In the three years he passed exorcizing cursed spirits, Gabriele had fought countless demons who lurked in the grimmest and most hostile of locations, he bled and made them bleed in the name of a world free from malefic entities, sustained the ache of his injuries and came close to death more times than the number of springs he lived through. Although he had always come on top of the adversities life has put throughout his time on Earth, none of them could have prepared him for this exact moment, sitting on the sidewalk with a weird-shaped bottle in his hands he so threatened to shatter out of frustration.

"How do you open this thing?!" In Nobara's mind he sounded as pissed as his expression gave off, she barely contained her laugh the moment he tried to push the marble down his ramune soda with his thumb.

"Does this amuse you?" Megumi spoke, Nobara quickly turned her head with a finger on her lips, shushing him.

"It's all part of the plan." She whispered.

"What plan?" A sinister grin crept into the girl's face, Fushiguro knew from experience that when this sign was showing, nothing good was about to be revealed.

"It's simple yet so incredibly smart, I had to congratulate myself for such an ingenious idea..." a chuckle escaped her throat, and a scenario started playing in her imagination.

~Kugisaki Nobara's masterplan~

Get Gabriele a ramune soda without explaining to him how to open it. Watch him as he grows exasperated trying to figure out the marble mechanism, no way his foreign ass will notice the bottle opener in the seal he discarded ten minutes prior. His rage will then soon reach its peak, that's when he will lash out at the soda his pent-up anger, throwing the bottle on the ground (magically surviving the impact) and kicking it into the stratosphere.

"Your food is so impractical!" He will yell, gaining back his voice out of nowhere, "I'll show you that you can make good stuff without needlessly complicating your life in the process." Thus he will stomp his way to the kitchen and put his frustration into a furious cooking session in which he will bring out so many dishes that her stomach will burst open.

"We will eat like kings!" She exclaimed, drool already coming out the corner of her mouth.

"That seems highly unlikely, also what tells you that he can cook?"

"He's Italian, being able to cook must be part of citizenship verification or something."

Megumi frowned at the baseless stereotype. Seriously, it looked like the more time they spent with Gojou, the more his dumb influence penetrated their synapses. Fortunately, frequent exposure to the white-haired weirdo's shenanigans will also build up a defense system in the long run, he was the perfect example.

A sudden clink drew their attention, followed by the fizzing sounds of gasses. coming out of a bottle together with some liquid dripping down on the ground. "Damn, there must be a better way to crack this open." Gabriele's robes and hair were completely drenched, from what Megumi could tell, the exorcist managed to get the marble free with just his thumb, which was... impressive to say the least.

"You idiot! You weren't supposed to open it! What are we gonna eat if you won't cook now?!" She shouted.

"What do you mean I wasn't supposed to open it?! And what does it have to do with me cooking?! Have you gone crazy?!" He shouted back.

Megumi reluctantly welcomed his new source of headaches, although temporary and couldn't hear it at times, he discovered that when upset his technique automatically affects everyone around him, even if it was directed only at one target specifically, resulting in his mind getting filled with an incoherent speech about Vampires going on a moonlit walk. "Would you please quiet down? Kugisaki, didn't we have errands to run? And you, how did you get this wet from just a soda? Dry yourself up." Strangely enough, his authoritative tone made them both stop their bickering when he spoke up, great success, he should use it more often.

"Well, isn't that great?" Gabriele sprung up on his feet, taking off his wet and sticky gloves. "Soda di merda. You do your business, I'll wait here hoping the Sun will dry me up."He walked past Fushiguro and sat on a perfectly irradiated spot, basking in the heat like a cold-blooded lizard and sipping on the remaining soda. "Sure he's strange." The girl muttered, Megumi simply shrugged, everyone here was kinda weird, must be a requirement for fighting curses. Nobara went back to the vending machines, after a brief check and payment, she pushed the button for a soda can. "Couldn't they put in a few more vending machines?" She rhetorically asked, slightly annoyed by the lack of choice.

"They can't." Megumi replied, "There are only so many workers who can come in here." He then turned to his right, hearing footsteps coming closer to them.

