Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s a crisply cool evening, yet Fushiguro Megumi can’t fall asleep. It’s not necessarily an issue of comfort; his bed is plenty comfortable — Gojo had at least gotten that right. There’s something about the atmosphere in his room though that makes it hard for his eyes to close. Megumi guesses its probably the after-effects of the Cursed Womb Incident: ever since that event, he’s felt like he had to be on his toes all the time, ready to fight at the slightest hint of malice.

Maybe that way, Itadori wouldn’t…

Megumi sighs, turning over in his bed. Anyway, at least Itadori is alive and with him and Nobara now. Megumi needs to get stronger so that if that kind of situation occurs again in the future, he can suppress the curse fast enough. He refuses to let Itadori die in front of him again. 

Will he, though? A traitorous voice whispers.

Megumi turns over again, clutching his pillow as though it were the doubts in his head. The pillowcase rips, spewing an explosion of feathers in the process.

Oh great. He winces and spits out a feather. Blegh. Guess he’ll need another new pillow, and hopefully Gojo won’t tease him like before.

Megumi huffs. Actually, who is he kidding? This is Gojo Satoru he’s talking about; of course Gojo will tease him. Ugh. 

He picks up the torn pillow and throws it into a trashcan, wincing at the offensive pillowcase image: a nauseatingly pink Barbie-themed cover that Gojo had “gifted” him with. Good riddance. Then, he leaves his room and heads for the storage closet, hoping he could steal an extra pillow without Gojo noticing. Either that or he could steal it from Kugisaki; that girl has way too many pillows for her own good. 

Megumi is in the hallway when he hears an odd noise, almost like a dog whining in pain. He briefly debates whether he should investigate the noise or just head to the storage room already, but…

What if it was a dog? 

He sighs, having come to a decision. He probably wasn’t going to sleep much even with the pillow, so he might as well entertain himself while he’s awake. Following the sound of the noise leads him down the narrow hallway, until finally, he reaches the source: Itadori’s room. Megumi opens Itadori’s door slightly, wincing at the loud creak as it moves. Knowing Itadori, that should have woken him up. Megumi takes a quick peek in the room, but frowns at what he finds. The odd whining noise is coming from Itadori, who lays asleep curled up on his bed, body twitching as though in pain.

Megumi furrows his eyebrows. Is Itadori okay? He knows that Itadori went through some sort of trauma before the Kyoto Sister Schools Goodwill event, but to think it was this impactful…

Itadori’s hands rise to his face, landing on the bridge of his nose. He lets out a low whimper that seems to contain all the sorrow in the world. Megumi flinches, immediately closing the door.

This is too personal for him to see. He hopes that Itadori overcomes his nightmare, but he isn’t sure if he’s willing to wake him up. Maybe he could tell Gojo about it? But Itadori is the type of person who would feel embarrassed by that though.

His frown deepens. What is he supposed to do now? 

Megumi is caught in a moment of indecision, but indecision means he is currently staying at Itadori’s door and after he hears another whimper, he books it. The sound was just too pitiful for him to hear. Not even his sister made that kind of noise when she was distraught, so for Itadori, the happiest sorcerer he knew, to be that upset…

Megumi starts walking to the storage closet. He’s decided what he will do: first, he’ll get his pillow from the storage closet, and if Itadori still sounds in pain after, he’ll call Gojo. 

He nods to himself, attempting to assuage his doubts. This is Itadori Yuuji he’s talking about; he’ll be fine by the time Megumi gets his pillow. 
 
Fortunately, Megumi finds a pillow in the storage closet. After scrounging the laundry room, he finds a pillowcase in the washing machine — presumably Inumaki’s based on the meme frogs littering the cover. Whatever, Inumaki will live if he doesn’t have a pillowcase for some time.

The walk to Itadori’s dorm room is slow, arduous, and torturously tension-filled. The whimpering seems to have stopped, but Megumi doesn’t have any concrete proof of that until he gets to Itadori’s door. Once there, he opens the door slightly, this time avoiding the creaking noise. He takes a peek inside, and to his relief, Itadori has calmed down. While his body seems to tremble every few seconds, his eyes are not crunched up in pain and his hands do not cover his face as they did before, instead limply lying by his sides. His hands are clenched into fists though, but Megumi doesn’t think much of that; it’s a side-effect of becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Itadori has always struck him as a “punch first, think later” person anyway.

Satisfied, Megumi closes the door and walks to his room, pillow clenched tightly in hand. He doesn’t know what he would’ve done if Itadori was still in pain. Sure, he could’ve called Gojo, but what good would that do? Gojo may be the strongest sorcerer, but even he can’t heal trauma. Megumi enters his room, flicking off the lights leisurely as he climbs into his bed. Whatever, there’s no use in wondering about things that didn’t happen. The only thing he can do now is get rest and then ask Itadori about it tomorrow. 

With that thought, Megumi tries to sleep. He still tosses and turns, but after half an hour, he’s out like a light. His dreams are weird and woozy, or, as Kugisaki would have termed it, like an acid trip. The most striking part is when Itadori, covered in blood and heart in his hands, desperately wails at Megumi to rescue him.

“Save me,” the dream-Itadori sobs, and suddenly, the black tattoos on his face disappear. Itadori’s tear-struck face renders Megumi speechless. Dream-Itadori dons a familiar yellow hoodie, brown eyes shining in despair as he cries: “Why couldn’t you save me!?” 

And as usual, Megumi has nothing to say. This nightmare is one he is intimately acquainted with. 

“Why couldn’t you—“

Crash! 

Megumi awakes with a startle, eyes wide open at the sound. Crash? Then…Itadori! 

He scrambles out of bed, barely putting on his slippers as he exits the room and all but runs to Itadori’s dorm. He’s completely certain the crash sound came from Itadori’s room, so if anything happened to him…

Megumi would never be able to forgive himself.

He arrives at Itadori’s door and slams it open, ignoring the loud creaking sound in the process. “Itadori?” he yells, “Are you o…”

His voice trails off as he sees Itadori, who stands on a floor filled with broken mirror shards. Itadori’s hands are on his face, eyes wide open as he stares into a mirror shard. His breathing is rugged and cheeks flushed, as though he’d just finished running a marathon. The way his back is hunched over makes it seem like he’s been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“I don’t…” Itadori mutters to himself. “I don’t understand…I don’t…”

Then, he seems to have noticed Megumi's presence, because he makes direct eye-contact with him. Megumi nearly flinches; Itadori’s eyes are entirely different from what they were before. Now, there’s an oddly primal atmosphere to him, eyes a pinprick of black instead of the friendly brown hue it normally is. 

Is this Sukuna? Megumi wonders deliriously. Sukuna’s eyes are normally red, but maybe he found a way to keep Itadori’s eye color? It would certainly explain this heavy atmosphere; Itadori would never be able to muster enough murderous energy to create this. Maybe it could be some sort of body-possession, a cursed technique perhaps?

Then, Itadori’s hands fall to his sides, and his mouth falls slack open. His pupils constrict, hands reaching out to touch him but retracting at the last moment. “How…” Itadori mumbles almost fanatically, “I thought…Megumi?”

“It’s Fushiguro,” Megumi answers automatically, then freezes. Crap, he didn’t mean to say that. He still doesn’t know if this is Itadori speaking or not.

Itadori stares at him, and then huffs a laugh. The laughter continues for a few seconds, and Megumi feels so distinctly unnerved by this that he wonders if he should start calling Gojo. Actually, that would probably be the best move in this situation. “Of course you would say that,” Itadori says, mirth in his eyes. There’s an uncharacteristically bitter smile on his face. “You’re Fushiguro Megumi, of course you would ask to be called Fushiguro…”

Megumi discretely takes out his phone and starts texting Gojo behind his back. ‘Come 2 Itadori room ASAP’ is what he hopes he sent. 

“Did you call Gojo-sensei?” Itadori asks, and Megumi startles. Shit, how did he know? 

Itadori nods. “Good,” he says, and then starts muttering to himself, “that’s good. Gojo-sensei could definitely help me out, assuming he’s alive here…” Itadori frowns, and then makes eye-contact with Megumi again. Megumi continues spam-texting Gojo. Where the hell is he?

”Hey Me—Fushiguro,” Itadori says, in a nearly light-hearted tone that Megumi definitely does not trust. He flexes his fist. “Do you think you can feel pain in the afterlife?” 

Megumi’s eyes widen and he steps backwards— oh what the hell — before Itadori throws up his hands in panic and tries to elaborate. “That came out wrong!” Itadori yells. “I didn’t mean it as a threat, I meant if you theoretically died—“

“Shut up, imposter!” Megumi yells back, moving away from the room. Itadori recoils in such a way that Megumi feels like he just kicked a puppy.

What the hell, Megumi thinks. Where the hell is Gojo!

“Megumi!” an annoyingly nauseating voice comes to his rescue. Megumi has never been more thankful for Gojo’s presence. Gojo steps in front of Megumi, back facing Itadori as he asks: “What happened here?”

“Something’s wrong with Itadori,” Megumi says, just barely keeping a tremble out of his voice.

Gojo’s smile drops, a light frown passing his face. “How exactly?” he asks, tone somewhat serious.

Gojo probably thinks there’s an issue with Sukuna, Megumi thinks. But I don’t really know what to tell him.

“Sen…sei?” Itadori whispers, his voice croaking. Gojo turns around and faces Itadori now, who stares at him in unadulterated shock.

”It’s me!” Gojo says, a smile on his face — but Megumi can tell it’s fake. “What’s the problem Yuuji?”

Unexpectedly, Itadori grabs the frame of his bed and raises his fist. Gojo’s eyes widen, “Yuuji don’t—“

Itadori hits the wooden bed frame, and it collapses into tiny splinters that make up a brown powder on the floor, similar to ash. Only the mattress lays intact, but even it has a long gash going down the middle. 

“Hmm,” Itadori says, oblivious to the chaos he was causing, “that didn’t really make me feel pain though…maybe I should try the walls?”

”The walls!?” Megumi shouts. This is ridiculous now. “What are you doing?”

Itadori winces at the noise, but readies his fists to a wall regardless. Gojo steps in front of the wall, gently pushing Itadori’s fist away from the wall. 

“Yuuji, care to explain the sudden renovation?” Gojo asks, playful smile on his face.

Megumi scowls. Sudden renovation? This is much more serious than that. 

”Uh, Gojo-sensei,” Itadori says, unclenching his fist to scratch the back of his head, “you wouldn’t happen to know if this is the afterlife, would you?”

Gojo pushes up his blindfold, revealing his strikingly blue eyes. Gojo rarely shows Megumi his eyes — even Itadori is momentarily stunned.

