Gojo let out a faint sigh and stood up from the sofa. “That’s partially true. But strength and weakness aren’t everything.”
Gojo only knew about the movie theater and the incident at Satozakura High School from reports he’d heard. However, given the tragic events that had occurred and the harsh reality Itadori had confronted, Gojo could imagine that the boy was bearing a painful burden. Despite his grounding as a sorcerer in body and mind, and despite his unusual physical constitution, Itadori was a teenager who hadn’t been in the jujutsu world for long. Training could improve his cursed energy and physical strength, but a heart wasn’t so easy to fix. And Gojo didn’t want him to stay broken for long.
He approached Itadori, who was hanging his head. “In this world, tragedies too often end in misery, even when it’s possible to help. But the problem isn’t lack of strength or getting there too late.” As Gojo passed Itadori, he patted him on the head without making eye contact. “The main reason it happens is that people forget they have the strength to help.”
At those words, Itadori gasped and looked up.
Itadori couldn’t say he now understood what the resolution was. Nonetheless, Gojo’s words enabled him to take another look at the situation.
Observing this change in Itadori, Gojo smiled with satisfaction. “While we’re at it, let’s review one more thing. What is the number one thing that gives rise to curses?”
“Um … negative human emotion?”
“If that’s true,” Gojo responded, “then you already know the answer—namely, that fighting and exorcizing aren’t everything.”
“Oh. Right.”
“One thing I like about you is you’re straightforward, so you get to the answers fast.”
Gojo’s smile was the final push Itadori needed. Now that Itadori’s head was clear, his body also felt unobstructed; he was already on the move.
“I’ll see ya later, Sensei!”
No sooner had Itadori said farewell than he was racing out into the bright streets.
Gojo watched Itadori depart, then plopped back down on the sofa. He had forgotten what page he was reading.
“It’s easy to lend a hand to a child who has fallen, but it’s a teacher’s job to show a child how to stand up unassisted. It isn’t always easy.”
Itadori’s sincerity was a more significant attribute than his being Sukuna’s vessel. As a result, trauma had the potential to become a curse more fearsome than anything else, a nasty curse preventable only by confronting one’s own heart. Instead of cradling that heart, Gojo could teach it to be prepared. That’s what it meant to raise students.
“It’s much harder than teaching jujutsu.”
Smiling despite his serious thoughts, Gojo downed the rest of his daifuku.
By now, Itadori could remember the way there.
The sun was still up, so the atmosphere in the streets felt different than before. A modest amount of traffic was out, and he could see a few people taking out the trash, taking shopping trips, and standing around chatting. This was likely the perfect time.
In front of Kairi Minato’s house, he found someone who appeared to be the boy’s mother.
“Are you a friend of Kairi’s?” she asked.
“Yes, sort of. Even though we’re different ages.”
She might have been over forty, but she looked younger at first glance. Itadori could sense her kindness from the way she had asked if he was Kairi’s friend despite the fact that Itadori was clearly a high school student.
The curse didn’t appear to be bothering the woman. She probably wasn’t even aware that she was living in a house where a demon appeared.
She looked pleased just to be speaking of Kairi. That alone conveyed her gentle nature and her love for the boy.
That’s why it hurt Itadori to ask this.
“Kairi hasn’t come home yet?”
“No.” She frowned sadly, but her attitude remained calm. Perhaps the woman was prepared for that topic of conversation. “He does come home. It’s embarrassing to admit this, but my husband and I don’t know when. After we started turning the lights off early, though, he started sneaking in sometime before ten o’clock.”
“Isn’t that dangerous? He’s still in junior high, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. There was a time when I thought I should go find him and drag him home, but … Isn’t it awful? I have no right to call myself a mother,” the woman said forlornly.
“No, I didn’t mean that.”
The woman’s expression was so sad it hurt Itadori to see it.
It wasn’t responsible for a parent to allow a child to walk around at night. She must have blamed herself for his absence. Itadori could see the sorrow and fatigue in her eyes.
I’m not here to criticize her.
Itadori reevaluated his position and purpose.
“Um, may I ask something unusual? Do you know anything about a demon?”
“A demon?” For a moment, the woman’s eyes registered surprise, but they weren’t as confused as Itadori had expected. On the contrary, she embraced the topic with surprising ease. “Did you hear about that from Kairi?”
“Yes.”
“The demon is a kind of fairy tale his grandmother told him. Or rather, a kind of warning fable. She said a demon would show up where bad children are. I suppose it’s like a namahage demon.”
“Oh, the cool grandmother!” Itadori said, remembering.
“Right, right. I should have known he would tell you about her.” The woman laughed with a smile both amused and desolate. Something about her sad expression caught Itadori’s attention.
“Kairi must’ve really loved his grandmother.”
“Yes, he did. From his point of view, she was like a replacement for his mother. He’s been struggling ever since losing her.”
“A replacement for his mother?”
“Yes,” the woman said. “His mother died in an accident soon after he was born.”
“Hold on a second. Then who’re you?!”
As the sun set, the air grew cold and clear.
In exchange, the moon showed its face, the streets gradually dissolved into darkness, and the artificial lights began to shine. The color of the landscape shifted as if the sky were bleeding into the rest of the world.
Itadori walked through the night, passing the streetlights that dotted the city. The moon looked brighter than usual that night.
Curses existed in the world. They filled human life to overflowing like a darkness that could swallow even shadow. Itadori couldn’t exorcize all of them the way sunlight could. He was still a long way from shining even the faint light of the moon.
But for one person, he just might be able to shine the way forward, like a streetlight.
“Kairi …”
Sure enough, Kairi Minato was there, at the same time, in the same park, his gentle swinging causing the old metal to creak.
“Itadori … Good evening.”
“Yeah, hey.”
For a little while, they left it at that. Itadori sat beside Kairi on the decrepit swing set. When he touched the playground equipment, which was cold in the night air, a chill sunk into his bones. As this sensation swept through him, he gazed out at the park. It presented a forlorn scene.
The only sounds were the chirping of insects in the grass and the creak of the swing. Itadori and Kairi swung gently, looking forward instead of at each other. Their rhythm was like a metronome measuring the right time for broaching a topic.
Finally, Itadori asked, “The demon’s still at your house, right?”
Kairi nodded without looking at his companion.
“Probably. I think it’s always there. At the house.”
Kairi’s voice was soft but exhibited an unyielding strength. His voice was low, as if reaffirming an immutable reality.
“Your grandmother told you about that demon.” Itadori said gently.
“Who told you that?”
“Your mother.”
The resulting expression on Kairi’s face was difficult to describe. He looked bitter, and also as if someone had prodded a wound. It was clearly an unpleasant topic for him, but Itadori continued talking.
“Sorry if you don’t like to call her mother.”
“Seems like you heard they’re not my real parents.”
“I should’ve noticed sooner, since the sign out front said Okazaki, not Minato.”
“I didn’t mean to hide it. But I’m not used to my new name, so I said my old family name,” Kairi said.
“Yeah. I can understand that.”
Kairi was mumbling, like a scolded child. By contrast, Itadori’s voice was buoyant and gentle.
“Your grandmother taught you that a demon shows up around bad children, right?”
“Uh-huh,” Kairi responded.
“Why do you think that demon shows up?”
“Um …”
A few moments stretched between his words. It wasn’t because Kairi was at a loss for an answer, but because the answer was so clear, he needed the courage to give it voice.