Nobara noticed them too. Two strangers were standing on the opposite side of the hallway, well one stranger, he knew who the girl was. "What are you doing here, Zen'in-senpai?" The sudden Zen'in last name drop surprised Nobara a bit.

"Oh, she's one, too? They do seem similar, are they sisters?"

"They're twins."

"Don't call me that, Fushiguro-kun. You make me sound the same as Maki." The Zen'in girl interrupted them, her eyes then laid upon the exorcist, a sudden wave of hostility pervaded his body as she winked at him, "Call me Mai." She said.

"Who are they? Are they also from this school?" A question formulated inside Megumi's thoughts. Shifting his gaze over his shoulder, he followed Gabriele as he approached them. "She's from another school in Kyoto, I don't know about him but I assume he is, too. Usually, they wouldn't show up until a month from today for the exchange event." The sorcerer explained to him. He was briefed about the two schools back in Rome, but never he would have thought there was this kind of rivalry between them.

"So these are the pinch hitters for Okkotsu and the third-years?" The big guy stepped into the conversation.

"We came here with the principal because we were worried about you." Mai continued, Gabriele raised an eyebrow in perplexity in response.

"Your classmate died, right?"

The foreigner was taken aback, the next words flew past him like the wind as he glanced at his two acquaintances, they were showing no signs of anger, doing their best to just grin and bear it, though the longer he looked, more and more cracks appeared in their otherwise stoic masks.

Something was starting to slowly piece together, his mentor was right.

"And who did you substitute the late vessel with? An exorcist from overseas? That's not just scraping down the barrel, that's outright treacherous." She smirked at their dismay. His expression furrowed deeply, the need to intervene, to put an end to this shameful display of unprovoked verbal aggression was held back only by the Tokyo students's passive reactions.

"Mai, don't bring up such pointless topics." The guy stepped forward, throwing away his jacket, "I'm only here to see if these guys are fit to take Okkotsu's place. That's all I want to know." This is the second time he said Okkotsu. Gabriele remembered reading reports by his older colleagues featuring his name, about the incidents he caused, about the vengeful spirit he brought to life, the failed attempt of capital exorcism, and his sudden disappearance.

"You two, my fellow men..." said the bigger man, referring to both Megumi and Gabriele. He inhaled, and his chest swelled until he let everything out with a shout...

"What kind of woman do you like?"

All three of them tilted their heads in confusion, this stranger proceeded to rip his purple t-shirt, the muscles concealed underneath touching the light of day. "Depending on your answer, I'll beat the two of you half to death right here and drag Okkotsu, or at least the third-years, out to the exchange event." He brought his foot forward, arms open ready to fight, neither Megumi nor Gabriele flinched, but their minds entered fight or flight mode simultaneously.

"By the way, my type is a tall woman with a big ass."

"Why do we have to talk about our tastes in women with a guy we just met?" Fushiguro questioned, the exorcist agreed with him, it wasn't written in the pamphlet he had in his bag. "He's right. That's a tall hurdle for an antisocial guy and those who swore an oath of chastity." Said Nobara, gaining a dirty look from the young men on her side.

"You be quiet. This is confusing enough already, you'll just make it more complicated."

"We exorcists may be affiliated with the Vatican, but we do not adhere to clerical celibacy."

"Kyoto, Third-year, Toudou Aoi. Introduction over. We're friends now." The big guy presented himself hastily, Gabriele hesitated for a moment but then allowed himself to interact with Toudou's thoughts.

"Rome, Seraphim choir, Gabriele Lucia Esposito." Toudou looked at the foreigner, his already large grin got even wider.

"Hurry up and answer. If you prefer men, that's fine, too. A person's fetishes reflect everything about them, people with boring taste in women are boring people themselves." A scowl appeared on the third-year's face, "and I hate boring men." Megumi perceived a certain passion in his speech. "The exchange event is where my soul can be free as blood boils and flesh clashes. Who knows what I might do if my last exchange event ends up boring me?" Without realizing it, Gabriele shifted into a fighting stance, by the way the third-year was staring in his eyes he felt that he'd start a fight no matter what he or Megumi say.