“This isn’t the afterlife,” Gojo says, white eyelashes fluttering as he winks. “After all, I can’t die! I’m the strongest, Yuuji.”

Though Megumi’s heard Gojo say this a thousand times, it still reassures him. But for some reason, Itadori looks crestfallen at this statement. He frowns sadly, and his void-like eyes stare at Gojo as though they seem past him.

“The strongest,” Itadori echoes, and then looks at the shard of glass in his hand.

He sighs, presumably having made a decision. “Gojo-sensei, could I talk to you?”

”Sure, Yuuji!” Gojo grins. Megumi admires his ability to not look unnerved right now.

“Alone, please?” Itadori says, looking nervously at Megumi. 

Megumi is uncomfortable with the emotions on Itadori’s face when they make eye contact. It’s like Itadori couldn’t believe that Megumi was standing in front of him, which is just…

Odd.

”Sure!” Gojo says, seemingly unperturbed. “I’ll take you to my headquarters!”

Megumi nearly snorts. Itadori actually does. Headquarters, really? That’s just the glorified name for Gojo’s room. 

“Thanks, Gojo-sensei!” Itadori says, relief transparent on his face. Megumi hates the way he says “Gojo-sensei” — almost as if he hasn’t spoken the word in ages when Megumi knows Itadori talked to him just a few hours ago. 

“See you soon, Me—Fushiguro!” Itadori says as Gojo and him exit the dorm. Itadori’s eyes have relaxed now, and Megumi can see a better resemblance between this Itadori and his Itadori. But his Itadori didn’t have eyes that spoke of  tragedy, his Itadori didn’t have a tired slump in his shoulders like he was on the verge of giving up, his Itadori didn’t stare at his friends like their presence was a foreign existence to him. 

So Megumi nods as Itadori leaves, and internally hopes that whatever Itadori (or the not-Itadori) is going through gets resolved fast.  

Gojo still hasn’t put his blindfold on. He makes eye contact with Megumi while walking behind Itadori, and Megumi can tell that Gojo is as bewildered as he is. And thats just great, he thinks sarcastically.

”Get some sleep, Megumi!” Gojo advises. “It’s 3AM — do you know how concerned I was when I saw you texting me this late?” 

Gojo’s trying to break the tense atmosphere, Megumi notices. He breaks eye contact with Gojo, instead settling for staring at the floor. After a few seconds of silence, Gojo huffs. “Teens these days: so sassy, am I right Yuuji?”

Itadori nods faintly. He still looks in awe at Gojo; something Megumi does not feel like dissecting at the moment. 

“‘Night,” Megumi says, waving them off as he heads back to bed. Screw this, he has better things to do than to worry about Itadori. He’ll worry in the morning. Though it is technically morning now so…

”’Night Megumi!” Itadori says, and if Megumi had worse senses, he would think it was actually his Itadori saying it. 

Megumi enters his room and slams the door shut, then collapses onto his bed. He deserves get a good night's rest after whatever the heck that was.

Though technically it is the morning…

Although Megumi’s eyes close, his mind is wide awake. It seems like he won’t be able to get any sleep tonight. 

a little odd: COVER PAGE

Chapter Text

Kugisaki Nobara’s morning is off to a terrible start as soon as she wakes up. Groaning, she hits her alarm clock, mumbling for a few extra minutes of sleep. Her alarm clock doesn’t stop ringing though, so she hits it once again. After a back and forth between her alarm clock and her fist, Nobara finally gives up, groggily crawling out of her bed covers.

Last night was terrible, she reflects as she brushes her hair. Itadori must have been blasting loud music all night, because she kept hearing “thud” noises echoing from his room — and at 3AM! In the morning! Nobara values her beauty sleep, and this idiot completely ruined her schedule! 

Nobara applies her favorite facial cleanser, and then washes it off with warm water. After patting her face dry with a towel, she glances at a mirror and gasps. Oh no! Her unblemished skin now contains dark circles under her eyes: a tell-tale sign of eyebags forming. She groans again, throwing the towel at her dressing table in rage. Damn it, this is all Itadori’s fault!

Grumbling angrily, she scavenges through her makeup bag to see if she has any cosmetic products that could help. She fishes out a used container of L’Oreal Infallible Full Wear Concealer. The bottle is nearly empty, but it’ll work for now. 

Hm. While Nobara was aware that she religiously used her concealer during Itadori’s absence — the nightmares were a bitch to deal with — she didn’t know she used this much of it. And now that she’s just used it, there’s barely any left. You know what that means…

Shopping! Nobara grins gleefully at the thought, practically skipping out her room.

She’ll have to go on a shopping trip in the future, which is her favorite kind of trip! And naturally, Fushiguro and Itadori have to accompany her so they can carry her bags. Maybe she will force Gojo to come too; he definitely has the funds to sponsor her shopping spree. All she has to do is hit Itadori once, (that’s usually what it takes to convince him to go), blackmail Fushiguro with the photo of him sleeping with a sparkly pink Barbie pillowcase, and ask Gojo once. Maybe politely, depending on her mood. Probably not. Regardless, Gojo is usually the easiest to convince out of the three — for the strongest Jujutsu sorcerer in the world, the man really hates doing his job. It’s completely bs and if this were about another topic, Nobara would definitely complain. But this is shopping; she will need as much manpower as she can get.

Gojo’s fashion style is atrocious anyway. Maybe she could pick out some good clothes for him? If he’s paying, of course. 

Nobara winces at the thought. He better be paying. Last time they went shopping, Gojo forgot his card and made Fushiguro, Itadori and her wait a whole ten minutes while he teleported to who-knows-where! If Gojo doesn’t bring his card this time, Nobara will be throwing hands, limitless or not!

She affirms this thought to herself as she enters the cafeteria, where breakfast will be served. Although going to Jujutsu Tech sucks, at least the food is delicious. 

The people in the common room are the usual early-risers: Fushiguro, Maki, and Inumaki. Fushiguro and Maki have already gotten their morning coffee, while Inumaki snacks on a tuna mayo onigiri. 

Nobara grins. The benefit of waking up this early is that she can spend as much time as possible with Maki before Itadori crashes the party. Maki is so cool, in ways that an idiot like Itadori would ever understand. 

She joins Fushiguro at the table where he’s eating, grabbing some fruit as she heads over. She wants to greet Maki, but Maki is currently in a conversation with Inumaki about something. She doesn’t want to interrupt them, so she shifts her focus to Fushiguro instead.

”Fushiguro!” she greets boisterously. Now is her chance to pull out the blackmail. “How’s the—“

She stops after he meets her gaze. His green eyes seem even moodier than usual, with dark circles the size of Japan to accompany them. His spiky hair is uncharacteristically messy too. This overall appearance is familiar to her, reminding her of the months they spent together before the Kyoto Goodwill event. 

Nobara glances at his coffee mug, which, no doubt a gift from Gojo, proudly states ‘I can’t be held responsible for what my face does while you speak’. “Nightmare?” she asks, pushing the mug to him as though offering an olive branch.

Fushiguro’s eyebrows crease, and he runs a hand through his hair. “I wish,” he mutters. He takes a sip of the coffee. “At this point, I don’t know…”

She’s about to ask what this means, but then he trails off as he fixates on something behind her. She turns around, following his line of sight until her eyes land on Itadori’s back. He’s talking to Gojo, which is a red flag for sure because it means that the two are planning something devious.

She grins. Bingo! Her comedy partner should be able to help her cheer up Fushiguro. 

“Give me a sec,” she says, stepping out of her seat and stomping over to Itadori. 

”Oi! Idiot!” Nobara yells as form of greeting, hitting him on the head with her fist. “Why the heck were you blasting music at such an ungodly hour!?”

Itadori winces and turns around, rubbing the spot where she hit him. Upon looking at her, he freezes. His eyes widen until his pupils seem like a tiny ship in a sea of white sclera, while his hands tremble with earthquake-esque tremors as he approaches her. 

Suddenly, he embraces her in a hug, arms all but squeezing her shoulders under his grip. The bear hug catches Nobara off-guard, and from Itadori’s shoulder, she gawkes at Gojo questioningly, gesturing for him to explain whatever the hell is going on. He only shrugs in response, motioning for her to let it slide. Stupid sensei. 

She feels Itadori’s breathing rate quicken, so she tries awkwardly patting his back. This only makes him worse though, with his arms practically crushing her up now. His hug feels warm — which makes considering that this is from Itadori Yuuji, the warmest person she knows — but it also feels strangely desperate, like she was a lifeline he was clutching onto. A figurine he couldn’t let go off. A fragile china porcelain he would protect with his life. 

He breathes in heavily, as though inhaling some deep, forgotten aroma, and then breathes out shakily. 

After a few seconds, Nobara gathers the courage to talk to him. “Hey,” she says as softly as she can, patting his back, “Itadori. What’s going on? What happened?”

No response. Nobara gets the sense that he isn’t remaining in silence because he wants to, but rather because it’s the only thing he trusts himself to do.

“Itadori,” she says, with a stronger tone. “What happened? Ita—Yuuji.”

And with this, Itadori startles out of his daze, hands loosening around her back. Nobara breathes in, dizzy; finally, she can get fresh air. Itadori has the grip strength of a monster, that’s for sure. 

Finally, he breaks out of the hug, hands falling to his sides as he stares at her face. Nobara frowns, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with his gaze. He looks like he’s thirstily hiked through a desert for ages and been weathered for worse, and now she was the water he’d stumbled upon for the first time in years. 

He looks wholly, completely awe-struck by her existence. 

“Yuuji,” she says, ignoring the unfamiliarity with which her mouth says his name, “are you okay?”

He stares at her for a few more seconds, and then finally nods. “Yeah,” he starts, his voice sounding oddly weak and un-Itadori-like. He clears his throat. “Yeah, I’m okay, Kugisaki.” He sounds strangely unfamiliar when saying her name too.

“I just…I had a really bad dream.” 

Internally, Nobara huffs. First Fushiguro, and now Itadori? 

She wants to prod him more — ask him why he looks at her like she’s foreign to him, why he looks so distraught, why his sunshine-like brown eyes are broodingly dark — but she refrains, once again glancing at Gojo. He looks vaguely unsettled, but at her gaze, he shakes his head. ‘Don’t ask’, is the message Nobara sees.

She huffs again. Fine. If Gojo knows what’s going on with Itadori, then she’ll drop the issue. After all, Gojo is the strongest…

”Hey, idiot,” she says, nudging Itadori’s ribs. Itadori flinches. “You still didn’t answer my question about the music!”

He tilts his head curiously. “Music?”

