"Great fight, Sukehiro," Mei greeted us as Satoru and I emerged from the forest, casually leaning against the car door.
"Is there a consolation prize for the loser?" I raised an eyebrow, addressing the woman.
"Wasn't that enough for you?" Mei smirked.
"Really?"
"Flirting in front of me," Satoru glanced over at us. "Very indecent."
"Do you even know what sex is?" I chuckled, looking at the white-haired Sorcerer.
"He might know," Mei shrugged, giving silent consent to tease "The Strongest." "Or maybe not. Maybe he's still pure."
"Keeping his rose for someone special," I nodded gravely, as if realizing the truth.
"You both are so 'special'," Satoru mocked us. "And when you're together, you become utterly unbearable."
A short laugh burst from me.
"With all my trust in you, even Jesus was in love. So what to say when in front of me stands an example of Buddhist purity and innocence? And in a male form, no less," I clapped the man on the shoulder before opening the car door. "Ladies first."
"Thank you," Mei smiled at me, performing a light curtsy.
"Returning to our conversation, I'm surprised at how strong you are," Mei said, settling comfortably in the seat.
"Nothing special," My eyebrows slightly raised.
"Why do you speak as if he's just an ordinary Sorcerer?" Mei looked at me skeptically.
"Because that's exactly what he is. Despite all his strength and talent, he is primarily a Sorcerer," I simply shrugged.
Sometimes I don't understand why everyone is so fixated on Satoru Gojo. Yes, he is indeed a strong Sorcerer, the strongest in the last four hundred years, but why does everyone forget the fact that the previous user of the "Six Eyes" and "Limitless" fought to a draw with the heir of the Cursed Technique "Ten Shadows"? Or the fact that in the golden age of sorcery, the Heian era, the Gojo clan didn't even exist yet, and Japan was still home to dozens of Special Grade Sorcerers, including the Gojo clan ancestor Mitizane Sugawara, the Zenin clan ancestor Masakado Taira, the Kamo clan ancestor Emperor Sutoku, and finally, the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna.
Yes, and besides, Satoru is far from as invulnerable as he or anyone else would wish. From specific Cursed Weapon and Cursed Object to the techniques like 'Domain Expansion' each can be utilized against Satoru. No matter what I tell myself, the fact remains — Satoru Gojo is still undefeated. However, this doesn't mean there won't be someone who can stand up to him in the foreseeable future.
"You didn't say that when I launched you into the sky," Satoru commented, sitting beside me.
"Yeah, I didn't say anything at all, and you, idiot, tried to," I replied, recalling the moment when Satoru tried to say something to me during free fall.
"Can't you read lips?" the white-haired one looked at me in surprise.
"No. Why would I need such a useless skill?" I looked at him as if he were an idiot. I'm a Sorcerer, not a spy.
"Whatever you say, I'm still 'The Strongest,'" Satoru changed the subject. "Though, I'd be very pleased when you, Megumi, Yuta, and the others become as strong as me, or perhaps even stronger."
"That's the logic," I pondered for a moment. "If you're considered an unbeatable monster, then trying to become stronger than you seems pointless."
"Was I wrong about you?" Mei suddenly chimed in.
"About what?" I turned my gaze to the woman.
"You're far more obsessed and crazier than any other Sorcerer I know," Mei replied. "And there's something special about that."
"I guess that's why, in a real fight with Satoru, I won't lose," a smirk spread across my face. "I probably won't win, but I won't be at his feet either."
"Do I sense I haven't used 'Purple' against you in a long time?" Satoru taunted me.
"Indeed, quite a long time," I simply nodded in agreement.
I never considered myself equal to Satoru, but that doesn't mean the "Secret Technique of Joseph Joestar" would fail.
"And to pride oneself when a woman compliments you is in poor taste," Mei crossed her arms under her chest, looking displeased.
"Calling me obsessed and crazy — that's such a cool compliment. Thank you very much," I didn't take the bait from this fox and decided to change the subject immediately, turning to Satoru. "You do know you're not supposed to be here, right? What's the catch?"
"What are you talking about?" Satoru asked with feigned confusion.
"Whose car is that following us?" I skeptically asked, thumbing behind us.
"Why suspect a catch? Maybe I just missed you?" Satoru crossed his arms over his chest.