"As a show of kindness, I'll let you off only half-dead right now. So answer me, what kind of woman is your type?" Toudou gave his final warning, Megumi wasn't yet convinced by him, as if this whole ordeal was a badly written comedy routine.

"Is that your summer uniform?" Nobara went off-topic by gazing at Mai's outfit, "Ticks me off, but it's nice." Megumi took a glance at the girl next to him, she was unarmed, so it'd be better for them to avoid confrontation, despite having a theoretical advantage in numbers, three against two. That's what Tsumiki would have wanted. "I don't have a particular preference, as long as she has an unshakable character, I won't ask for more." He unexpectedly replied, receiving the approval of both girls.

"Not a bad answer." Nobara complimented him, "If you had said something like "big boobs" I'd have killed you." Then she turned to face Gabriele, a blush covering his cheeks betrayed him as he stared at Toudou with the best poker face he could manage. Now that's adorable.

Thirty seconds went by in utter silence...

Tears came rolling down Toudou's face. Megumi and Nobara were left stunned by the reaction and immediately squared off the exorcist who was just as shocked as they were. "What the hell did he tell him?!" the girl yelled at the exorcist l.

"I knew it," Toudou spoke, his voice so low that it could barely be heard, his balance brought forward as he stood on his forefeet. Gabriele picked up in time his intentions and reacted accordingly, Megumi however realized it too late.

"You're boring, Fushiguro."

Toudou dashed forward to clothesline the young man, even if Megumi managed to cross his upper limbs, he was blown away by Toudou's sheer force, and sent flying into the gravel. The Kyoto berserker glanced at him with a disappointed look, but as he was getting closer to the shaman, Gabriele connected a fierce punch in retaliation, a right hook to the jaw which would usually knock the light out at any normal human.

His sneer grew from ear to ear. Toudou was no human. Not even close.

"I wished you'd do that," The larger man grabbed Gabriele by the coat, "now get in line!" and threw him outside the hallway next to Megumi.

"Fushiguro! Esposito!" Nobara yelled, worried about their well-being. Goosebumps made their way up her spine as arms slithered around her neck, the warm breath on her neck made her feel uneasy. "Poor Fushiguro-kun. Even a talented second-grade Jujutsu sorcerer is nothing more than a first-year against a top-grade Toudou-senpai." Mai chuckled in her ear, "The exorcist's name. Esposito, was it? He got the looks but he's a bit too taciturn. I'll make sure he shouts my name later."

Nobara laughed, "He's mute, dumbass. He speaks through a thought manipulation technique, and the fact he didn't talk to you once should make you understand he isn't interested at all." She side-glanced the senior with a mischievous smirk, "I mean, can you blame him? I thought you two were similar, but Maki-san's hundred times prettier. Are you sleeping well? You've got open pores." She felt something cold pressed against her stomach, looking down Nobara saw a fully loaded revolver pointed towards her.

"I'll teach you how to speak to others."


Gabriele got up on his knee swiftly, he didn't suffer Toudou's brute strength too badly, much to the latter's surprise, a couple of blows were starting to make themselves present, definitely up to three of his ribs were broken and his coat was torn in multiple places. He watched behind his back, Megumi was on the floor in far worse conditions than he was, his head completely covered with dried blood, he took a serious beatdown by the goliath, even got suplexed and drove into a building.

"Talk to me Fushiguro. Are you alright?" Megumi heard despite the loud tinnitus, couldn't put his thoughts into speech so he just nodded.

"I barely feel any intention to fight from you two." The exorcist's focus moved right back in front of him, Toudou stood there with little to no scratches, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at them dissatisfied. "I've expected more from one with such a high rank, exorcist. Perhaps you're not taking this seriously."

"We've been holding back and you're so proud?" Megumi said as he got into a sitting position, "If you're going to insist like that... I'll show you." Both Toudou and Gabriele felt a tremendous spike in power coming from him. The exorcist felt his body react to the increase, white sparkles started flying around his fingers, the results of the cursed energy clashing with the divine essence. Toudou, on the other hand, grew excited by the fervor of battle heating up.