Nobara groans loudly, in mock-annoyance. “The music you were playing at 3AM? It ruined Fushiguro’s sleep, and more importantly, mine! My beauty sleep was ruined because of you!”

Itadori’s mouth forms an ‘o’, and then he smiles. His smile isn’t the same as his usual, happy-go-lucky, sunshine-incarnate smile, but Nobara treasures it all the same.

She smacks his shoulder, then winces at the hardness. Sheesh, what are Itadori’s muscles made of? “Why are you smiling when my sleep schedule was destroyed!? Look at these eyebags, Yuuji!” She tugs down on the skin under her left eye. “These eyebags! It’s your fault!”

Itadori chuckles, and then starts to laugh. 

“Wha—why are you laughing!? That’s even worse!” Nobara groans. She drags him over to Fushiguro’s table, with Gojo trailing behind her. “Now you’re going to have to break the news to Fushiguro that it’s all your fault we’re going on a shopping spree this weekend!”

Fushiguro’s head whips up in shock. “What!? We went shopping last week!”

She smirks. “And? Thanks to Yuuji’s terrible life choices, we’re gonna go shopping on Saturday, and you idiots have to help me take my bags around!”

Fushiguro looks at Itadori’s face in broody contemplation, and then looks at Nobara’s beaming face. He groans. “Fine…”

That’s surprising. Nobara didn’t even have to blackmail him this time! Now she can save the blackmail for an even more important occasion. 

Grinning even wider now, she turns to Gojo: her next victim. “Sensei!” she addresses, and takes humor in how Gojo straightens himself.

”Hai, Kugisaki!” he answers, his signature bright grin on his face. “The strongest sorcerer in the world is reporting for duty!”

“Come on the shopping trip with us,” she orders.

Gojo nods in mock-seriousness. “Of course! As your teacher, I definitely can’t leave you two and Megumi alone on a shopping trip. That’s only what lame mentors do, am I right?”

”Exactly!” Nobara exclaims in excitement. Gojo is on her wavelength, for once.

Fushiguro raises an eyebrow. “You just want to use his credit card for the trip,” he accuses.

“And?” she sniffs. “As a teacher, it’s his duty to spoil us, right Ita—Yuuji?”

“…yeah,” Itadori eventually says. He was staring at Fushiguro, but now he averts his eyes. “Gojo should definitely take us out.”

Nobara looks at him judgementally. That response was sad. “More enthusiasm, Yuuji!” she demands. “We need to convince Fushiguro!”

Itadori winces. “Okay…” he inhales, as though mustering his strength. “Me—Fushiguro! It’s Gojo’s duty to let us have fun!”

“That’s more like it!” she crows. “And by having fun, you obviously mean our shopping trip!”

“Uhh.” Itadori scratches the back of his head. “Shopping isn’t fun though.”

Nobara’s jaw drops at the utter bombshell he just released. “Whaaaaaat? What did you just say?”

He snickers. “Shopping is pretty boring.” 

She gasps. This guy—!  

She calms herself. No need to get worked up at a guy who was hugging you just seconds ago. He must still be delirious from his nightmare.

“You just have the wrong opinion,” she says, mostly to assure herself. “It’s because you’re dumb.”

Itadori pouts. “I’m not dumb!” he says defensively. “Mostly.”

Rolling her eyes, Nobara calls for backup. “Fushiguro!” Fushiguro warily looks up at her from his coffee mug. “Back me up on this! Yuuji is stupid, right?”

Fushiguro takes one, long sip from his coffee mug, and then sets it down. The thud from the coffee mug can’t compare to the volume of the words he says next: “You’re both idiots.”

She and Itadori gasp in horror. “Whaaat?” 

“Did you hear what he said to us?” she says in shock.

Itadori stifles a grin, and tries to nod sadly. “He called both of us idiots…”

For a moment, Nobara just stares at Itadori, scanning his face for any sign of the misery she saw earlier. His eyes still look weirdly dark and lifeless, but he doesn’t seem as depressed as before. And he’s laughing and smiling — not quite how he normally does, but he looks happy nonetheless!

Maybe he did have a bad dream, she assures herself.

”So, how are we going to get back at him?” Nobara asks, with a mischevious smile on her face.

She ignores the nostalgia in his glassy eyes. 

Gojo butts in. “Well, I think we should…”

Chapter Text

“Nanamin!” A voice greets. 

Nanami Kento pauses fashioning his tie. Nanamin? Hopefully it isn’t that bastard Satoru Gojo. His eyebrows crease at the thought, and he makes haste in searching for the source of the voice.

He doesn’t have to look for long. As soon as he sees familiar pink hair, he relaxes and looks back at his tie, resuming his previous actions. 

“Itadori,” he says in return. “What are you doing here?”

Did Gojo assign them another mission? Sending Itadori on another trip so soon after Junpei died seems too fast. Physically, Itadori did prove himself quite capable during the Kyoto Sister Schools event; he even tied with Nanami’s consecutive black flash record! He just isn’t so sure about the mental aspect, after all, Itadori is still a child. Nanami lost Haibara when he was older than Itadori, but Haibara’s death stings to this day.

Nanami is shaken out of his thoughts by an impromptu hug from Itadori. At first, he hesitates, unsure of what to do. This is the first time he’s been hugged in ages. He’s very tempted to push Itadori away, but it’s clear that Itadori hugged him for some emotional reason so as the only Reasonable Adult™️ on Jujutsu Tech Campus, Nanami is morally obligated to hear him out. 

Nanami awkwardly wraps his arms around Itadori, putting one hand on Itadori’s head and another hand on his back. Itadori stiffens, and then leans deeper into the hug, holding Nanami tighter. It’s only thanks to Nanami’s built body that his breathing isn’t restricted. 

Itadori’s hands are trembling slightly, Nanami notes with a frown. His shoulders are shaking ever-perceptibly too. The warmth of Nanami’s hand on his back seems to calm down the shivers that run up Itadori’s back, but his face remains buried in Nanami’s chest. His figure is curved like an egg, and Nanami worries if he applies too much pressure Itadori will crack. For a cheerful and physically powerful boy, Itadori looks so fragile in this moment.

Fact: Nanami Kento finds dealing with jujutsu sorcerers and children burdensome.

Fact: Itadori Yuuji is a jujutsu sorcerer.

Fact: Itadori Yuuji is a child. 

For a stone-faced and well-built man, Nanami feels so powerless in this moment.

He wishes he knew what was bothering Itadori, but with Itadori’s face obscured, the best Nanami can do is be a silent rock of support for Itadori. 

Lean on me, he says by bringing Itadori’s face closer to his chest. Rely on me, he says by strengthening the embrace of his arm around Itadori’s back. You are a child, and I am an adult; I am meant to protect you. Just trust me and use me until you are better.

So the two of them just stand together, hugging in silence. Nanami stares at the clock ahead of them, following the tick of each hand with an eagle-eyed focus. It’s the only thing he can do to pass the time.

After what feels like years (but is only one minutes and thirty-five seconds), Itadori pulls out of the hug. Immediately, Nanami scans his face for any telling cues that explain the hug. His eyes, lined with dark circles, dart around the room restlessly — perhaps Itadori didn’t sleep well — before meeting Nanami’s eyes. Then, Itadori smiles. 

Nanami is a bit unnerved by how relieved the smile looks, though he doesn’t let it show. His stoic demeanour is rarely cracked by anyone, Gojo included. 

”Sorry about that Nanamin, I had a bad dream last night and didn’t see you for a while, so…”

Nanami can’t tell if Itadori is lying or not, but this would be a strange thing to lie about, so he doesn’t question it further. And it’s true that Itadori hasn’t seen Nanami in a while, the last time they saw each other was before the Kyoto Goodwill event, which was a few weeks ago. 

“So you were worried,” Nanami completes.

“Yup!” Itadori confirms, making his hand a thumbs up. Nanami huffs; as if a mediocre thumbs up would make him feel more reassured.

Nanami finishes fixing his tie and slips some cash into the vending machine that he was standing next to. “Do you want anything?”

”Huh?”

Nanami points to the vending machine. “You’re on Lunch break, correct? I thought you might need something to drink.”

Itadori’s eyes soften. “Thanks Nanamin! I’ll have a coke.”

The same as Nanami then. He retrieves two cokes from the vending machine and gives one to Itadori, who accepts it gratefully. 

Nanami opens his coke can. “Shouldn’t you be with your friends?” he asks. “What made you seek me out?”

Itadori stares at Nanami, and then looks away as he shrugs. “Just felt like I didn’t see you in a while. I already talked to Kugisaki and Fushiguro this morning, so.”

Fact: Itadori is hiding something. That much Nanami can tell. “Then what was your dream about?”

Itadori’s grin falls from his face, and he begins staring at something behind Nanami with a glassy expression. His eyes are unusually dark and intense. Nanami isn’t the type to use metaphors, but in this case, it’s the only fitting description for Itadori’s eyes: it’s as though his pupils were a small blackhole in a galaxy of white sclera. The sight makes Nanami’s stoic fortitude falter.

“Just…losing.” And before Nanami can follow up with ‘losing what?’, Itadori elaborates.

”Everyone.”

Ah. Nanami understands now. That type of dream— no, that type of nightmare has frequented him before. Still, to see someone as young as Itadori suffering from these types of worries is depressing. Such is the harsh reality of jujutsu sorcerers, unfortunately. 

“Itadori,” Nanami starts, his tone firm but measured. “It’s not your place to be worrying about such depressing things. Gojo may be infuriating, but he's earned his reputation for a reason. Trust in his strength, and focus on honing your own skills. Use this time to prepare yourself mentally and physically for whatever may come. Your youth is a valuable asset, don't squander it on unnecessary worries. Try to enjoy your youth while you still have it.”

Nanami may have expressed his opinions sternly towards the end, but he hopes Itadori grasps his message. 

“I’ve… enough of my…” Itadori murmurs, a determined expression taking over his face.

“What did you say?” 

Itadori offers a small grin as he opens his coke can. “Nothing.” He gulps the can’s contents in one go and wipes his mouth. “Wow, that tastes as good as I remember.”

Nanami raises an eyebrow as he sips from his coke. “I would have pegged you as a frequent soda-binger.”

Itadori laughs sheepishly. “I used to be! I just kind of forgot. With everything going on, y’know?”

Nanami does not, in fact, know. Itadori crushes his coke can with one hand and aims it into a nearby trash can. The coke lands on the outer ring of the trash can, circles around the periphery, and then falls into the can. The move reminds Nanami of basketball. Perhaps Itadori would have been a great basketball player had he not…

”Hey Nanamin,” Itadori says, unintentionally cutting off Nanami’s train of thought. Itadori’s hands are fidgeting, and his face looks oddly anxious.

