"When Little Gaio shows up, I'll leave the hosting to you guys, Kana~~" Gojo Satoru said, raising his hand to unleash Blue.
"Where are you going?" Gaio's voice cut through from behind him. The glow in Gojo's hand vanished—his cursed energy severed.
"Heh… hehehe…" Gojo let out an awkward laugh, his head turning stiffly like a robot.
"Yo~ Little Gaio~ You're here!" Gojo flashed a dazzling grin, waving at Gaio.
"That 'you wouldn't want' tone you just used—looking to die?" Gaio's voice was icy.
"No way, I didn't mean anything by it—wait, wait, wait! Little Gaio, you can't do this! Ahhh~~ KIMOJI~~~"
Gaio lounged on the sofa, legs crossed, arms folded. Behind him stood a circle of Jujutsu High students and staff, hands clasped nervously in front of them, looking uneasy.
In front of him, Gojo Satoru knelt on the floor, hands bound behind his back, wrapped in chains. A wooden sign hung on his back, reading "Heinous Criminal."
A massive stone pinned his legs, and tears streamed down his face. "I was wrong~ I'm sorry, Little Gaio~"
Gaio smirked coldly and nodded at Yuji. "Yuji, shave his head bald."
Yuji's head snapped up, pointing at himself in disbelief. "Huh?! Me?"
Gaio didn't respond, his expression making it clear there was no room for debate.
With no choice, Yuji gripped the razor Shoko had slipped him, glancing at the kneeling Gojo. The latter shrank back, his white hair a disheveled mess, like a drenched oversized dog, eyes pleading.
"Mr. Gaio…" Yuji swallowed hard. "Isn't shaving him bald a bit… too much?"
"Too much?" Gaio raised an eyebrow, tapping the armrest. "Hmph. He had the nerve to use a line straight out of an adult video—'you wouldn't want your happy life disturbed.' What wouldn't he dare to do?"
He glanced at Yuji. "Or do you want to take your teacher's place and go bald?"
Yuji shook his head frantically. "No, no! That's not what I meant! I just…"
He stole a glance at Gojo, whose teary eyes begged for mercy. "I-I'll do it!"
Yuji stepped forward, razor shaking in his hand. Gojo flinched, the chains clinking loudly against the floor. "Yuji! This is betraying your master!!"
"I'm sorry, Teacher Gojo!" Yuji squeezed his eyes shut, pressing the razor to Gojo's hair. "I'll be gentle!"
"Ahhh!" Gojo's scream nearly shook the roof. "You nicked my ear, Yuji! Are you doing this on purpose?!"
"N-No! My hand slipped!" Yuji was on the verge of tears. "Hold on, it's almost done!"
Nearby, Nobara was doubled over, tears of laughter streaming down her face as she leaned on Fushiguro. Everyone else was desperately stifling their giggles.
Five minutes later, Yuji, sweating profusely, set down the razor. He stared at Gojo's head, now reduced to a ring of stubble. "I-I think it's done…"
Gojo, looking like a boneless snake, slumped forward, butt in the air, tears and snot pooling on the floor.
Gaio nodded, satisfied, and stood. "Next time you talk to me in that tone, I'll strip you naked and hang you from Tokyo Tower."
"I… I was wrong…" Gojo mumbled, still sprawled on the ground.
Gaio snorted and turned to leave.
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Gojo sprang up, thrusting out a dramatic hand. "Wait a sec!"
Gaio glanced back, eyes narrowed. "What? Wanna try it for real?"
"No, no, no!" Gojo slithered across the floor like a snake, latching onto Gaio's leg. "I'm already bald! Just hear me out, Little Gaio!"
Gaio shook his leg in disgust, but Gojo clung on like a leech. With a sigh, he relented. "Fine, fine. Spit it out."
Seeing Gaio relent, Gojo dropped the teary act, though his hands still gripped Gaio's calf, his voice tinged with flattery. "Hehe~ I knew Little Gaio's got a soft spot for me."
"Talk!"