"Bring it!" He dashed forward again, his grin got wider and wider with each step he took. When only a few meters separated him from Megumi, his sixth sense triggered all the danger alarms coming from above. He gazed upwards, only to see nothing but the Sun staring back at him. His chin snapped down just as quick, stupor got a hold of him as he saw Gabriele about to land a white fire-engulfed uppercut on his chin. His turquoise irises seemed to Toudou like they were leaking, like cut by a blade, the blood coming out of the wounds and spreading through the scleras. In that split second, the third-year was the happiest man alive.

"Don't move."

Gabriele felt his muscles freeze in place, his fist inches away from a scared Megumi, the white flames rapidly faded away and his eyes got back to normal the moment he realized what was happening. Panda and Toge jumped right in the middle between them and Toudou.

"Whew, just barely safe." Said the panda.

"Bonito flakes." Toge readjusted his collar after releasing the curse upon the exorcist. Toudou got a much friendlier expression once he saw the cursed corpse, "Long time no see, Panda."

"Why can't you just wait until the exchange event? Go on home, or I'll start screaming "No!"." While Panda talked with the Kyoto student, Gabriele started inspecting Megumi's head for any other injuries, "You got a pretty deep wound right here, we might want to hurry up and close it before you lose any more blood."

"It's okay, Esposito-kun. We got medical personnel here, they'll take care of it." Megumi tried to get up on his feet, and as soon as he stood erect, his balance began to waver until he got caught by the foreigner before he could fall again. "You don't have to tell me to go home." Toudou turned on his heels, scanning throughout the terrace in search of something. "Looks like I won't be bored the whole time." He then looked over his shoulder, eyes trained on Gabriele, "I'll pester the higher-ups to let you participate at the exchange event, exorcist. I never fought one of your status, so you better put up a hell of a fight. And give Okkotsu a message for me: "You take part, too"." And with that, he jumped over the fences. Is this guy seriously this passionate about the event?

"Are you two alright?" Panda reached over the beaten-up young men. "We're fine, we may want to pay the infirmary a visit later." Megumi lazily slumped his right arm around Gabriele's shoulder for support, "Tell me, is Kugisaki still alone with Zen'in-senpai?"

"Bonito flakes."

"Don't worry, Maki's there with her."

Megumi shut his eyes for a bit, and a sigh of relief escaped his lips, it was all over. It was hard to admit, but since Itadori died his days were getting monotonous, despite openly denying that his death did take a toll on the two surviving classmates, reality had been much different. Today was different, Nobara was livelier than the past days, and he needed to lighten up his grim mood. All because of the young man from overseas he met two hours ago, standing next to him. Too good to be true.

Gabriele shook him a bit, once he got his attention he motioned his head towards the other two who were leaving, so they started going slowly to the doors. "Thank you, Esposito." The corners of the exorcist's mouth tugged upwards in appreciation, images of the late pink-haired, shit-for-brains friend immediately overlapped in Megumi's vision. Fuck the blood loss was already doing numbers on him.

~ Two days later ~

"Would you please stop flinching?! I haven't finished yet." Nobara dabbed Megumi's wound with alcohol-imbued cotton, still, the burning sensation and the girl's heavy hand weren't keeping him from moving. "You have the delicacy of an elephant inside a crystal sho-Ugh!" They were in Megumi's room, usually, this was a procedure he could do perfectly on his own, but today Nobara busted through the door and volunteered to tend to his injuries for the only reason that, to put it in her words, she felt the boredom munching on her youthfulness. "I told you to stay still!" She insisted.

The door swung open, and Gabriele strolled down the room casually like he grew accustomed to in the past two days, eating his wafer snack as he settled comfortably on the free chair. He patiently watched Nobara wrap the young man's head in bandages, she ended up using more than necessary, with some getting loose over Megumi's tired eyes. She tried to fix it by pulling the bands, managing to successfully mummify his classmate instead. He covered his mouth while he snickered, he'd always been a little self-conscious about his laughter. With no sounds to accompany his expression, it looked like a creepy smile.