”Yes, Itadori.” 

“If—If…let’s say you know something,” he starts. “About a big event that will happen. And you’re on a time crunch. Would you stop the event from happening now or wait until the event happens and then use your knowledge to defeat the bad guys?”

Hm. What a peculiar scenario. Nanami unconsciously fiddles with his tie as he tries to think through it. He pointedly ignores the attention Itadori is giving him.

”It depends,” he finally answers. “Do I know the exact details of this event? Are the so-called ‘bad guys’ at such a level that I can defeat them all at once? Are there others I can enlist to help me? I would probably wait until the event happens, but ensure the people involved are fully prepared to deal with the damage.”

Itadori frowns, and his eyebrows furrow. “What if—what if you’re the only person you can trust? To deal with the bad guys, I mean. Then what?”

“That goes back to my previous questions, then. How much do I know about the event? And can I defeat them all at once, without hurting any innocents? If the answer to the second question is ‘no’, I would probably try to weaken the forces of the ‘bad guy’ before the event happens. But that’s still a gamble, because by defeating some of the bad guys early, I might change the proceedings of the event for the worst.”

Nanami has unintentionally become invested in this convoluted scenario Itadori brought up. 

“So ultimately,” he concludes, “it comes down to luck and convenience. If this event is so horrible, I will at least choose the way I suffer so it becomes most convenient for me. And hopefully, I might have luck on my side. It’s a very intricate situation that all comes down to choice.”

“Luck…” Itadori mutters. He stares off into the distance, presumably pondering over what Nanami had just said.

”Where did you hear of such a scenario anyway?” Nanami asks.

Itadori gives a thin smile. “Just a movie I watched.”

”How does it end?” He’s curious what decision the main character made. Both options are hellish.

Itadori’s expression is starkly serious, and his eyes resume the faraway look. “I don’t know. I…haven’t finished it yet.”

Something about the way Itadori says these words makes Nanami think they have weight beyond what he knows. 

“Well,” he says stiffly, trying to break this odd atmosphere that enveloped them, “tell me when you finish the movie.”

Itadori grins. Fact: Not for the first time today, Nanami feels like he’s being kept out of a secret. “Of course!”

Chapter Text

Itadori’s behaviour on Wednesday night was definitely suspicious, but Megumi’s worry about the strangeness gradually faded as the days passed by. Today, a much stronger dilemma presents itself to his mind: Kugisaki's shopping trip. Kugisaki did not forget about her punishment for Megumi and Itadori, much to Megumi’s annoyance — and even worse, the trip was moved up from Friday to Saturday because of a mission Gojo was assigned to last minute. It’s like the universe is colluding to frustrate Megumi, and unfortunately, it’s attempts are working.

“Fushiguroooo,” Kugisaki whines, grabbing his shoulder. Megumi has never been more tempted to sic his dogs on someone. Nevertheless, she continues. “Can you believe Gojo-sensei sprung this on us last minute? I barely had enough time to do my eyeliner!”

How tragic, he thinks sarcastically, and begins scrolling on his phone. There isn’t much to see, but at this moment, he desperately wished there was some important notification that demanded his presence. Something, anything that would save him from this miserable outing.

He re-loads the messages on his phone. He has 0 new notifications. Great...

That was also sarcasm.

”It—Yuuji is so late!” Kugisaki continues her complaining. “I told him to be here at exactly 8PM, and right now it’s…”

”Seven fifty-nine,” Megumi completes. He closes his phone and gives her a judgemental look. “You’re being paranoid.”

She scoffs. “Paranoid? Me? Mr. Paranoid calling me paranoid? I don’t think you can talk!”

Megumi grits his teeth. “Just because I’ve been on edge the past few days—“

”On edge?” she interrupts, tone incredulous. “You’re sleep deprived, you constantly give Yuuji nervous glances and you treat him like a stranger! Not to mention how often you flinch around him!”

He scowls. He didn’t realize Kugisaki could be so attentive. “I was just wary of him after the Incident. I’ve been getting better too.”

That’s what they call the night of October 10th now: the Incident. It started off as a placeholder name for Kugisaki and him to refer to it by, but the two were too occupied to change the name so it just kind of stuck.

Kugisaki sighs, conceding at his statement. “We’ll change that name someday,” she grumbles. 

Megumi snorts, opting not to talk. Instead, he gives a look that screams ‘and not today?’.

She raises an eyebrow. “Of course not — we’re shopping, remember? I have to invest all my brainpower into getting the best deals for fancy products and keeping a leash on you and the other idiots.” She lifts her hand from his shoulder and puts the back of it on her forehead dramatically. “I’m so overworked! I deserve a raise!”

“We don’t get paid,” Megumi deadpans. 

She heaves a sad sigh. “I know…at least we’re in Tokyo though.”

An awkward silence permeates their conversation. Megumi wonders if he should take his phone out and aimlessly scroll again, but he doubts he’ll find any distraction in that. It might make him think about Itadori again. But now that he’s already thinking about him…

”On that night,” he starts, and then hesitates. Should he really say this?

He does anyway. “He cracked a mirror and wrecked his room, but the next day, when I checked his hand, I couldn’t find any wounds or scars.”

Megumi checks Kugisaki’s expression: she is just as surprised as he was when he first discovered this. “Shoko?” she offers. 

That’s what he thought too, at first. “I asked Itadori, but he gave me a weird response. It almost sounded like a lie.”

”But do you have proof?” Kugisaki asks seriously. “And if he somehow wasn’t healed by Shoko, how did his injuries heal?”

While lightly tugging on his bangs, Megumi tries to think. Reverse Cursed Technique could explain the healing, but there's physically no way Itadori could have mastered that. Gojo himself only figured it out on the verge of death — a fact he divulged to Megumi after swearing him to secrecy. Something about tainting his image. Regardless, there’s no way a person who just found out about jujutsu sorcerers a mere few months ago could have acquired that technique. It’s just not possible.  

But if it isn’t Reverse Cursed Technique, then what is it? 

“I don’t know,” he mutters. 

As though hearing his thoughts, Itadori finally shows up, with Gojo trailing right after him. 

“Gojo-sensei! Itadori! You’re five minutes late, you idiots!” Kugisaki yells, as a form of greeting. Megumi simply nods at them.

Gojo grins as he puts his arm on Megumi’s shoulder. Megumi grimaces. “Sorry Kugisaki, I had to drag Itadori away from the books since he was studying so hard!”

She gasps, and even Megumi feels faintly surprised. Itadori? Studying? Is this the same person they know?

Itadori pouts, scratching the back of his head. “Come on guys, what’s so strange about me studying?”

Does he even need to ask? 

With everyone present, Gojo can finally teleport them to the mall district of Tokyo. Kugisaki fires off a quick retort, which triggers the comedy duo’s normal rapid-fire banter, occasionally supplemented with unwanted interjections from Gojo. Everything almost feels normal.

Megumi doesn’t involve himself in the banter, instead deciding to observe his surroundings: the scenery, the crowds, potential threats. Curses aren’t the only danger out there; a fact especially true in busy cities like Tokyo. Soon enough, his surroundings become boring, so he switches focus to the people accompanying him.

Itadori is wearing his standard Jujutsu Tech uniform, but it looks more crumpled than usual. His hair is disheveled, and sometimes, Megumi will catch him staring off into the distance with a blank expression on his face that gradually becomes more pinched together in frustration. He’s seen this happen occasionally over the past few days when Itadori thinks no one is looking, but today he seems to be doing it more. Gojo seems to have picked up on this too, but usually tries to get Itadori involved in the conversation again.

“—so Godzilla has to win Godzilla v Kong because he has better movies, right Yuuji?” Gojo and Kugisaki look at Itadori, who startles out of his daze at the attention.

”Hmm, Godzilla?” Itadori sounds unsure, but at Gojo’s enthusiastic nod, he continues. “I guess that’s true, but Godzilla also has way more movies than King Kong so it’s kinda unfair to judge.”

“See—exactly!” Kugisaki exclaims. “You can’t compare that to Kong, which only has like, 11 movies! How unfair is that?”

Eleven sounds like a lot already, Megumi comments internally. He keeps the thought in his head for the sake of not getting hit.

“I think Kugisaki is just a sore lose—“ Gojo’s sentence is cut off as he dodges a nail. “Woahh, chill Kugisaki!” He laughs.

“I’ll chill when you stop being annoying,” Kugisaki dares, preparing another nail. Megumi guesses she will just forever stay angry then. 

However, her attention is diverted mere seconds after she issued her threat. “L’Oreal! Perfect, I just ran out of concealer!” She makes a bee-line for the store, while everyone else follows her reluctantly. 

Their group get a few weird looks from others at the store since everyone is in their school uniform. In hindsight, they probably should have changed their clothes, but everyone is so used to working in these outfits that it’s become like a second skin. Megumi can’t count the number of days he’s almost fallen asleep in his uniform. 

The blinding white aisles filled with L’Oreal products leave him itching to exit the store, but he has to stay so he can carry Kugisaki’s supplies. She would kill him if he left early. He’s tried.

”…and moisturizer. Nice!” She puts the last item in her bag and dumps the bag on Gojo. “Sensei, card,” she demands.

“Hai, Kugisaki!” Gojo dutifully bestows his black card onto Kugisaki, who grabs it out of his hands like it’s her own money. At this point, it basically is. 

“Kugisaki…” Itadori groans, already tired of this trip. “Are we done yet?” 

“Nope! Still have five more stores I have to shop at,” she answers, completely crushing Megumi and Itadori’s hopes. It’s official — they are never going to escape this.

Except, perhaps the universe was kind today, because something else catches Kugisaki’s eye. She gasps and points outside the store, to a sign across the hall proclaiming a ‘75% discount at Bath and Body Works to the 1000th customer’. A long line accompanies the sign, crowded with fellow opportunists. Immediately, Megumi understands his assignment. 

“I’ll go,” he volunteers. He does some quick mental math — Kugisaki is busy shopping, there’s no way in hell Megumi will be stuck in line with Gojo he’d rather die — and decides to rescue Itadori too. “He can come with too.”

Itadori gives him a grateful smile. “Thanks Me—Fushiguro!”

He keeps slipping up, Megumi notices. With my name. 

“Let’s go,” he says, motioning for Itadori to join him as he leaves the store. Finally, the freshly polluted air greets him. He missed the smell infinitely more than the medley of scents at L’Oreal. 