Gojo chuckled, cleared his throat, and let go of Gaio's leg. "Tengen's body was stolen, and he himself is missing."
Gaio raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
Gojo glanced at Yuki Tsukumo, signaling her to take over.
Yuki stepped forward. "The barrier around the Tombs of the Star Corridor was breached without triggering any alarms. There's a high chance it was an inside job, likely someone high up in the jujutsu world."
Gaio turned to her, frowning. "And this has what to do with me?"
Gojo grinned cheekily. "Little Gaio, we'll handle finding the traitor, but you know who Tengen is. If his body's misused, it could cause massive destruction."
"So, I'm hoping you can lend a hand. Use your super strong perception to track down Tengen's body."
Gaio thought for a moment. "Alright."
Gojo, not expecting such an easy agreement, danced with glee.
Gaio closed his eyes, his powerful perception spreading out, isolating Tengen's unique cursed energy.
In seconds, his brow furrowed, and he opened his eyes, a cold glint in them. "Fifteen hundred meters underground, near the bay area. I sense Tengen's cursed energy residue… and…"
He paused, a hint of curiosity in his tone. "Something mixed with a strange energy."
His words rippled through the room like a stone dropped in still water. Gojo's playful demeanor vanished, and he crouched by Gaio, scratching his cheek. "Little Gaio, what's that strange energy…?"
"Like cursed energy boiled in magma," Gaio said, a slight smile forming. "Interesting."
The room gasped. Yuji, Fushiguro, and Gojo, veterans of the Sukuna battle, paled. Interesting? This guy found fighting Sukuna's strongest form boring! And now he's calling something interesting?!
"I'll check it out. You guys hunt down the traitor," Gaio said, looking at Gojo.
"What?! Little Gaio's taking the lead?" Gojo shouted, clutching his face in a parody of The Scream.
"Yup. Enough talk, I'm going." Gaio's figure flickered and vanished like a mirage.
The moment he disappeared, everyone exchanged stunned glances.
Shoko spoke up hesitantly. "Uh… should we evacuate the bay area? If Gaio finds something interesting, the fight…"
"Not just the bay area!" Yuji grabbed his hair, yelling. "The surrounding districts too! Shibuya just got rebuilt—will it get wrecked again?!"
The office erupted into chaos.
---
Meanwhile, 1,500 meters beneath the bay area, in an underground base, staff bustled in preparation for tomorrow's major test.
Zero Two, fresh from a shower, lay on her bed, her wet pink hair soaking the sheets.
Her eyes were distant, lost in memories of a boy from her childhood.
"Darling…" she whispered.
As she sank deeper into her thoughts, the room's white lights flashed red, alarms blaring.
Zero Two bolted upright, grabbing her combat suit and pulling it on.
In the massive hangar housing the mecha, Gaio stood before Strelizia, studying it with curiosity.
Behind him, countless armed guards surrounded him, weapons trained.
"Tch, Strelizia, huh?" Gaio muttered. "No Klaxosaurs in this world, so how'd they build this thing?"
He reached out to touch the mecha's surface.
"Stop!"
Dr. Franxx, leaning on his cane, faced him, his face grim, eyes wary. "Who are you?"
Gaio didn't turn, his fingers brushing the mecha's metal shell, a faint smile on his lips. "Dr. Franxx, right? You're the one who stole Tengen's body?"
The doctor's cane tapped the floor. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Don't play dumb." Gaio turned. "You fused Tengen's cursed energy with that 'magma' energy to power this mecha's core? Bold move. But you can't control it. Once it's activated, all of Tokyo's done for."
Dr. Franxx's brows knit tightly. "Who are you?"
"Still pretending you don't know me? If you could steal Tengen's body, there's no way you don't know who I am, Werner Franxx." Gaio smirked, turning back to the mecha.
Franxx's eyes widened, recalling the file buried at the bottom of the threat list, marked SSS-level: Nero.
"Nero…" he muttered.
"I'm curious, Franxx. Why build this mecha?" Gaio tilted his head slightly, glancing back. "To take on the jujutsu world? Use Tengen's cursed energy to counter their techniques? And after that, am I next?"