"What the hell are you doing, Kugisaki?" Megumi tugged the bandages out of his vision, anger quickly dissipated as soon as it came when he understood what Nobara was distracted by. Gabriele wearing a beige loose-fit t-shirt.

"What's up with that?!" Nobara exclaimed, pointing at the exorcist.

"This? Some white-haired guy took my coat this morning to patch it up. I doubt I'll have it back before my departure though."

"Not your t-shir, stupid! This!" Nobara got up from Megumi's bed and grabbed the man's left wrist, lifting it to reveal fully the tattoo that covered his entire forearm. "You're barely older than me, where did you get this?!" She yelled all of the sudden, "Were you a delinquent or something?! Affiliated with gangs?!"

"No I wasn't, but it kinda is a gang affiliation tattoo to an extent." He rotated his arm to show the ink in its entirety, it was a quote tattoo that encircled the forearm wholly. "Psalm 144:1-8, a prayer to give thanks to the Lord for aiding us in battle. My mentor personally tattooed it, underneath there's the same symbol knitted in my coat." Nobara was fascinated by the foreign words, forever bound together in the exorcist's skin.

As he explained the meaning of each verse, the door swung open again. "Megumi-kun, I heard you got beaten up again... oh you got company?" Gojou clasped his hands together with a goofy smile, "Always good to see you making new friends. I'm so proud of you."

Gabriele perked up at the sight of the weird adult, "He's the one I gave my coat to." He told Nobara, that she could already imagine this not going well.

"What do you want, Gojou?" Megumi asked.

"I was going to ask you if you had seen our guest around, but since he's here I'll just skip to the next part. Here!" He threw some clothes at the exorcist, then he leaned into Gabriele's face to whisper something. "If I were you I'd get that covered. Tattoos are highly stigmatized here in Japan, some could even deny you entry in public places."

Gabriele was confused by the man's odd behavior but decided it wasn't probably worth stressing about it, judging by how the other two put up with him. Upon checking the clothes, though, he came to realize that none of these were his and that his coat was still missing. "Yeah, about your coat... it was very compromised, and due to accidental exposure to fire, we couldn't do anything to repair it. Sorry."

~ What actually happened ~

Gojou stared the scorching surface of the iron in his hand, the sizzling heat haze warmed his palm through the infinity as he tested it.

'Should be hot enough.' he thought as he gently laid it over the tattered coat. Feeling satisfied, he left the room to get something sweet to bite as a reward for his hard work, while the iron slowly burned a hole through the fabric.

"It was fireproof." Gabriele argued.

"Very magical fire." Gojou coughed up a bit, "but fear not. Cuz our students' uniforms not only are extremely fashionable and customizable but offer an all-around resistance to whatever attack the curses will throw at you. Ain't that amazing?" He said overenthusiastically, like he was promoting cheap-looking mattresses on tv.

A gelid wind blew inside the room...

"You burned his coat on purpose?! How can an adult be this irresponsible?!" Nobara grabbed him by the collar, and Megumi in the meantime apologized to Gabriele on behalf of their stupid teacher whose smug expression deeply irritated the girl. Then he remembered something.

"Also, this came 30 minutes ago." The white-haired weirdo gave the exorcist an open letter, "Your stay in Jujutsu Tech has been prolonged until further notice. The Church will send you an allowance every month from now on to cover your expenses while you reside here." The exorcist read rapidly the content of the letter, then he turned towards the sunlight, papers in his hands to scherm him from the blinding glow.

As the rays filtered through the fibers it revealed the hidden watermark that distinguished the Vatican messages. It was authentic alright, but he didn't like them to breach his privacy.

"The Tokyo Jujutsu High has agreed to take you in for the time being, as long as you provide some help around the kitchen." Not actually true, but Gojou never had anything from a possible double agent, so he wanted to take a stab at it.

Besides, he's Italian, being able to cook must be part of citizenship verification or something.