Itadori swings an arm over Megumi’s shoulder and begins yapping about something as they walk to the Bath and Body Works. Megumi sighs irritatedly. Is there something about his shoulder that screamed free property? Or are the people he hangs out with leeches?

The answer is probably the latter.

“—and that’s kind of like…” Itadori suddenly trails off, catching attention. He is about to ask if everything is okay, but then he notices Itadori’s facial expression. It’s the same tightened, concentrated face from earlier.

The duo get in line, but Itadori still has that look on his face. Finally, Megumi feels begrudged to ask. “What are you thinking about?”

Itadori freezes like a deer caught in the headlights. “Me?” he laughs nervously. “Thinking? Not really, I’m just…”

He trails off again, and glances at Megumi’s unconvinced face. He sighs. “I, um…there’s a…math problem. That is hard to solve. I know the outcomes to each scenario but there are so many variables to keep track of and it’s hard to figure out how to use them to get the…solution I want.”

Huh. So it was a math problem this whole time? Megumi feels somewhat disappointed that he was so concerned for Itadori.  “You’re talking about multivariable equations, right?” This was content they learnt while Itadori was gone, which might explain his confusion with it. 

Itadori nods slowly. “Yeah?” he says, but there’s an element of uncertainty present.

Ignoring that, Megumi continues. “Usually, I try to write out all the variables,  simplify them, and then isolate them by setting the variables equal to something — the ‘outcome’ you mentioned. Then you either eliminate variables or plug your outcome for a variable into another equation.”

Itadori squints, as though trying to imagine that. “So, to get the solution...” He ponders the topic and then shrugs, belatedly offering an apologetic smile much too bright for the context. "Ah, well, thanks for trying Fushiguro!”

Megumi doesn’t see why solving a math problem requires this much praise, but he accepts it with a mutter anyway. “It’s nothing.”

Then, suddenly, both of them feel it: the presence of cursed energy. There’s a curse nearby. He and Itadori share a look. 

“I’ll go,” Itadori offers. “Someone needs to hold a place in line so Kugisaki doesn’t kill us. I’ll make this quick!”

Megumi frowns, but gives a short nod anyway. Itadori seems mostly normal today, so Megumi trusts him not to screw up too badly. The amount of cursed energy he detected was decently big — the curse was a low first grade at best, so Megumi summoned a shikigami to go with Itadori. “Call me if anything happens.”

Itadori cracks a grin. “Sure,” he says, a tinge of humor in his voice. He runs in the direction of the energy, leaving Megumi to stand in line by himself. Barely a few minutes later, Itadori returns with his shikigami. 

Megumi frowns. Uh oh. “Did the curse disappear?” he asked.

”Nope, I just killed it,” Itadori said casually as he stepped back in line. 

He gawks at Itadori. That fast? Itadori killed a first grade curse in just a few minutes?

“Do you have any injuries?” he asks as he crouches down, assessing any damage done to his shikigami. It’s fur is still the same off-white it was when he summoned it, which is surprising because normally his shikigami get some blood on them when fighting. Strangely enough, his shikigami looks like it never went into combat at all today.

”None.”

Megumi rises from his crouch and scans Itadori for injuries. The most he sees is some blood on Itadori’s hands, which looks more like it came from the curse than himself. Oh, but there is a faint bruise on the back of his fist. Megumi reaches out to touch it, but the bruise…vanishes.

He blinks to make sure he didn’t just imagine that.

What? Did his bruise just heal?

Megumi must be going crazy. There’s no way Itadori unlocked Reverse Cursed Technique…right?

”Fushiguro?” Itadori asks. “You good?”

Megumi breathes in deeply, and then exhales shakily. Usually he’d wait to collect more evidence, but he’s already seen this happen twice to Itadori! This is clear proof that he’s hiding something— something related to the Incident.

“Itadori,” he starts. “Do you have Reversed Cursed Technique?”

The silence that follows answers his question.

Itadori responds a beat too late. “No! I don’t, I swear — I’m just a fast healer.”

Megumi doesn’t trust this answer. Before he can object though, a mouth appears on Itadori’s cheek: the first sign of Sukuna since the Incident. The mouth opens as though to speak, but then…

Itadori’s eye looks down, making eye contact with the mouth. For a second, there’s an air of hostility. Megumi can almost taste the rage coming off Itadori. Then, the mouth closes, and gets sucked back into his cheek. 

The entire occurrence happens within seconds, but it’s enough to confirm Megumi’s suspicions and open new questions.

Megumi’s green eyes meet Itadori’s black pinpricks. The two are in line with several other civilians, of whom could be hurt of an altercation occurs. Heck, Megumi himself could get hurt if Itadori really subdued a first grade curse that quickly.

Calmly, Megumi begins to speak. “Who are you?” His tone is level and measured. He doesn’t know what he’s dealing with, but he isn’t looking for a fight. Not here anyway, where too many innocents could get hurt.

Itadori’s smile is frozen on his face. “Wha—What do you mean? I’m me, the Itadori Yuuji you know and love!”

”No, you're not,” Megumi says simply. “My Itadori can’t use Reverse Cursed Technique. He can’t subdue a first grade in a matter of minutes, especially with zero injuries. He doesn’t have dark, pin-prick eyes. He doesn’t daze in the middle of conversations with a depressed look on his face. He doesn’t treat Kugisaki, Gojo and I like we’re strangers he reunited with. And most of all, my Itadori Yuuji doesn’t call me Megumi.” 

Itadori winces, as though struck by a blow. He mutters something, something that could have been ‘not yet’ — but Megumi doesn’t trust his ears on that. 

“So. Who are you?”

Chapter Text

“So. Who are you?”

Megumi holds his breath as he waits for some sort of reaction. Not-Itadori looks dumbstruck, face frozen in shock after what Megumi said. Fortunately, he does not appear hostile. Maybe Megumi can avoid a fight here. Then, Not-Itadori’s eyebrows furrow and his mouth contorts into a sad smile. “I guess I was too obvious, huh?”

Megumi’s eyebrows raise. So he was right. He should feel validated, but Itadori’s admission makes him even more anxious. After all, if this isn’t the real Itadori Yuuji, then where is he? 

Megumi readies his fists, raising them in a shikigami-summoning position subtly. “You didn’t answer my question,” he grits.

Not-Itadori scratches the back of his head and stares at the floor. There’s silence for a few seconds, and just before Megumi is about to repeat his question, he finally responds. 

“I’m not…entirely sure either,” he admits. 

Megumi’s mouth hangs agape. What? “Explain,” he demands. 

The imposter frowns. “I’m not—it’s not—the memories are mine, but I can feel— my soul is rewriting a soul. Your Itadori’s, I mean. And my body is his, but I think it’s becoming more like mine. But I don’t…” He exhales frustratedly, putting his hands on his face.

Megumi has never been so confused before. “Are you saying,” he starts slowly, trying to wrap his head around it, “…you took over Itadori’s body?”

“Yes,” the imposter answers bluntly. Megumi flinches. His statement might as well have been a blow. Crap. This situation is really serious now.

“Then where is Itadori?” Megumi asks, voice tinged with desperation. Please let him be out there. He can’t be gone. He can’t be.

The imposter winces apologetically. Megumi’s breathing stutters. Crap. Is he really…?

“The Itadori you know is gone.”

Megumi sharply inhales. Shit. This is a terrible situation. No, it’s worse than terrible. It’s downright shitty. He has so many questions he wants to ask. Since when did this imposter take over? Probably on Wednesday night, but that raises another question: why that time? How did he take over Itadori’s body? Maybe a type of Cursed Technique? Why is his soul rewriting Itadori’s? Why didn’t Megumi and Nobara notice? And…

Is there any way to get their Itadori back?

But Not-Itadori’s words echo through his head: ‘The Itadori you know is gone’. 

What if there is no way?

Just as Megumi is about to ask, another voice cuts him off. “Hey,” a woman from behind him calls, tapping his shoulder. He tears his eyes away from the imposter to glance at the woman. She seems to be a fellow shopper, and behind her are a disgruntled line of people. “I dunno what play you’re acting out, but can you move up?”

Right. Megumi and Not-Itadori were probably holding up the line. He reverts his attention back to the fake, keeping a close eye on him as he walks closer to the entrance of Bath and Body Works. There’s no guarantee what the imposter might do with Itadori’s body.

But there’s something strange that bugs Megumi’s mind. Although this imposter is possessing Itadori’s body, he’s been strangely cooperative. Even since the night he took over, he’s been friendly and unhostile, often willingly participating in Kugisaki and Gojo-sensei’s antics. That could be explained if he was a spy trying to get closer to them for information. But if he was a spy, why did he hug Kugisaki the first time he saw her? And while spies are good at imitating people, the not-Itadori made inside jokes that only Megumi and Kugisaki knew. There would be no way for a spy to know those jokes unless they were a professional stalker. Though perhaps that could have been due to the influence of Itadori’s soul interacting with his? But the imposter said he had his own memories, not Itadori’s. It seems like the memories were the only factor causing a difference between the imposter and Itadori’s behavior. The Not-Itadori even convinced Megumi that he was Itadori for some time! That would be impossible, unless…

Megumi’s eyes widen at the realization. Unless…?

His train of thought is disrupted as Itadori’s hands fall from his face. During the time he had his face covered, a scar formed on his face, starting from above his right eyebrow and ending under his left eye.

Megumi frowns. This might be the body change he was talking about, but what could have triggered the change? And what could have created such a scar in the first place?

Maybe an event Megumi didn’t know of caused it.

Itadori’s words ring again: ‘The Itadori you know of is gone’.

Know of. As in memories.

”Itadori,” Megumi starts. Itadori looks at him. Megumi’s eyebrows narrow at the response. But this isn’t a clear indicator yet, he reminds himself. 

“You still didn’t answer my question.”

Itadori stares at him quietly. “I did,” he finally answers. “My soul is rewriting your Itadori’s—“

Megumi interrupts him. “But earlier you said ‘the Itadori I know’ is gone. What about the Itadori I don’t know?”

Itadori winces. Megumi’s eyes narrow. “What about the Itadori I don’t know? Do you know where he is?”

Itadori bites his lips, and then looks ahead of Megumi. He dons a weak smile. “We should move on.”

Megumi scowls. “I’m not moving on—“

”—in the line!” Itadori corrects hastily. “In the line! So the people behind us don’t yell again.”

Megumi gives him a judgemental look. As if he believes that excuse. Regardless, there is a sizeable gap between him and the person in front of him yet again, so Megumi bridges the gap while keeping his eyes on Itadori.

Itadori scratches the back of his head sheepishly, in a manner so effortlessly Itadori-like that it has Megumi wondering if there was ever an imposter in the first place. It’s only the scar trailing from his eyebrow to his cheek that reminds Megumi of the difference.

