The Kid I Used to Know

A Work In Progress

The next day, the results of Kei's assessment were announced. Zen'in Kei was an official grade 1 sorcerer.

While the rest of the students cheered, Suguru stood off to the side, watching quietly as he observed not just the two new first years, but also his best friend's reactions to them.

It was curious how Gojo Satoru's Infinity turned off almost automatically around the two teens. Suguru, as Satoru's best friend, knew exactly how hard his friend's trust was to come by, and watching him interact with the first years was proof that Satoru's trust wasn't just lip service he'd given in order to get Suguru off his back regarding his suspicions of the first years. Satoru actually trusted the two younger students, his lack of Infinity was proof.

"You're brooding again," a rough feminine voice called, approaching Suguru from behind.

Shoko came to a stop beside him, a lit cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth as she assessed him and then the scene in front of her.

Zen'in and Yuji were sitting at a picnic table trying to eat while Satoru leaned over the two of them occasionally and stole bits off their plates despite Yuji's multiple attempts to get Satoru his own plate and Zen'in's repeatedly smacking his hand away with a scowl.

"You've looked even more constipated than usual since the first years arrived the other day. What crawled up your ass and died?" Shoko asked in an offhand voice.

Suguru grimaced, turning his scowl onto Shoko now, "Doesn't anyone else find anything weird about us getting two last minute first years that no one seemed to know existed until their enrollment? And one of them is a grade 1 Zen'in heir while the other is a special grade and first generation sorcerer? And that's not even getting into all the suspicious things they've said or done since getting here."

Humming, Shoko considered him for a moment before taking another puff of her cigarette, "I won't argue that they're both suspicious as hell. I got a chance to run reverse cursed technique over both of them when they stopped by the infirmary to get Kei-kun's injuries treated, and while Kei-kun is pretty normal, Yuji-kun has a very unusual body. He has several improperly healed injuries and even more scars that are all relatively new, but the strangest part was that I felt like some of the cursed energy inside of him was different than the rest. It was all very similar, but distinctly different as well, almost like there were two people with the same technique inside his body. Obviously, that's crazy, but I don't have any explanation for it."

Shaking her head as if to forcefully clear her thoughts, Shoko took another puff of her cigarette, "But they're both just first years, and Satoru has vouched for them. His Six Eyes are impossible to lie to. He'd know if we need to worry, but he seems to have almost adopted them instead."

"He trusts them," Suguru agreed, glancing over at the group again, "Satoru doesn't trust easily."

Shoko hummed around her cigarette, "No, he doesn't. I agree this entire situation is suspicious as fuck, but I don't see what we can do about it. Even if they do have secrets, there's no guarantee it's anything for us to be concerned about anyway. Maybe Yuji-kun just comes from an abusive home and that's how he got those scars. Maybe he ate his twin in the womb or something and that's got something to do with his fucked up cursed energy. I have no idea what either of their stories are, but until they do something to indicate it's anything we need to worry about, I'm staying out of it."

She eyed him over the glowing ember end of her cigarette as she contemplated for a moment, "Did you ask Satoru about them yet?"

Sighing, he replied, "He told me to stay out of it basically."

Shoko raised a brow at him, "So he knows what's up with them, and he isn't telling. That's odd. Even if he didn't tell the rest of us, he's never been one to keep secrets from you."