She was hunched over, her hands clutching her knees as she fought to regain her breath. Satoru glanced over her head, silently calculating the distance they were from Shoko's office. He placed his hands in his pockets, fighting the urge to palm his face in frustration. They were literally less than 15 feet away.

She's this exhausted from only running that far? He ended up raising a hand to massage his right temple, a fake smile stretched on his lips. "What is it?"

The girl took a deep breath as she stood up straight. She then clasped her hands together and bent back down in a deep bow. "I-I don't know if you remember but, a few years ago… you saved my life in Akihabara. I-I wanted to thank you- you honestly changed my world and I-I'm only here thanks to you…so…thank you very much!"

Satoru remained silent as he racked his brain. Was I in Akihabara during that time? He shrugged, choosing not to delve too much into it before giving a quick nod. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"B-But it is!" She cried, clenching the hem of her shirt tightly. "I-If it weren't for you, I'd be dead…and especially what you said to me that day…it changed me for the better and I am eternally grateful for you. It's all thanks to you that I gathered enough courage to be here."

He stared into her wide, innocent eyes, shining in admiration and he closed his own with a sigh. This girl has no idea what she's getting herself into. This can't go on.

He shifted his stance to turn and fully face her. "Look, that's great. I'm happy for you but… I have to be honest: you're too weak."

—-

Qian felt her heart slowly plummet as he continued to speak, unable to tear her eyes away from his cold expression. Even though his eyes were covered, she could feel the frostiness in his sharp gaze penetrating her, like a dagger slowly piercing into her chest .

"I understand that you're a smart kid, and you're helping Shoko a lot with her workload. But the Jujutsu world is dangerous and someone like you who doesn't have much cursed energy is just going to be a burden to us." He crossed his arms. "The fact of the matter is: you shouldn't be here. You are a walking target. If our enemies discover you're working with us, they will kill you. You can't protect yourself, and we won't always be around to protect you. And even if we are, we can't afford that luxury. There are powerful beings out there who want to destroy humanity- we can't have any distractions that will hold us back. Do you understand?"

She couldn't even find the strength to argue and defend herself. As his words sunk in, she slowly looked down, gripping her hands tightly together. She swallowed thickly, struggling to get rid of the lump in her throat.

"I-" She choked, her throat suddenly dry. She stared at her feet, feeling her ears burn in shame. "U-Um…"

…I-I…what do I even say… There was a long, awkward pause as her mind went blank. She kept her gaze fixated to the floor, unable to collect her thoughts.

Somehow, after a few agonizing seconds, she forced herself to take a deep breath and stand up straight, straining her eyes to fight back the tears that had begun to pool. She gave him a bitter smile. "Y-You're right! I'm definitely not strong like you, Itadori-san, Kugisaki-san, and Fushiguro-san. I-I'll talk to Ieiri-sensei about putting in my notice so I won't cause anyone anymore trouble."

She bowed her head once more. "T-Thank you for your advice! I'll be on my way now!"

She immediately fled back down the hallway. As soon as she turned the corner, she pressed herself against the wall and sank to her knees, clasping her mouth tightly to silence her sobs.

He's right. She squeezed her eyes shut, finally letting her tears stream down her cheeks.

…He's right.

—-

He stared at her retreating form and sighed once more, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Maybe that was too harsh. He turned around and continued walking to the training grounds. As he stood on top of the white stone stairs, he stared down at the track field below him. In the center, Megumi and Maki were sparring each other while Panda was swinging Nobara around vigorously. Toge was resting underneath a nearby tree, silently reading a book.

No, this is for the best. He squatted down on the top step, silently admiring his gifted students with a soft smile. With strong sorcerers in this next generation, the Jujutsu world was bound to change for the better. He laced his fingers together, resting his chin on top as he pondered his next move. Those old geezers have been in control for far too long. Because of their negligence… Suguru appeared in his mind, all the bloodshed he caused, his deranged laugh echoing in his memories. He clenched his grip tightly. No more.

"Eh? Gojo-sensei?" He peered over his shoulder to see Yuji standing behind him, a soda can in hand. He had discarded the jacket of his uniform, sweat stains visible on his red t-shirt. A towel was draped over his shoulders as he used one end of the cloth to clean his face from grime. "What's up? What are you doing here?"

Satoru simply grinned and hopped to his feet, saluting his hand in greeting. "Yo! Yuji! Just wanted to see how your training is going. It's a Sunday, shouldn't you guys be taking a break? Relaxing? Going sight-seeing?"

Yuji shrugged, pinching his fingers on the tab. He pulled it back and the can popped open with a crisp snap. "Nope…we've been so busy lately and need to be on our game- especially with those recent cursed spirits that have been appearing. They're fortunately not super strong or anything, but pretty dangerous if we don't take them seriously."

As he took a sip, Satoru turned to regard the other students with satisfaction. "That's true. But I'm not worried, you and my other adorable students can take on whatever comes your way."

Yuji rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Nah, we still got a long way to go." Just then, there was a loud shriek as Nobara was flung halfway across the field. Panda dusted his paws off with a satisfied huff as Toge raised a sheet of paper victoriously, a big '10' scribbled across it.

Satoru chuckled as Yuji slapped a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "Sorry sensei, I should probably help her with this before she throws a fit again. I'll catch you later!"

He downed the rest of his drink and crushed the can in one hand, tossing it behind him into the garbage can nearby. He leapt off the steps, landing on the grass below with a lithe roll. Satoru regarded his student with pride and waved a hand. "See ya! Don't work yourselves too hard!"

As he headed back inside, he passed by Shoko's office. He inadvertently recalled the earlier events of the day, feeling another twang of guilt.

He shrugged it off. Whatever, it's not like I'll be seeing her again. I'm sure she'll be gone by the end of the week.