Three days had passed since Jujutsu High was invaded.
That incident ultimately concluded with the enemy unit completely evaporating.
Masamichi Yaga stared at the maintenance budget report, sitting in silence across from his newly made Cursed Corpse for three hours.
The only thing worth rejoicing over was that the invader's target was precise, avoiding more disastrous losses.
However, compared to the architectural damage, what made the few First-years remaining at Jujutsu High feel a sense of emptiness was another matter.
Kama had also disappeared.
After that dazzling Starry Sky and faint blue flames swallowed everything, she never appeared again.
Without leaving a single word, without leaving a single item.
Only the snacks she had scavenged and half-read magazines remained untouched in her dorm room.
On the afternoon of the fourth day.
Beneath the cherry blossom tree on the Playground, the sunlight was just right.
The First-year Trio, forcibly kept at school "on standby" by Gojo Satoru, along with the second-year trio who had just rushed back from out-of-town missions, rarely gathered together.
"So," Panda sat cross-legged, propping his chin on his furry paws, his round black eyes filled with curiosity. "According to what you guys said, Kama... is really a 'God'?"
He had been holding this question in for two days.
From the moment he received the news that "something major happened at the school," to rushing back and listening to the survivors' accounts, this question had been burning fiercely.
Itadori Yuji sat cross-legged opposite him, scratching his short pink hair upon hearing the question.
"That's what Gojo-sensei said..."
He recalled,
"He said, 'Well, although it's a bit different from the concept of gods we commonly have over here, it's close enough. Anyway, she's an existence outside the norm.'"
"Wow—" Panda dragged out the syllable, his ears twitching along. "That setting is kind of cool! So when she said she was the God of Love before, she wasn't doing Cosplay or acting out some chuunibyou fantasy?"
Beside him, Inumaki Toge nodded vigorously. "Salmon, salmon!"
Zen'in Maki leaned against the tree trunk, holding a soft cloth to wipe her Cursed Tool.
She didn't participate in the discussion, only listening quietly.
She was the only person at Jujutsu High who had seriously fought Kama.
That pink lotus flower that occupied her entire field of vision, the terrifying pressure that froze her soul, were still branded in her memory to this day.
That wasn't a Domain human Jujutsu Sorcerers could reach.
She had sensed something back then, but she didn't expect the answer to be so... surprising.
"Speaking of which,"
Kugisaki Nobara, sitting cross-legged on the picnic mat and struggling with a bag of potato chips, looked up upon hearing this. "After that day, we even went to ask that Gojo guy about where Kama went."
After confirming that Itadori Yuji was merely unconscious due to exhaustion and mental shock with no major injuries, and with Kama remaining utterly unheard from, Kugisaki Nobara was the first to lose her patience.
She grabbed Fushiguro Megumi, who was the only one relatively calm at the time, and Itadori Yuji, who was awake but still a bit dazed. They barged straight into the teachers' office, blocking Gojo Satoru just as he was about to sneak out to buy sweets.
"Gojo-sensei!"
Kugisaki Nobara got straight to the point. "Where is Kama? Where did she exactly go?"
Gojo Satoru was in the middle of stuffing a daifuku into his mouth. He stopped his movements and glanced in their direction.
He chewed slowly, swallowed, and then spread his hands.
"Ah, about that..."
"It'll probably be hard to see her again."
"What?!"
Kugisaki Nobara thought she was hearing things.
"What do you mean hard to see her again? Didn't she deal with that Sukuna?"
"She did deal with him, yes~"
Gojo Satoru wagged his finger.
"However, the reason Kama-chan came to Jujutsu High in the first place was to find that broken Holy Grail. You guys saw it, the Golden Goblet that Ryomen Sukuna was holding. Now that the Holy Grail is found and her goal is achieved, naturally there's no reason for her to stay here any longer."
He tilted his head, his voice betraying no particular emotion.
"Just like when a game is cleared, the player naturally logs off~ Although it sounds a bit hurtful to say, to our Kama-chan, Jujutsu High was probably just a temporary quest location, right?"
A brief silence fell over the office.
Fushiguro Megumi lowered his eyes, staring at the pattern on the floorboards.
Itadori Yuji opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know what to say.
Kugisaki Nobara, on the other hand, glared fiercely at Gojo Satoru, her fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.
"But..." Itadori Yuji spoke up quietly. "The promise... to celebrate New Year's and Christmas..."
Gojo Satoru shrugged and picked up another daifuku.
"Things like that, to an existence like her, are probably the same as casually saying, 'The weather is nice today,' right? Don't take it too much to heart~ Life, after all, is always full of partings and surprises..."
He didn't finish.
Because Kugisaki Nobara had already turned around, pulled the door open without a word, and walked out.
Fushiguro Megumi and Itadori Yuji exchanged a glance, hastily bid farewell to Gojo Satoru, and chased after her.
The corridor was long and empty.
Kugisaki Nobara walked very fast, her back straight, the knuckles of her hands hanging at her sides white from gripping so tightly.
Fushiguro Megumi and Itadori Yuji followed a few steps behind her, neither saying a word.
An oppressive silence spread among the three, with only the sound of footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.
As they walked, Kugisaki Nobara suddenly stopped.
With her back to the two boys, her shoulders heaved slightly.
Fushiguro Megumi and Itadori Yuji's hearts tightened.
Itadori Yuji instinctively took a step forward and reached out his hand. "Kugisaki, you..."
"Tch."
A heavy, nasal click of the tongue filled with frustration.
Kugisaki Nobara violently spun around.
The expected tearful eyes didn't appear.
Instead, her eyes were slightly red, shining with a frightening intensity, burning with an almost furious fire.
She raised her head, glaring at the ceiling as if trying to bore a hole through it.
"That bastard...!"
"We promised! New Year's! Christmas! We're supposed to spend them together! Everyone! Not a single person missing!"
"Running off without a word... what's that supposed to mean?! What does she think we are? Quest NPCs?! Throwing us away after clearing the game?!"
The more she spoke, the angrier she got, violently waving her arm.
"I don't care if she's some God of Love or God of the Universe! A promise is a promise! If you agree to it, you have to do it!"
"If she really dares to break her promise—"
"I'll remember it for the rest of my life! In my next life! And the life after that! Every time I see her, I'll nag her about it! I'll even dream about collecting the debt from her!!"
Fushiguro Megumi: "..."
Itadori Yuji: "..."
The two boys' previously anxious hearts hit the ground with a thud. Then they wanted to laugh a little, but felt it wasn't appropriate to laugh at this moment, so they could only desperately hold it in, their expressions somewhat twisted for a moment.
Itadori Yuji rubbed his nose and muttered softly, "...As expected of Kugisaki."
Fushiguro Megumi, on the other hand, let out an imperceptible sigh of relief, the corners of his mouth curving upwards by zero point one millimeters.
At least she wasn't crying.
And she looked spirited enough to immediately go find a Cursed Spirit for some close-quarters hand-to-hand combat.