Yuta Okkotsu looked at Hikaru Kuganami with concern and whispered, "I'll let Gojo-sensei know. Hang in there."
Hikaru nodded. Although his smile was gone, he seemed to be still in control, which reassured Yuta a little. He watched as Hikaru left the classroom.
"...No wonder he transferred now." Zenin Maki adjusted her glasses, "He must be in trouble."
Panda asked Yuta, who was sending an email, "How is it? Did you get in touch? Where did Gojo go?"
"...The email has been read but not replied to." Yuta put down his phone, "Since it's been read… it should be okay, right?"
As everyone worried about Hikaru, he followed Principal Yaga towards the conference room.
Taking advantage of the time they spent together on the way, Principal Yaga said something similar to Yuta Okkotsu, telling Hikaru that he could stall for time and wait for Gojo to come back. It was clear what kind of image the higher-ups had in Principal Yaga's mind.
Hikaru Kuganami pondered, "I understand."
He then took off his sunglasses and casually put them in his pocket, revealing his sky-blue Six Eyes.
Principal Yaga, "...?"
He wasn't sure what Hikaru was doing. Before, he had been unhappy with those eyes because they had brought him trouble. Now, facing those who actually had a problem with him, he didn't seem to care… But since it was a matter of life and death for him, Principal Yaga figured Hikaru must have a plan, so he didn't ask any further. He brought him to the people from Headquarters.
Compared to the rotten oranges Gojo had mentioned, the two people sent by Headquarters were relatively young. At least they weren't the kind of stubborn old fogies. But the way they looked at Hikaru Kuganami still made him uncomfortable.
[MeowCafe: You probably already know this but rotten oranges = higher ups ]
Hikaru's intuition was working—the two people across from him weren't truly bad, but they probably weren't friendly to him.
Especially when they saw Hikaru's eyes, they showed a look of apprehension and rejection, "It really is the Six Eyes…"
Principal Yaga coughed and introduced them to each other.
The two people from Headquarters sat on the sofa, unmoving. After the introductions, they didn't invite Hikaru to sit opposite them, and they didn't even intend to speak to him. Instead, they turned to Principal Yaga first.
"Principal Yaga, we can't confirm that what you said is true until he loses the Six Eyes. We'll reserve judgment on whether you violated the order. As for whether he's considered a student at Jujutsu High now… You just said you need to find the relevant documents for the transfer procedures. I noticed that you came back empty-handed? You just finished the procedures. Are the documents really that hard to find?"
Principal Yaga, having dealt with Headquarters many times, was used to their attitude and responded calmly, "I tripped in my office and accidentally mixed up a lot of documents. It'll take some time to find them… Gojo said he would explain the situation to you. Maybe you missed it? Should we contact the higher-ups again?"
The people from Headquarters were very familiar with the excuse of not being able to find documents. Everyone understood the truth, but they were all the same. They had used this trick before. It's good to leave a way out for people. They didn't intend to dwell on this matter.
As for Gojo Satoru's "explanation"…
They had deliberately come at this time! Who really wanted Gojo Satoru's explanation? Besides, if they needed an explanation, it was much easier to ask the person himself than Gojo Satoru!
No longer willing to waste time, feeling that their intimidation was about right—usually a child would be scared and anxious after being ignored for so long, and would cooperate—the people from Headquarters finally shifted their gaze to Hikaru Kuganami.
As he expected, Hikaru Kuganami's face was much paler than when he first entered the room. Ignoring him had worked.
"Hikaru Kuganami." The person from Headquarters who was in charge of playing the good cop spoke in a gentle tone. This was a carrot after the stick, "We're here for no other reason than to understand your situation… Principal Yaga explained some of it, but we still want to hear it from you. Especially what kind of eyes with abilities you have encountered before…"
Hikaru Kuganami, "…Cough, cough."
The people from Headquarters, "......???!!!"
Everyone stared dumbfounded as Hikaru Kuganami suddenly started coughing. He coughed violently, as if he were seriously injured, and a large amount of blood seeped out from between his fingers covering his mouth. In a few seconds, his front was stained red with blood.
The incident happened so suddenly that the people from Headquarters didn't realize what was happening. They could only stare blankly at the scene.
Principal Yaga was the first to regain his composure. He stepped forward, caught Hikaru Kuganami, who had fainted, and immediately questioned, "What did you do?!"
The person who had been talking to Hikaru had never felt so innocent before, "It wasn't me, I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything…" His gaze involuntarily shifted to his colleague, exposing the fact that their trust was only superficial.
His colleague was even more aggrieved, "I didn't do anything either! My technique can't attack remotely! I wouldn't have acted without your orders!"
The head of Headquarters believed his colleague's words and quickly remembered the information he had read about Hikaru, "No! He's always been in poor health!"
"But Shoko just treated him. He shouldn't be like this so soon." Principal Yaga's skeptical attitude could be accurately conveyed even through his sunglasses, "Gojo took him to be treated… Should he have sat down just now?"