“There’s a scar on your face,” he says.

Itadori’s hand flies to his face, covering the bridge of his nose as it feels for any roughness. His eyes widen, and he retracts the hand from his face, staring at the hand in awe. “Shibuya,” he whispers. “Choso.”

Megumi raises an eyebrow. So Itadori didn’t notice it forming?

”Do you know why it appeared?” Megumi asks.

Itadori shrugs. “My guess is that my body changes as I use more techniques engraved in my soul.”

Technique? As in Cursed Technique? And plural?

Megumi feels a headache starting. This day is becoming way too complicated. He should’ve just gone to bed instead of shopping. Or called Gojo-sensei — which is still an option, but Megumi is unsure if he can call him without attracting Itadori’s attention.

Something else is strange too.

”The scar formed because you used your cursed technique,” Megumi starts. Itadori nods in confirmation, so he continues. “But your facial features — like your body, or eyes or hair — didn’t change.” So he shouldn’t be a different person, then.

Itadori’s jaw tenses. Megumi notes this as he thinks of the best way to phrase his next question.

“You aren’t the Itadori I know, but you still are Itadori, aren’t you,” he says. It’s a question, but it’s said more as a statement.

Itadori gapes at him in shock. “How did you—no, I guess it makes sense. You’re Megumi so of course you’d figure it out. Still, was I that obvious?”

So Megumi was right, again. He’s unsure of how to feel about this. 

“Are you from the future?” Megumi asks. Time travel is unbelievable, but he doesn’t even want to think about asking if Itadori’s from an alternate universe. Megumi’s had enough crazy for one day.

Itadori gulps, and plasters a wobbly smile. “Look, Me— Fushiguro. You shouldn’t involve yourself in this anymore. This kind of thing…it’s not your business to butt in.” The gaze in Itadori’s eyes are hauntingly chilly. 

Megumi bristles. “You’re my friend, and possessing my friend’s body! It is my business.”

“No, it’s not,” Itadori emphasizes with a strange desperation in his voice. “Please just stay out of this! It’s…”

He sighs, eyebrows pinching together in exasperation. “It’s for your own good.”

His tone is packed with do much grief that the next question comes spilling out of Megumi’s mouth: “Something happened to me, didn’t it?” 

Itadori flinches. “Something happened to Kugisaki too, right?” Megumi continues. “In the future. That’s why you look at us weirdly. That’s why…”

And when he looks at Itadori’s horrified face, the pieces come falling into place.

”That’s why you stare at Kugisaki and I like we’re strangers,” he concludes, breathless. He gasps. “We’re injured aren’t we?”

“Megumi, stop,” Itadori warns.

No, it has to be even worse than injury. It has to be even worse for Itadori to have hugged Kugisaki the way he did when he first saw her.

”Megumi—!”

Oh shit, Megumi realizes astutely. His heart skips a beat.

“We’re dead, aren’t we?”

He doesn’t need to check Itadori’s face to know he’s right, but he does anyway. Itadori’s face grew ashen, eyes staring at him in fright as his mouth parts in quiet surprise.

The silence following that statement is so unbearably loud. 

“I have to go,” Itadori blurts. “I have to—the bathroom— I can’t—“

As he motions to leave, Megumi grabs Itadori’s arm. “Itadori, wait!”

But Itadori shakes off Megumi’s hand like its a speck of dust. Megumi’s Divine Dog latches onto Itadori’s pants. Itadori lifts his leg to shake off the shikigami, but it clings to his pants faithfully. He exhales irritatedly.

”Megumi I have to go,” he pleads. “I can’t stay here anymore. I have to do something. I can’t just wait around twiddling thumbs and going on shopping sprees — I have to, to do something. Anything. Shibuya is in less than THREE WEEKS and I can’t—!” His breathing is labored, and he exhales heavily as though there were some weight on his back.

“I need to—!”

Megumi’s mind is still reeling from the realization that he’s going to die. Everyone dies, and jujutsu sorcerers have a history of dying early. This shouldn’t be a surprise, but to think he would die in the near future is just…

Startling.

”How do I die?” Megumi asks. “And Kugisaki? How do we stop it? What do you know about the future? Why do you keep trying to run away us—“

”Megumi!” Itadori yells frustratedly, stunning Megumi into silence. He puts his hands on Megumi’s shoulders. “There is no ‘we’, okay? I’m doing this myself! I have to! I’m the reason why you—“

He stops himself, and inhales deeply. He removes his hands from Megumi’s shoulders and curses, running a hand through his hair.

The words replay in Megumi’s head like a broken record. ‘I’m the reason why you—‘

What? Why Megumi what? 

“Itadori!” Megumi calls. He still hasn’t unsummoned his shikigami. 

“No, Fushiguro,” Itadori says frostily. In this moment, Itadori reminds Megumi of a robot. Any hint of warmth is removed from his tone, and his expression is carefully blank. He extracts the shikigami from his leg as he speaks. “I’m leaving. Don’t look for me. I’m just…”

He sighs. “I’m just a cog. I don’t want your help.”

Megumi opens his mouth to protest — but a cannon of confetti splashes him first. He blinks rapidly, spitting out a mouthful of the flashy streamers. 

“Congrats!” A man in a Bath and Body Works apron says. “You are our 1000th customer! Would you like to take a photo with our coupon…”

Megumi tunes out what the man says. Itadori took advantage of the chaos to slip away, and Megumi can’t spot him anywhere in the crowd.

A slip of paper is shoved into his hands — presumably the coupon — and Megumi pockets it as he starts running.

”What? Sir, get back—!”

The cries of the Bath and Body Works employee is just a distant sound to Megumi. He’s more focused on retrieving Itadori. Itadori can’t have gone far in the few seconds Megumi was distracted for.

“Divine Dog,” Megumi mutters, low enough for the shikigami to hear. “Track the scent of the pants.”

The Divine Dog barks, and takes the lead. Megumi trails after, running as fast as he can. Kugisaki will kill him for leaving Bath and Body Works, but right now, he doesn’t care. All he’s focused on is finding Itadori.

He catches a glimpse of pink hair around a corner and jumps over a table outside a furniture store, sprinting to get to the corner. Some people give applause. He ignores it. His hands make an owl, summoning Nue from his shadow. 

“Nue, look for Itadori,” he orders. Nue screeches in response and takes flight, soaring overhead in the mall. Hopefully the signs on the walls don’t make the air too cramped for Nue.

Megumi jumps over another obstacle, running past a couple as he chases after the pink hair. Nue screeches again. Megumi recognizes this signal— it found Itadori. 

Megumi pulls out his phone and calls Gojo. Gojo picks up on the first ring. “Hey Megumi! What’s up?”

“Itadori ran away,” Megumi says between breaths. “I’m looking for him. Please help.”

”I’m on my way!” He says. “Do you know why he ran?”

Megumi hesitates. “It’s…complicated. Get here fast, I’m by…”

He stops. Nue’s body is stuck in the entrance to the staircase. 

Crap. Itadori got away. “I’m by the stairs,” he finishes, and hangs up. After unsummoning Nue, he uses the railing to jump down the stairs, rolling into a good land. Fortunately, Divine Dog was out of sight; it could be closer to Itadori.

Megumi hears barking and follows the sound, rushing into a parking lot. He spots his shikigami near the back of the lot and darts towards it. 

The shikigami barks again. As Megumi gets closer to the dog, he slows down. Itadori is no where to be seen, and his shikigami is barking at the perimeter of the parking lot. Megumi wipes his forehead and glances over the edge of the barrier. All that greets him is the pavement, several feet below the ledge. This is the third floor of the mall. If Itadori jumped off this ledge…

Megumi grimaces. Hopefully Reverse Cursed Technique can heal that kind of damage. 

He calls Gojo again, ruffling the fur of his shikigami as he leans against the ledge. 

“Megumi?” Gojo says. “Did you find him?”

Megumi exhales, resigned. His back slides down the wall.

“No,” he says. “He’s gone. Our Itadori is gone.”

Chapter Text

Choso isn’t sure how a pink-haired boy wandered into his secret hiding spot at an abandoned building, but he definitely does not want to share his space. He barely gets any time away from Fake Geto and the other special grade curses; he doesn’t want to spend that time with a dirty human of all things. Worse than a human, the boy seems to be a jujutsu sorcerer based on the cursed energy present and jujutsu uniform.

The jujutsu sorcerer is sleeping on the gravel. Choso has heard the phrase ‘sleeping like a baby’ before, but he thinks the term couldn’t be more wrong to describe the sorcerer. With his eyebrows pressed together, mouth downturned and fists clenched, the sorcerer looked more like he was in pain — like the blood in his body was being extracted. Just as Choso plans to do.

A simple Slicing Exorcism should work. There’s no need to waste his blood or cursed energy on anything else. A drop of blood flows from the band on the brook of his nose, and red lines appear on his arms, finally turning into blood he can manipulate. He’s about to shoot at the sorcerer when he hears something strange.

“Choso,” the sorcerer whispers, holding his arms together. “Don’t leave me…Choso…”

Choso stiffens. What? How does this person know his name? 

“Big brother…” the sorcerer says mournfully. “No, don’t—!”

The sorcerer wakes up with a startle, hand stretching out until it grabs on to Choso’s bloodstained arm. 

The sorcerer looks at Choso’s arm, and then Choso. He scrambles away quickly, but Choso fires off a dart of blood to prevent him from escaping. The sorcerer rolls aside to dodge it, jumping to his feet with his hands raised in caution.

”Who are you?” Choso demands, hands clasping together for his Piercing Blood technique.

“Choso, what—“ The sorcerer’s sentence is cut off as he dodges the beam of blood. “—How are you—!”

Choso grits his teeth and moves his hands to direct the beam. The blood bounces off a nearby wall and hits the sorcerer’s shoulder, but dissipates after.

The sorcerer keeps trying to run away. Choso is distinctly annoyed by this. “Just who are you?” he snarls. 

The sorcerer looks at Choso as he says that, and the sleep-dazed expression on his face disappears. His face hardens, eyes filled with an inexplicable sorrow that makes Choso feel oddly ashamed of. Disappointed, even.

“I’m…”

Choso feints a Piercing Blood technique as he places his hands together and aims, hoping the sorcerer will fall for it as he creates orbs of blood. The sorcerer is astute, unfortunately, and continues trying to run. Choso directs the orbs to the sorcerer’s back, detonating them at the last second. The sorcerer jumps forward to avoid the blast, but his uniform gets some blood on it.