---
Elsewhere, Zero Two's fingers zipped up her combat suit, the metallic sound sharp against the alarms.
Her hand brushed a scrap of paper in her pocket—a torn page from a waterlogged fairy tale book.
Biting her lip, she tucked it inside her suit, zipping up to her collar.
"Zero Two! To the mecha hangar, now!" Dr. Franxx's voice crackled through her comms, laced with barely concealed panic.
Grabbing a dagger from her bedside, Zero Two's boots clacked on the metal floor as she ran. Guards rushed toward the hangar, none daring to stop her.
She was the doctor's "perfect weapon."
The hangar doors slid open, revealing Gaio standing before Strelizia, his black coat swaying slightly, fingers grazing the mecha like it was a fragile toy.
The guards surrounding him held trembling guns, none daring to fire.
"Doctor," Zero Two said, stepping beside Franxx, her gaze flicking from Gaio to the mecha's cockpit. "Who is he?"
Franxx's cane tapped again, his eyes wary. "A jujutsu spy, here to sabotage our plans! Zero Two, drive him out!"
Hearing her voice, Gaio turned, his interest piqued by the one person who caught his attention.
He faced Zero Two, a smile spreading across his face. "Hello, Miss Zero Two."
Zero Two stared at the white-haired man greeting her, her mind reeling. Unconsciously, she whispered, "Darling~"
The word stunned everyone. Darling? Was this man Zero Two's lover?
Gaio froze too. Zero Two called him Darling? Had he, like with Shirou, replaced Hiro? He had no memory of that.
Then, a thought struck him. He turned slightly to Franxx. "Did you erase my memories?"
"I… I…" Franxx's mouth opened and closed, at a loss for words.
Gaio's brow furrowed, his expression darkening. "Not talking?"
As his words fell, a chilling aura filled the underground space. Then—
Crack… BOOM! A nearby machine was inexplicably sliced in half, crashing to the ground with a deafening thud.
The sound was like a trigger. The guards' guns, the equipment, even the tables and chairs—all began to disintegrate.
Some were shredded into countless pieces, others cleaved in two. Everything in the space, except Strelizia, was torn apart by invisible slashes.
Cold sweat drenched everyone except Zero Two, soaking their clothes.
"Still not talking?" Gaio's voice rang out again, drawing all eyes to him.
Dr. Franxx swallowed hard. He'd seen footage of every jujutsu sorcerer's abilities, including Gaio's slash that cut the sky after defeating Sukuna.
But to think he could unleash such slashes without a weapon?
"Yes, I erased your memories," Franxx admitted under Gaio's oppressive gaze.
Zero Two's eyes widened, turning to Franxx in disbelief. "Doctor! You knew who the boy I asked you to find was?! And you never told me?"
Her gaze darted between Franxx and Gaio, finally locking onto the latter. "So, he is my Darling. I wasn't wrong, was I?"
Franxx sighed. Though he treated Zero Two like a daughter, deep down, she was just a tool—a clone he'd created.
"Zero Two, I…" He couldn't refute her, words failing him.
He couldn't exactly admit he'd wanted to keep Gaio too. His body was perfect for the Stamen role. If not for Gaio's mother intervening, he wouldn't have merely erased his memories.
"Zero Two," Gaio spoke up.
She turned to him, eyes misty. For years, through the pain of experiments, she'd clung to her memories of that boy.
Now, she'd found him. His black hair had turned white, his baby fat replaced by a chiseled jawline.
He didn't remember their promise, but Zero Two did—every detail, crystal clear.
"Darling…" she whispered again.
Gaio smiled, like a warm sun piercing the gloom of a long winter, casting light into Zero Two's shadowed heart.
It was like that moment years ago when a black-haired boy promised to be her Darling, filled with endless warmth.
"I don't remember what happened between us, Zero Two," Gaio said, his voice low but his smile unwavering. "But I'll try to recall it."
"So, Zero Two, are you still willing to let me be your Darling?"