And just like that, Sherlock was carried through the entirety of Tokyo Jujutsu High by Gojo Satoru like an oversized piece of luggage before finally reaching the dormitories.
The school grounds were enormous, but there were surprisingly few people around.
Gojo spent the entire walk making increasingly ridiculous noises in an obvious attempt to lure someone outside to witness Sherlock’s humiliation.
Not a single person appeared.
Sherlock felt two completely opposite emotions.
On one hand, he was deeply grateful that his latest humiliation wouldn’t become common knowledge.
On the other hand…
Wasn’t this place a little too deserted?
Tokyo Jujutsu High was clearly even more understaffed now than it would be by the beginning of the original story.
And judging by everything Sherlock remembered about the useless old fossils running the jujutsu world, he could already picture his future.
Endless missions.
No weekends.
No holidays.
Barely any sleep.
A work schedule somehow worse than the corporate nightmare of his previous life was practically waving at him from the horizon.
Sherlock immediately considered activating Flying Thunder God and escaping.
At this point, even if running away meant destroying his reputation completely, it still sounded preferable to spending the rest of his youth working like some overworked superhero expected to save the universe every Tuesday.
Unfortunately, the moment Sherlock began gathering cursed energy, Gojo’s obnoxiously cheerful voice came from directly above him.
“Nope, Sherlock~” Sherlock froze.
“If you run away, I’ll upload your preferences and those photos from earlier to every advertising screen in Tokyo.” “…!” Sherlock went completely still.
Horror slowly spread across his face.
He could die.
He could be beaten half to death.
He could even lose everything.
But public humiliation?
Absolutely not.
When the hell had Gojo Satoru become this shameless?
Sherlock stared blankly into space as his thoughts spiraled.
Sensei, you can be this ruthless with me, but when you’re fighting Sukuna someday, suddenly you have standards?
Seriously?
Sherlock was so consumed by his mental breakdown that he didn’t even notice they had already entered the dormitory.
It wasn’t until Gojo casually tossed him onto a bed like a delivery package that Sherlock finally snapped back to reality.
He immediately started struggling.
Wait.
Hold on.
Back in his previous life, there had been an endless number of jokes online about Gojo and Geto being suspiciously close.
What if…
Sherlock’s eyes slowly widened.
What if this white-haired lunatic actually swung that way?
The more Sherlock thought about it, the more alarmed he became.
The more alarmed he became, the harder he struggled.
Within seconds, he was wriggling across the bed like a caterpillar desperately trying to escape a predator.
Gojo watched him with growing curiosity.
He had absolutely no idea what Sherlock was imagining.
But instinct told him it was probably something incredibly disrespectful.
Naturally, that made Gojo want to make things worse.
A wicked smile appeared on his face.
“Oh my~” Gojo leaned closer.
“What could our dear little Sherlock possibly be thinking about right now~?” A man well over six feet tall somehow managed to imitate the mannerisms of an overly dramatic schoolgirl.
His voice became deliberately syrupy.
Then, just to make Sherlock even more uncomfortable, Gojo extended one finger and lightly traced it across the back of his jacket.
Sherlock’s entire body erupted in goosebumps.
That was it.
Reputation be damned.
He was about to activate Flying Thunder God and escape before his dignity suffered any further when the dorm room door suddenly opened.
Both Sherlock and Gojo turned toward it at the exact same moment.
A woman with slightly grown-out bobbed hair stood in the doorway.
Ieiri Shoko.
The closest thing the jujutsu world had to a dedicated healer.
Shoko took one look at the scene.
Her pupils visibly tightened.
Sherlock was tied up on the bed.
Gojo was leaning over him.
One finger was still resting against Sherlock’s back.
Silence.
Shoko slowly looked at Gojo with the unmistakable expression of someone who had just discovered human garbage.
Then she pulled out her phone.
Click.
She took a picture.
Immediately afterward, she called Yaga.
“Sensei.” Gojo’s smile vanished.
“Gojo Satoru has finally lost his mind.” Gojo’s face changed.
“He kidnapped a teenage boy and appears to be attempting something extremely questionable.” “WAIT!” Gojo vanished from beside the bed.
“Shoko, wait!
Listen to me!” He reappeared beside her almost instantly.
“This is not what it looks like!” Ten minutes later…
Gojo was kneeling in the middle of the room with another large bump on his head.
Sherlock and Shoko stood silently against the wall.
Neither dared say a word.
Yaga stormed out of the dorm room with an expression that promised violence if anyone tested his patience again.
There was something Sherlock had learned today.
It didn’t matter whether someone was officially recognized as the strongest.
A sufficiently angry teacher could still make them sit down and shut up.
Even Sherlock had felt the terrifying pressure radiating from Yaga.
That wasn’t cursed energy.
That was something far more primal.
The unmistakable aura of a teacher who was completely done with his students.
Terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying.
The instant Yaga disappeared around the corner, Gojo sprang back to his feet.
One second later, he was beside Sherlock again with an arm casually wrapped around his shoulders.
Then he immediately returned to his obnoxious schoolgirl impression.
“Come on, Shoko~” “Couldn’t you at least leave me a little dignity in front of my very first student~?” Shoko didn’t even bother looking at him.
Instead, she glanced sympathetically at Sherlock.
Somehow, Sherlock understood exactly what that look meant.
Good luck.
You’re going to need it.
Seeing his former classmate completely ignore him only encouraged Gojo.
He continued pestering her while Shoko treated him like background noise.
Eventually, she introduced herself.
“Ieiri Shoko.
I handle medical care at Jujutsu High.” She looked at Sherlock.
“If you’re injured, come find me.” A brief pause.
“Preferably as rarely as possible.” Gojo immediately leaned into her personal space again.
Without changing expression, Shoko pushed his face away with one hand.
Then she added, “And psychological damage caused by this thing isn’t covered.” She pointed at Gojo.
Sherlock nodded solemnly.
That seemed fair.
Having finished her introduction, Shoko turned around and left without another word.
Gojo watched her go.
“Seriously~?” He cupped his hands around his mouth.
“Shoko, you’re so cold~!” Shoko didn’t turn around.
She simply raised one hand over her shoulder.
And extended her middle finger.
Sherlock’s mouth twitched.
He had to admit, Shoko was impressive.
Three years of dealing with Gojo as a classmate had apparently given her a complete survival manual for handling an irritating white-haired menace.
Once Shoko disappeared from sight, Gojo instantly abandoned the sugary schoolgirl routine.
The transformation was so quick that Sherlock almost respected it.
Almost.
Gojo dragged him over and sat him down inside the room.
“Okay!” He clapped his hands.
“Now we can deal with your situation, Sherlock.” Sherlock immediately became suspicious.
“And don’t think about running away~” There it was again.
Gojo’s smile widened.
“Your school records have already been transferred to Jujutsu High.” Sherlock stared at him.
Gojo raised one finger.
“Oh, right.” “Since you called me your boss and begged me to take you under my wing earlier…” Sherlock suddenly had a horrible feeling.
Gojo smiled brilliantly.
“I’ve also been registered as your legal guardian.” “…!!!” Three enormous exclamation marks practically appeared above Sherlock’s head.
What the hell?!
Those damned higher-ups could do that?!
Sherlock sat there in stunned silence for several seconds.
Then, with the expression of a condemned prisoner asking for one final appeal, he spoke.
“Can I still leave?” Gojo blinked.
For once, he actually looked curious.
“Uh…” He tilted his head.
“Can you tell me why you hate Jujutsu High this much?” Sherlock answered without hesitation.
“Because I want to go to college.” “…” Gojo fell silent.