The sorcerer wipes some blood off his face, and glances at Choso. “Itadori Yuuji,” he says. “That’s me.”

Where has Choso heard that name before…

The connection is almost instantaneous. “You!” he yells, furious. “You killed my brothers!”

It’s earlier than Shibuya, but Choso will still gladly take the opportunity to kill his brothers’ murderer.

Itadori’s expression becomes pained, and he turns away. “It wasn’t on purpos—“

Choso won’t let him get away; he aims three piercing blood shots at Itadori, each one approaching from different directions but ending at the same point: Itadori. He couldn’t fire them at the same time, but the attacks should hit just seconds after one another. 

Itadori looks behind and curses. The first piercing blood beam nearly touches Itadori’s back, but with one step, he runs up on a wall and the beam crashes into it. He places his other foot on the top of the ceiling and then jumps off, and the second piercing blood beam hits the ceiling barely a second later. The third beam collides with Itadori’s foot as he jumps down, making his landing slightly wobbly. 

Choso is somewhat impressed, but mainly just irritated. He can definitely see how his brothers could have been killed by Itadori— the sorcerer is immensely skilled. Frustratingly so. Why hasn’t he tried attacking Choso yet?

The attack forced Itadori to return to Choso, albeit only for a short time. Itadori tries running down the stairs, and Choso follows him in pursuit. Itadori is alarmingly fast, so Choso activates Flowing Red Scales to try to keep up. He can feel the blood bands on his face extend as his muscles pump with more power. 

It takes this much to keep up with Itadori’s speed.

Seriously, why won’t Itadori fight?

Choso takes advantage of the enclosed space to shoot a blood beam in the direction Itadori is moving. Itadori jumps back, landing himself in a corner. Choso forms a blood dagger and stabs Itadori’s arm with it — or at least, he tries to, before Itadori grabs his wrist and forces the dagger out. His other hand punches Choso in the chest: light enough to not injure him but heavy enough to make him gasp. 

Still holding on to Choso’s arm, Itadori puts a foot on the stair railing and flips over it, planting his foot on Choso’s back as he tries to run in the opposite direction. Choso can’t fire a blood beam because only one of his hands are free. Smart. 

Choso uses his free hand to grab Itadori’s ankle, and then drags Itadori to the ground. His back hits the floor with a heavy ‘thud’. Finally, Choso has stopped Itadori from running. He forms a blood dagger with the arm Itadori is holding, while using the other hand to continue holding Itadori down. 

Choso pants as he hovers the blood dagger above Itadori’s chest. Finally, he can avenge his brothers!

“Choso,” Itadori whispers, slowly pushing Choso’s arm away from his chest. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—“

“Don’t make excuses,” Choso interrupts coldly. “My brothers are dead, and it is your fault. I don’t want to hear any pathetic whining.”

Itadori flinches. “I know. It is my fault. And I’m sorry but Choso, you can’t stop me now I have people to save—!”

“People to save?” Choso scoffs. This is one of the reasons he hates humans. “What about my brothers? Were they not worth saving?”

Itadori’s eyebrows part, and his mouth quivers. “Of course they were! I wasn’t— I didn’t know that they were—!”

Choso breaks his arm free of Itadori’s hold and repositions his dagger over his chest. “You killed my family,” Choso says, tonelessly. “Prepare to die.”

”Choso—!”

Choso plunges the dagger. Itadori grabs it with his hand, stopping the blade just inches above his chest.

”Choso!” Itadori shouts, pulling the dagger sideways as he smashes his forehead against Choso’s. “I am your family!”

The revelation is as dizzying as the headache following Itadori’s headbutt. What? This must be a lie, Choso knows who his siblings are and this sorcerer isn’t one of them…

Right?

“It’s the truth!” Itadori yells. “You taught me this—look!”

And then, Itadori does something impossible. He uses Choso’s Blood Piercing technique. The beam of blood hits a sign just past Choso’s ear. 

Choso feels a familiar energy imbued in the blood, and for a moment, he's strongly reminded of his six other brothers. What? But how…?

”And!” Itadori adds on. “You took me here! Or take me, since its the future I guess — anyway, when we were on the run, you took me to this place! That’s why I came here to rest; you told me it was abandoned before.”

The puzzle pieces are starting to fit together, but Choso isn’t fully convinced. This could just be an elaborate lie contrived on the spot. Maybe he’s from the Kamo clan? But Choso remembers Mahito saying that Itadori was a vessel for Sukuna and didn’t have a cursed technique, so how…?

Itadori sees his stern expression, and something in his face breaks. “Please, Choso,” he pleads, despairingly. “You’re the one person who’s been there for me through thick and thin, so please just…”

He lets out a disheveled, hopeless sigh. “Please believe me. Even if it’s just for now. I promise I’ll get out of your hair soon and you can have whatever revenge you want on me later, but I have to stop something so innocent people won’t die. So my friends — no, my family won’t die.”

Hm. This is quite the predicament. Choso isn’t so sure how valid the information that Itadori told him was, but if Itadori wants to protect his family, that’s not something Choso can argue with. 
 
Choso relaxes his control over his blood, watching as the red lines on his arm fade. “You are my family?” Choso repeats. “How?”

Itadori breathes a sigh of relief. “I’m your younger brother. I think we share a parent — you said something about a parent with stitches on their head?”

Choso’s eyebrows part. Wow. Itadori might not be lying after all. 

“So…I am your older brother,” Choso concludes. 

Itadori nods sheepishly, almost like a puppy. The action is kind of adorable.

Choso nods to himself. If he really is Itadori’s older brother, then naturally…

”I’m coming with you,” he states.

Itadori’s jaw drops. “What!? No!”

“If I really am your older brother, then I must have protected you before,” Choso contests. 

“Yes, you did!” Itadori admits, frustration leaking into his voice. “That’s exactly why I don’t want you to come!”

Choso narrows his eyebrows. “Why? Did I kill you?”

Itadori scoffs at the question. “Kill me? No— you died for me! I don’t want you doing that for me again!”

Choso died for Itadori? That story checks out, he would definitely do that for any of his brothers. Paired with the weirdly familiar energy from Itadori's blood manipulation and his serious expression, Choso has enough evidence to believe Itadori's story. 

But that means…Itadori is his sibling. That means Choso just tried to kill his younger brother.

Choso’s hands fall to his sides as he processes this. He just…tried to kill his…

He grabs Itadori’s shoulder and wraps him in a hug. “I’m so sorry,” he apologizes. He tries to reflect as much sincerity as possible. “I shouldn’t have tried to kill you. I didn’t know…”

Then, his eyebrows part in surprise. Wait a minute, Itadori had said almost the same thing earlier: he didn’t know it was his brothers he was killing. Could Choso have enacted the same story just seconds ago?

Choso hugs him even tighter, spooked by the realization. 

“I forgive you,” Itadori mumbles into his chest. “I never blamed you.”

Choso gives a bittersweet smile. If only Kechizu and Eso were here to witness this.

”I forgive you too,” Choso says. Itadori shakes, but Choso continues. “It wasn’t your fault. No one was at fault.”

Itadori tries to protest. “But I—“

Choso cuts him off. ”Did you know it was your brothers?” 

Itadori shakes his head. “Then it wasn’t intentional,” Choso concludes. “I forgive you, just as I hope you’ve forgiven me.”

“Of course I’ve forgiven you,” Itadori says. “I know you have a good heart. You were the best brother to me before you…” Itadori trails off, and gently pushes himself out of the hug. He wipes his eyes and shoves his hands in his pockets. “Choso, I have to go.”

Alright. “And I’m coming with you.”

Itadori huffs irritatedly. “No, you aren’t.”

Choso smiles. Itadori looks like a cute child throwing a tantrum. He pats Itadori’s hair. “Yes, I am.”

Itadori groans, but leans into the patting. “Choso, you can’t come with me.”

“You can’t get rid of me,” Choso challenges. He raises an eyebrow at Itadori, and Itadori sighs, running a hand through his hair.

He buries his face in his hands, and then looks up tiredly. “If you promise not to sacrifice yourself for me, I’ll let you accompany me,” he yields. 

Choso obviously will not comply with that rule, but he’ll tell a white lie for now. “Sure.” Itadori gives him a suspicious look before relaxing. The two sit down on the stairs, watching the sun rise through a window.

”Choso,” Itadori whispers, staring at the sunrise. Choso wants to warn Itadori about staring directly at the sun, but he doesn’t want to break this atmosphere either so he stays silent. Itadori grabs Choso’s hand and clenches it firmly. “Seriously, Choso. Please don’t die for me.” The next word is in such a low tone that Choso barely hears it. “Please,” Itadori croaks.

Choso can only squeeze Itadori’s hand and offer a smile. He doesn’t trust his mouth to speak, or it may betray him. He feels like a liar, but he supposes all older siblings have to feel this way sometimes. 

“Do you know why I like being here?” he says suddenly. Itadori shakes his head. “No one comes here,” Choso reveals. “This town is in a secluded region outside of Tokyo — no human or sorcerer in their right mind would come out here.”

Choso gazes at the sunrise, observing as the golden rays light up the gloomy sky. A crow caws in the distance, reminding him that he has to continue speaking.

“The world is beautiful without humans, without sorcerers. They are complicated and have their own motivations for everything — they aren’t just good or evil. Their complexities…its frustrating. Life would be better if everyone was just simpler.” 

It’s why Choso wanted to deny his human part.

He looks at Itadori, who is staring at him thoughtfully. “But curses are complicated too, aren’t they?” Itadori says.

The irony of this situation hits him: sitting side by side is a half-curse who almost killed his brother and a human who actually did. 

But they are brothers.

Choso has seen the sunrise countless times, but it has never looked as beautiful as it has now. Perhaps because he had a brother to share it with.

“Itadori, why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?” he says gently. “Let’s catch up.”

Chapter Text

Choso is bored. Usually the group meetings Pseudo Geto organised were monotonous, but this meeting finds Choso exceedingly impatient. But there is a valid reason for this feeling: he left Itadori alone in the abandoned garage to attend to this. If there isn’t a legitimate reason why this meeting was called, Choso will be very irritated.

Pseudo Geto, Hanami, Dagon, Mahito and Choso are sitting outside in an open field. Jogo couldn’t come to today’s meeting because he was negotiating with some other key players in the Shibuya event. Choso honestly couldn’t care less about the volcano head’s presence, but Dagon seemed to be sad that he wasn’t here.

A stray bubble floats near Choso’s face, and he pops it. Mahito pouts, waving his bubble wand. “Choso, that was a good one!”

Choso rolls his eyes, ignoring the betrayed looks he’s receiving from Hanami and Mahito. These curses act like such children sometimes. Actually, most of the time.

