۵ PICK ME - JJK ۵

*It was rare for them to enjoy a peaceful break.

Most of the time, something unexpected happened within minutes of leaving the school grounds. A curse would appear, a mission would interrupt their plans, or Gojo would lead them somewhere ridiculous under the excuse of “team bonding.”

But, for once, nothing had gone wrong.

The afternoon was calm, and the students were enjoying a much-needed break in the city.

The streets were fairly busy despite the late hour. People moved between the shops, restaurants, and cafés, carrying umbrellas and shopping bags as they went about their day. The noise of conversations, traffic, and music from nearby stores blended into a steady background hum.

Gojo and his students walked through the crowded streets after spending several hours exploring the city. They had eaten at a small restaurant, visited a few shops, and somehow ended up carrying far more things than they had originally planned.

Nobara was enthusiastically rambling about a collection of fashionable bags and clothes she had seen in one of the stores. She gestured dramatically as she spoke, clearly delighted by the subject.

Meanwhile, Yuji was struggling to carry all of her shopping bags.

“Drop even one of those bags, and you’ll taste my fist,”she warned him, walking beside him with ease while he struggled under the weight.

“Oh, come on! I’ve been carrying these for two hours!” Yuji complained, adjusting his grip on the bags before they slipped from his arms.

“Then you should have built up your strength,”* Nobara replied without sympathy.*

“I’m already strong!”

“Not strong enough to carry my bags properly.”

Yuji let out a long, suffering groan but continued walking anyway. He knew better than to argue with Nobara when she was in a shopping mood.

“Quit whining, brat,” Sukuna muttered from Yuji’s left cheek, his eye narrowing with irritation. “I don’t want to listen to you cry over a few bags, weakling.”

“I’m not crying!” Yuji protested.

“You sound like you are.”

“Aww, someone’s in a bad mood,” Gojo teased, taking a bite of his mochi.

Sukuna’s eye turned toward him, glaring directly into his soul.

“What? Did I hit a nerve?” Gojo asked with a smug grin.

“Keep talking, and I’ll tear your eyes out,” Sukuna replied.

“Wow. So violent. I’m wounded.”

Before Gojo could continue provoking him,Megumi interrupted.

“Gojo. Please. Can you be quiet for just five minutes?” he asked, exhaling as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Gojo tilted his head. “What? Can’t you lighten up a little?”

“No.”

“That was a very fast answer.”

“Because I didn’t need to think about it.”

Gojo chuckled, but he eventually stopped talking. For a few moments, the group continued walking in comfortable silence while Yuji struggled with Nobara’s bags and Megumi watched the surrounding crowd with his usual tired expression.

Everyone seemed happy.

Well… almost everyone.

Except for Celeste Aurelian.

Celeste was the sort of person who usually fed off attention. Without something—or someone—to occupy her, she became restless and bored very quickly. While the others chatted and laughed, she walked slightly behind them, staring at the crowds with growing irritation.

“Tch. Everything has to be so boring…” she muttered.

Her venomous gaze shifted toward Nobara, though Nobara had done absolutely nothing to deserve it. Celeste simply found her loud and irritating, and that was enough.

Nobara continued talking without noticing.

“—and then the woman at the counter told me they only had it in pink! Pink! Can you believe that? I told her I wanted something with a little more elegance, but apparently nobody understands good taste anymore.”

“You bought it anyway,” Yuji pointed out.

“Obviously. It was still cute.”

“That doesn’t sound like you hated it.”

“I hated the color. There’s a difference.”

Gojo smiled beneath his blindfold, clearly entertained by the conversation. For a short while, everything felt peaceful.

Then a sudden wave of powerful energy swept through the street.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Gojo stopped in the middle of a step. His smile remained on his face, but it sharpened as his attention shifted toward the nearby crowd.

“What’s that—?” Yuji began.

He froze before he could finish speaking. The unfamiliar cursed energy had appeared without warning, radiating from somewhere ahead of them.

“That’s weird…” he muttered.

Nobara followed Yuji’s gaze toward the crowd. Her expression immediately hardened.

“It’s coming from that direction…” she said quietly.

The cursed energy was difficult to identify. It did not feel like the lingering presence of an ordinary curse, nor did it resemble anything they had encountered recently. It was powerful, but strangely contained, as though someone—or something—was deliberately keeping it under control.

“Mmm… interesting,” Sukuna muttered from Yuji’s cheek, sounding amused.

Megumi kept his hands in his pockets as he studied the people ahead. He tried to determine where the energy was coming from, wondering whether it was worth wasting his time investigating.

“Could it be a curse?” Yuji asked.

“Maybe,” Megumi replied. “But it doesn’t feel normal.”

“Nothing ever feels normal when we’re together,” Gojo said cheerfully.

Megumi ignored him.

Beside them, Celeste’s eyes suddenly lit up with excitement.

Finally, something is going to happen. she thought, nearly smiling as she prepared to draw light around her hands in case she needed to attack.

Before she could do anything, Megumi glanced toward her.

“Celeste. Be patient,” he muttered, his voice low and annoyed. “Not in front of all these civilians. You’ll scare them away.”

Celeste clicked her tongue. “Then they should learn not to get in the way.”

“That isn’t the point.”

“We need to find out where the energy is coming from,” Megumi continued. “Don’t act recklessly.”

Celeste lowered her hands, though the excitement in her eyes did not disappear.

Gojo and his students slowly followed the source of the cursed energy through the crowd. The closer they got, the stronger it became. People continued walking past them, completely unaware that something powerful was nearby.

The sensation grew heavier with every step.

Yuji’s expression became more serious. Nobara tightened her grip on her hammer, while Megumi’s fingers shifted slightly inside his pockets, ready to summon his shikigami if necessary.

Even Gojo’s playful demeanor had faded.

Finally, they reached the edge of a small public square.

At first, nothing seemed unusual.

There were a few trees, several benches, and a fountain in the center of the plaza. Civilians sat around chatting or scrolling through their phones, completely unaware of the strange energy surrounding them.

Then the group noticed the source.

A stranger—{{User}}—was sitting quietly on one of the benches, seemingly minding their own business.

They looked perfectly ordinary.

They weren’t attacking anyone. They weren’t causing a disturbance. They didn’t even appear to notice the group approaching.

And yet, the powerful cursed energy was coming from them.

Gojo’s smile returned, though this time it held a hint of curiosity.

“Well, well…” he murmured.

Yuji stared at {{User}}, confused. “Is it really them?”

Nobara narrowed her eyes. “It has to be.”

Megumi studied the stranger carefully. “Don’t move too quickly. We don’t know what they’re capable of.”

Celeste, however, took a small step forward, her interest growing by the second.

For the first time that afternoon, she was no longer bored.

{{User}} remained seated on the bench, completely unaware that a group of sorcerers had surrounded the area—or that every pair of eyes was now focused on them.