"And there I was, caught between two 'offended' adults acting as if they were the teenagers with hormones blazing in every direction. Sometimes I wonder, 'How has this world not descended into chaos when the strongest Sorcerers act like little children?' Then I remember about Shibuya...
"Who special did you meet this time?" I decided to break the long and annoying silence.
"How did you guess?" Satoru was surprised.
"It's hardly because you wanted to chat just because this summer was too hot or because Tokyo's real estate prices have jumped again."
"Why?" asked the white-haired one.
"Because usually, after those kinds of questions, Mei and I can't get out of bed all night long... And with you, I wouldn't want to be in the same apartment overnight, let alone 'share a bed.'"
"Does it really not bother you to say that to my face?" Satoru asked, a bit too many questions for one day.
"Mei, does it bother you when I tell 'Mr. Innocence' here about how one can enjoy good company?" Instead of answering, I turned to the woman sitting beside me, who was searching for something on her phone.
"This restaurant is good," Mei murmured, then looked up from her phone. "No, you can describe all the details if you want; I don't mind. It's Satoru after all."
"Do they not see you as a man at all?" I stared at Satoru in surprise after her response.
"No, it's just that you and Mei are cut from the same cloth. And when you're together, it only gets worse," Satoru shook his head. "As I've said: she's gotten out of line since meeting you."
"I don't charge for my awesomeness, and certainly not for my beauty," I couldn't help but smile in response to Satoru's complaint. "Anyway, what's on the agenda today?"
"A couple of days ago, as I was on my way to meet with the director, I witnessed an amazing sight. It was a cool evening, not a cloud in the sky, and the moon that night... A perfect silver disk illuminated everything around with a soft, mysterious light."
"The French cuisine here is really good," I noted, leaning towards Mei and scrolling through a list of Tokyo restaurants on her phone.
"I didn't know you liked French cuisine," Mei expressed her surprise.
"I don't, actually, I just mean it's quite tasty there," I shrugged and continued. "Their signature dish is a shiitake mushroom tart... I'm not a fan of such refined and complex tastes. On the other hand, they have some of the best French wines in Tokyo."
"Hey, we're having a super important and very dramatic conversation, and you're distracted by dinner with a woman?" Satoru addressed me.
Well, I'm not a "sigma male" to stoically declare that I don't need women and to hell with them all.
"Maybe we can do without all this, then," I replied, glancing at him.
"Without what? The theatrical performance?" Satoru asked.
"Yes."
"How boring and monotonous," the white-haired one complained.
"Spare me your clown and jester habits," I replied, letting out a tired sigh.
"Special Grade Curses have formed an alliance," Satoru stopped there.
"Why do you swing from one extreme to another?" I stared at Satoru irritably.
"You don't like this, you don't like that... How can one live with such complicated and intricate criteria?" Satoru chuckled, then finally continued. "A Special Grade Cursed Spirit that could speak, had mastered Domain Expansion, and followed a certain plan attacked me. Interestingly, its Cursed Technique is closely related to fire, I think you'd find it interesting to exorcise it."
"And the second Curse?"
"It didn't engage me in combat, but it saved the first Curse when I was conducting an interrogation."
"You conducted an interrogation?" I was surprised.
"Do you think I'm not cruel enough?" Satoru muttered.
"It's precisely because of such a response that one might consider you an incompetent interrogator."
"Anyway, that Cursed Spirit was able to create flowers that clouded my mind for a brief moment. That was enough for it to escape, especially since it was also skilled at concealing its presence."
"Curses related to fire and plants. Strange companions," Mei commented.
"One Curse decided to save another... That's unheard of before," I frowned.
Of course, I was already aware of all this. Still, I had to play along, a skill I've honed over the last decade. It was much more challenging to use certain hints and conjectures to reveal just enough to change the situation, but not so much as to jeopardize my plan.
"I got the impression that I wasn't fighting a Curse but a Sorcerer, just some crazy bastard who can't control his emotional impulses," Satoru expressed.
"Just like Sukuna," I noted.
"Just like Sukuna," Satoru nodded.
"Two Curses with intellect enough to be considered human — that's a serious precedent," I pondered for a few seconds, mulling over the possible consequences of this conversation, then turned to Satoru. "But why do you think it's an alliance?"
"What do you mean?"
"You wouldn't use the word 'alliance' to describe the teamwork of two Curses," I explained.
"Consider it a hunch," Satoru simply shrugged.