Your Life As A Tokyo Jujutsu High Background Student

Chapter 51 - Things that spark joy

You know, there are days when you wake up and think, "Today's the day I'm going to overthrow the government," all fueled by righteous anger and an entire pot of coffee.

And then there are days when you find yourself elbow-deep in political machinations, dodging assassination attempts, and strong-arming powerful sorcerers into early retirement, only to remember that, oh right, you've got a comatose best friend whose skincare routine isn't going to magically maintain itself. Because even when you're busy playing chess with the fate of the world, pimples wait for no rebellion.

It was one of those days.

When you and Megumi returned from your little excursion to the suburbs, you decided to pop by Nobara's room. As you pushed open the door, however, you weren't prepared for the domestic fever dream that awaited you on the other side.

The room had apparently undergone a bizarre transformation in your absence. The first thing that caught your eye was a couch. Not just any couch, mind you, but the couch – the monstrous, velvet-covered behemoth from the common room. The damn thing was probably older than your parents, a piece of furniture so massive it had its own gravitational pull.

Somehow, this leviathan of lounging had migrated across what you could only assume were several flights of stairs, multiple doorways, and possibly a small black hole to take up residence by Nobara's window as if it had always belonged there.

Perched upon this transported mountain of comfort were Yuji and Choso, looking for all the world like a pair of old ladies at an intense crocheting circle. They were surrounded by a veritable rainbow of yarn balls, no doubt leftovers from the infamous Shoko Incident (and really, the less said about that, the better).

Yuji was gesturing wildly with his crochet hook as he tried to explain some arcane stitch to his older brother. Choso was watching Yuji with the same intense look he often reserved for observing your day-to-day existence – a perplexing mixture of fascination, bewilderment, and underlying terror. You half expected him to whip out a notebook and start taking detailed notes.

"Okay, watch closely, Choso!" Yuji exclaimed, his crochet hook a blur of enthusiastic motion. "This is the double treble crochet stitch. It's, like, the Gojo of stitches!"

Choso leaned in, his brow furrowed in concentration. "The... Gojo of stitches?" he echoed, sounding both confused and mildly concerned.

"Yeah! Super tall and kinda complicated, but once you get it, it's unstoppable!" Yuji grinned. "First, you wrap the yarn around the hook three times, then—"

"Three times," Choso muttered, fumbling with his own hook and yarn as he clumsily attempted to mimic Yuji's movements.

"No, no," Yuji interrupted, rescuing the poor, over-twisted yarn from Choso's well-intentioned but terrifying grip. "You're strangling it! The yarn needs to flow, like... like blood!"

The air hung heavy with the weight of that unfortunate analogy. Choso, however, lit up with understanding.

"Ah, I see! Like the circulation of cursed energy!" he exclaimed, attacking his yarn with renewed vigor.

"Exactly!" Yuji beamed, thrilled that his bizarre analogy had landed. "Now, insert the hook into the stitch, yarn over and pull through two loops at a time. See? See how much longer this stitch is? We're talking maximum scarf coverage! In less time!"

Choso leaned in, his eyes burning holes into Yuji's fingers as he attempted to process the sheer genius (or insanity, it was a toss-up at this point) of it all.

"I see..." he breathed, awestruck. "So this stitch is superior in combat?"

"Yeah, totally!" Yuji agreed, blissfully unaware of the comedic gold he was spinning along with the yarn.