Ch.16 Meeting in Tokyo

"I could already sense the strong cursed energy around here," Gojo Satoru began. "Honestly, I didn't plan to come, but since I remembered you live nearby, I thought it would be better to check. Hehe, if I had been a little later, I might've lost a promising student."

Gojo stood up and pointed at the food and bandages on the table. "I bought some food for you, and those bandages are for your injuries. Oh, and remember to pay me back when you've got the money."

Hayashi was touched at first, but as soon as he heard the part about paying him back, his gratitude instantly dropped by half.

"Although you can call me Gojo-sensei, I much prefer being called 'teacher.' Well, you should focus on recovering. In a few days, make your way to Tokyo." Gojo waved his hand and left, closing the door behind him.

"Thank you, Gojo-sensei!" Hayashi called out as Gojo left, then rested his head back on the pillow.

Only then did Hayashi notice that his leg was wrapped in bandages, and his whole body was covered in marks where the steel beams had constricted him. The wounds were horrifying.

"Survived by the skin of my teeth," Hayashi muttered to himself. That purple curse spirit was incredibly powerful, or maybe he was just too weak right now, which is why he couldn't fight it off.

Now that Gojo had intervened, the purple curse spirit probably wouldn't show up again anytime soon. It might even stop feeding on the resentment and energy of the employees for a while.

"Once I'm settled in Tokyo, I'll come back to deal with you," Hayashi said through gritted teeth, wincing from the pain as even the smallest movement hurt.

After resting for three or four days, Hayashi could finally walk again. Of course, during those few days, he still had to get up for meals and water, but the pain was too much, so he mostly lay in bed scrolling through his phone.

In those few days, Hayashi also came across a lot of information online. There were many paranormal events happening around the world, including a large number in China. However, Hayashi didn't know if they were related to cursed spirits or cursed objects.

The next day, Hayashi packed his bags and set off for Tokyo. Though his body was still wrapped in bandages, he had to leave—today was the day to meet up in Tokyo.

On the bullet train, many people stared at Hayashi, not because he was handsome, but because of the bandages wrapped around his body.

People were curious about this handsome young man—how had he gotten so injured?

Hayashi didn't care about the stares. None of these people knew him, and once they got off the train, no one would remember anyone.

The distance from Sendai to Tokyo wasn't far, so Hayashi quickly arrived at his destination.

Now, he just needed to reach the meeting place, and they would head to Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College.

"Time's almost up. Where's the guy you mentioned?" Megumi Fushiguro leaned against a wall as people bustled by. Gojo Satoru stood nearby, waiting.

"Well, considering he's injured, you should be a little more understanding." Gojo smiled slightly, then pointed toward a spot in the crowd. "There he is."

Megumi looked over and immediately recognized the tall, handsome boy walking toward them, mostly because the bandages wrapped around his body stood out.

"Hey, everyone!" Hayashi greeted them, raising his uninjured hand.

"Go ahead and introduce yourself to your classmate," Gojo said, glancing at Hayashi.

"Oh, right. Hi, I'm Hayashi, 14 years old. Please take care of me from now on." Hayashi extended a bandaged hand toward Megumi, but then decided to switch to his other hand.

Megumi froze for a moment. "Hayashi? You're that student from Sugisawa Third Middle School who was supposedly dead?"

"Ah, I get it now." Megumi understood. Since Hayashi was here, it meant he had cursed energy and could use jujutsu, which explained how he survived the cursed spirit attack, even if he couldn't win. Still, Megumi found it odd that two people from the same school had ended up as his classmates.

"Are you okay like this?" Megumi offered a simple handshake, though he wasn't great at socializing. He still wanted to show respect.

"Haha, it's fine. Just a little injury." Hayashi chuckled awkwardly. A little injury? He had almost died!

Megumi assumed that Hayashi had gotten hurt during the cursed object incident at Sugisawa Third Middle School. Megumi himself had been severely injured too, but after a week of recovery, he was almost back to normal.

From this, Megumi figured that Hayashi's strength might be average, possibly just entering the ranks of a jujutsu sorcerer.

Of course, Hayashi didn't know what Megumi was thinking. He had no intention of boasting about his strength, especially after being beaten down by a special-grade curse spirit.

"Where's Itadori? Why isn't he here yet?" Megumi noticed that Hayashi wasn't the last one to arrive—Itadori Yuji was.

"Here he comes!"

Almost as if on cue, Yuji Itadori showed up just as Megumi started asking.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm late." Yuji scratched the back of his head apologetically.

When Yuji saw Hayashi standing next to Gojo, he was stunned. "Wait, Hayashi? You're alive?"

"Haha, I'm not that easy to kill! I'm alive and kicking." Hayashi wanted to pat his chest confidently but decided against it, remembering his injuries.

"You scared me! The school even issued a notice saying you died in an accident. I'm so glad you're okay." Yuji approached Hayashi and gave him a once-over. They hadn't talked much before, but they were still classmates, so Yuji was genuinely happy that Hayashi had survived.

"But wait—what are you doing here?" Yuji glanced at Gojo and Megumi, then back at Hayashi, confused by the situation.

"Oh~ He's your new classmate at Jujutsu High. Since you two already know each other, I won't need to make introductions," Gojo said, then added, "By the way, Yuji here is the vessel for Sukuna, the special-grade curse spirit. He's far stronger than the special-grade curse you fought earlier. Though I have to say, a special-grade curse that can use domain expansion is pretty impressive."

"I see." Hayashi nodded as if he didn't already know. Gojo waved his hand. "Alright, everyone's here. Let's head out."

Everyone's here?

Hayashi thought about Nobara Kugisaki. Maybe she wasn't arriving today, and they were heading to school first.

Gojo turned to Hayashi, noticing his confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Hayashi smiled and shook his head.

"Alright then, let's get moving." Gojo patted Hayashi on the shoulder.

"Got it!" Yuji and Hayashi responded in unison.