The implication was that Gojo Satoru was very aware of Hikaru Kuganami's physical condition. If this accident happened, he would definitely suspect the people from Headquarters. Besides, they had deliberately not let him sit down, perhaps as a way to wear him down.
The head of Headquarters felt that he was really being wronged. He cleverly began to suspect that this might be Hikaru Kuganami's fault.
—They must have encountered a con artist!!!
Unfortunately, when it comes to con artists, if there's no evidence, it's usually very disadvantageous for the victim, and it's a messy situation in the short term.
Seeing that Principal Yaga had already picked up Hikaru Kuganami and was about to rush to the infirmary, the people from Headquarters didn't dare to stop him, nor did they dare to say anything like, "Why not just take him to Headquarters?"
If they prevented him and something happened to Hikaru Kuganami, Gojo Satoru, who was already very arrogant, would have even more reason to cause trouble. The higher-ups could only perform a show of retreat… and then end up being reprimanded. Damn, it's so not worth it!
The two people from Headquarters silently followed behind Principal Yaga, momentarily feeling like they were living in a Japanese drama. They felt like this development shouldn't be happening in reality…
The colleague running alongside them couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Our mission… is it considered a failure?"
They seemed to have wasted all their precious time on intimidation and bragging. They didn't ask a single question they needed to!
Who knew when Gojo Satoru would come back, how long the temporary task he had given them would take…
The head of Headquarters was also under a lot of pressure, but he still held out hope, "We should have time once Shoko Ieiri heals him."
Murphy's Law states if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.
They had just taken him to the infirmary, and Shoko Ieiri hadn't even started treating him yet, when Gojo Satoru appeared in the infirmary.
He jumped in through the window and happened to see Hikaru Kuganami on the bed as soon as he entered. He paused for a second, then looked at the people from Headquarters with a superficial smile, "What did you do?"
The people from Headquarters, "...!!!"
They really hadn't done anything! They had felt stifled dealing with Gojo Satoru before, but nothing compared to this time! What the heck is going on!!!
Gojo Satoru walked to the bedside, "That's strange, he was fine when I left."
The head of Headquarters gritted his teeth, "It seems like Kuganami-kun's body isn't very good. He needs to exercise."
This was a concession, acknowledging that they temporarily accepted Hikaru Kuganami as a student at Tokyo Jujutsu High. They had been informed of their bottom line before they came, and he could make this decision—in exchange for Gojo Satoru not making further trouble, this matter would end here.
This way, the higher-ups would at most consider their mission a failure. They wouldn't make the mistakes they made seem more serious because of Gojo Satoru's taking advantage of the situation.
Gojo Satoru knew that Hikaru Kuganami had done something on purpose, and since his goal had been achieved, he didn't press the matter further.
After a series of simple and brutal negotiations, the people from Headquarters left. Gojo Satoru returned to the infirmary and threw the file folder in his hand to Principal Yaga, "This is the supplementary transfer information… but it's not needed now."
Principal Yaga knew that Gojo Satoru had been completing the procedures while on a mission, to avoid being picked on by the higher-ups, but he was still a little surprised, "So fast."
"Money can solve a lot of problems. It could have been faster, but Saegu's grades are too good, and the Principal wasn't very willing to let him go…" Gojo Satoru stroked his chin, "Huh? Could I actually teach a student who gets into Tokyo University?"
Principal Yaga, "...Even if he can get into Tokyo University, it has nothing to do with you. You're actually more of an obstacle… Besides, he's already enrolled in Jujutsu High, so there's no need to take the university entrance exam, right?"
Hikaru Kuganami, who had been playing dead, sat up in bed, startled, "No, I have to take the university entrance exam."
Gojo Satoru, "Let's see if you can even live to that point first."
Hikaru Kuganami, "......"
Principal Yaga rubbed his forehead, "Gojo, shut up… And Kuganami-kun, why do you have to take the university entrance exam? Jujutsu High's diploma isn't bad at all, you know?"
"Need I ask?" Hikaru said, "Of course it's to make it easier to find a job later. What if I survive, but can't find a good job because of my diploma? That would be too unlucky. It's not necessary. I'm sure my grades are good enough, and I have a good chance of getting into Tokyo University."
Principal Yaga, "......"
Is this kid too realistic? And he's directly ruled out being a Jujutsu sorcerer? You don't even know if you'll live to adulthood, and you're thinking that far ahead!
But although he thought Jujutsu High's diploma was good, it was still better than Tokyo University…
Shoko Ieiri sighed and interjected, "I hope you won't come back less than an hour after you leave next time, otherwise, I can't guarantee you'll be able to take the college entrance exam."
It seems like this kid deliberately took off his sunglasses, used the Six Eyes to increase his consumption and forcibly activate his uncontrolled cursed energy, and then coughed up blood…
Hikaru Kuganami smiled awkwardly at the doctor, then asked Gojo Satoru about the real matter, "Forget about that. How did your talks go?"
Gojo Satoru said with a cheerful smile, "I have some bad news and some good news. Which do you want to hear first?"