and lets out a small, "Ah."

"Looks like they're alive, sure—but they're ignoring our warnings. Good thing the forum's got a few back doors for this scenario."

"Back doors?"

"Remember the [ID verification] when you registered for the forum? That's standard for everyone, but you students—and any staff from Jujutsu High—go through an extra step, which grants you temporary admin rights under certain conditions. Basically, you can see the real ID info for other users."

Megumi frowns. "Isn't that… well, not so nice, to put it bluntly?"

"Eh, you can spin it that way. But c'mon—it's kinda wild that somebody spent the whole night with one of Sukuna's fingers and didn't end up in a crisis."

Gojo types away on the phone while talking, halfway marveling at the situation.

Before long, a notice pops up: Admin Access Granted. He taps on the user's profile picture in the chat, revealing personal details that had previously been hidden.

Gojo scans each line—and abruptly freezes.

After a long moment, he clicks his tongue quietly.

"Ah…"

"What is it?" Itadori tries to peer over his shoulder, but Gojo blocks him with a palm.

Then, returning the phone to Saeko, the white-haired teacher's usual carefree smile resurfaces. He waves a hand dismissively.

"Welp, we've got their info. Looks like they're a student at Kuoh Academy. Busujima, after classes let out today, why don't you pop over and have a little chat?"

"…Understood."

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