Pseudo Geto sets down his bubble wand and smiles warmly, clapping his hands. “Since everyone is here, let’s begin phase two of reviewing our plan for Shibuya. Mechamaru, got any news for us?”

A large, wooden doll leaning against the balcony responds. “Nothing from Kyoto Tech, but I heard that Sukuna’s vessel has gone missing.”

The air becomes frosty cold for a moment. Pseudo Geto’s smile lies frozen on his face, and his eyebrows lift, glacial eyes boring holes into the puppet. The next word comes out starkly cold: “What?”

The doll falters, seemingly as surprised as Choso by that reaction. “That’s... what I overheard from Iori-sensei. I don’t know about the circumstances of his disappearance, but it doesn’t seem to be major since Gojo Satoru only sent his students after Itadori, instead of retrieving Itadori himself.”

Choso is distinctly aware of the ironic situation he is in. His coworkers don’t know where Itadori is, while Itadori is staying with him. He sweat-drops.

Pseudo Geto brings a bubble wand up to his mouth, blowing into it. “He hasn’t been found yet?”

Mechamaru shrugs. “It seems so. Todo Aoi insists on leaving to find Itadori as well."

Pseudo Geto smiles warmly. "How kind of him," he says as he blows another bubble. He taps the bubble wand on its container as he thinks.

"Geto," Mahito whines. "But if Itadori is missing, how will we use him for Shibuya? I had a whole bet planned out!"

Hanami's head piques, interested. Choso is also mildly curious about what Mahito said. "A bet? What kind?"

"Bwoo," Dagon mutters. "Bwoo!"

Hanami nods along with the cursed womb's gibberish, as though they understood it. Choso definitely did not.

"Focus, boys," Pseudo Geto says, snapping his fingers to draw their attention. "We can discuss the bet later. As for retrieving Itadori, how long has he been missing for?"

“He went missing on Friday, so it’s been three days,” Mechamaru answers. 

“So he’s either been kidnapped by a powerful curse, or he ran away and has remained in hiding for three days,” Pseudo Geto muses. “Interesting…Hanami, take Dagon with you and search for Itadori. Mahito, track down the other special grade curses and check if they have him.”

”But Getooo,” Mahito complains, “why can’t I look for Itadori?”

Pseudo Geto raises an eyebrow. “Itadori would try to kill you if you found him, especially after what you did to that friend of his.”

Mahito laughs. “That whole situation with Junpei was pretty fun! But rest assured, Geto, I’d win if Itadori fought me again. I’ve seen how weak he is firsthand.”

Choso would disagree with this. His brief fight with Itadori on Saturday proved to him just how overwhelmingly strong Itadori is — he made Choso sweat even while he wasn’t fighting back! 

Pseudo Geto’s smile remains plastered on his face, but his eyes look away from Mahito. “Who knows?" he says vaguely. His smile morphs into a grin. “Things are becoming quite intriguing. Hanami, if you find Itadori before the sorcerers do, bring him to me. We can store him with us until Shibuya.”

Hanami’s face wrinkles in disgust at the thought of interacting with a human, but they nod. Dagon agrees while crying.

“What’s the use of spending energy trying to capture him? Won’t he try to run away from us?” Choso asks, feigning nonchalance. He’s rapidly realizing how bad Itadori’s current living situation is. The two of them need to take care of Hanami, fast.

Pseudo Geto raises an eyebrow. “Of course he’ll try to run, but we have several special grades present. No matter how strong you are, no sorcerer can overwhelm multiple special grades at once except maybe Gojo Satoru.” He tilts his head, and Choso can’t help but feel threatened by his predatory eyes. “Why do you ask? I thought you’d be most excited about this, since he killed your brothers.”

Choso forces a scowl on his face. “Exactly,” he lies, spitting. “I don’t want to see the murderer of my brothers unless I’m going to kill him.” 

Choso really doesn’t mean any of this. He’ll have to compensate Itadori later. Maybe through extra hugs?

“Hmm,” Pseudo Geto says. Choso isn’t sure if he was convinced. “Then I suppose we’ll just keep you away from him.”

The irony of this hits Choso once more. How does his brother always land himself in the worst situations possible?

Another bubble hovers into Choso’s line of sight. Mahito glares at him, warning him not to touch it. Choso sighs, pocketing his hands. He’s always found it strange that these curses could alternate between childish antics and threats of murder, but now it really sticks out to him — especially since the curse who just said he could kill Itadori is getting upset over a bubble.

“So it’s decided, then. Mahito, you can start contacting the other special grades. Hanami and Dagon, you two can start looking for him after this meeting.” 

Choso’s eyes widen. Crap! Does he even have time to warn Itadori?

“Hey Geto, which one do you think it is?” Mahito asks curiously. “Did Itadori get kidnapped or did he just run away like a coward?” 

Pseudo Geto taps his chin with his bubble wand. “It could go both ways, but I think he willingly ran away.”

The next question falls out of Choso’s mouth before he’s aware of it: “Why that?” Whoops, he’s not meant to be interested in Itadori. ”Itadori seems weak enough to get kidnapped,” he adds on, frowning.

Mahito grins, poking Choso’s arm with his bubble stick. “Not weak enough to kill your brothers though, eh?”

Choso glares at him, and he laughs. Pseudo Geto shakes his head. “That could be true,” he concedes, “but Gojo Satoru’s lack of involvement is making me curious. Is it that he trusts his students enough to retrieve Itadori from a high grade curse? Or does he trust Itadori enough to let him run away?”

”’Let him’ run away?” Mechamaru echoes. Choso almost forgot he was here with how quiet he was being.

“Six eyes,” Pseudo Geto says, to summarize. “If he wanted to stop Itadori from running away, he could. How very intriguing…”

Pseudo Geto claps his hands. “Regardless, let’s return to our meeting agenda. Thank you for the information, Mechamaru. Onto phase two of reviewing our plans for Shibuya: what happens after Gojo’s sealing.”

Choso bites his lips hard enough to draw blood. He glances at Hanami, and then gulps. He has to hold back Hanami somehow, without tipping anyone off. How is he going to warn his brother?

Itadori…please be safe, he thinks.

Kugisaki Nobara doesn’t consider herself a violent person, but she nearly threw a fit when she heard that Gojo-sensei wasn’t going to help them find Itadori. 

“What the flip?” she mutters angrily, reminiscing that particular moment. How the hell are they supposed to find Yuuji without Gojo-sensei’s cursed technique? Yuuji could have traveled more than halfway across Tokyo by now!

She stops walking and leans against a wall, taking a deep breath. Calm thoughts, Nobara. Calm thoughts…

“This is such bullshit,” she curses. “Screw being calm! What the hell is wrong with that guy?”

”Gojo-sensei or Itadori?” Fushiguro asks, from inside a room — Yuuji's room, because Nobara coincidentally stopped by his room to rest. This fact enrages her more.

”Both!” she yells. She stomps into Yuuji's room and plants herself on his bed. “I just don’t understand. Why are they…?” She trails off as she glances at Fushiguro, who is crouched on the floor looking over some papers. “What are you doing?” 

“Looking for clues,” Fushiguro answers. “Want to help?”

Nobara joins him on the floor and begins opening Yuuji's notebooks. The first notebook just contains gibberish that Nobara thinks was meant to be English. The second notebook has a bunch of equations in it that haven’t been properly solved: probably his math notebook. She finds a dictionary tossed open on the floor. Maybe this was what Yuuji was studying earlier. It contains no useful information, so she discards the books and searches through his other belongings.

The quiet between Fushiguro and her quenches her burning anger, but all it leaves behind are the ashes of confusion.

”I just don’t understand,” Nobara repeats, in a soft voice. “Why would Yuuji leave? Why won’t Gojo-sensei help us find him? I thought he was on our side.”

Fushiguro stops sifting through the papers to look at her. She averts his gaze and stares at the floor, hoping he won’t notice her eyebags. Even her new L’Oreal Infallible Full Wear Concealer couldn’t cover them up. She'll probably have to get a refund.

Another shopping trip...

For some reason, she doesn't look forward to that thought anymore.

"I don't know what Itadori told Gojo-sensei about the future," Fushiguro starts, "and while Gojo-sensei is an unreliable bastard, he isn't the type to ditch his students. I'm sure he has some sort of plan."

Nobara sighs frustratedly. "But why can't he include us in it?" 

Fushiguro is unable to respond to this, but it's okay because Nobara never expected him to. She's gotten enough information from him already. This whole future-Yuuji thing is confusing to her, but it explains his weird behavior over the past few days.

She spots a notebook hidden behind Yuuji's drawers, so she sticks her arm in the gap between the cupboard and the wall and fishes the book out. Hopefully, this book doesn't contain any weird teen boy stuff; she was already traumatized enough by Yuuji's poster.

"Fushiguro," she calls, "catch." She tosses the book to him. Fushiguro gives her a quizzical glance but catches the book regardless.

He opens the book and flips through the pages. His mouth hangs open, and he looks at her in shock. "Kugisaki, this is it."

Nobara scrambles over to his side and tugs on one side of the book so she can see it better. The first few pages are just a bunch of Japanese Literature notes from class, probably from the past-Yuuji (who isn't their Yuuji anymore, she still needs to deal with that realization). After flipping through those pages, Nobara finds a page with one word on it: Shibuya.

"Itadori mentioned this at the mall," Fushiguro points out. "Something about Shibuya happening in less than three weeks."

"So will something happen at Shibuya? Like a mission or something?" Nobara asks. 

Fushiguro's eyebrows furrow, and he tugs on his bangs. "...maybe it's the reason why we're..." He trails off.

Hm? "Why we're what?" she asks. Just how bad could the Shibuya event be? If Gojo-sensei is with them, everything should be fine, right?

Fushiguro winces and shakes his head. "It's nothing. Let's continue reading."

She is very skeptical of the answer Fushiguro just gave, but she'll spare him the grilling so they can get back on track. She flips to the next page, which has a few times and names listed.

One particular time stands out to her. Her eyes widen, and she meets Fushiguro's confounded gaze. There's no way this is true. It can't be!

"What the hell?" she whispers, re-reading the line. "9:20PM: Gojo Satoru gets sealed?"

Chapter Text

As soon as the meeting ended, Hanami and Dagon left to search for Itadori. Just as they were about to step foot outside their reserved hideout, they were stopped by Choso.

”Yo, Hanami,” Choso says, giving a nod to Dagon. He looks at the duo, then at Pseudo Geto’s retreating figure, and finally back at them. Pseudo Geto has some other business to wrap up after the meeting. Hanami belatedly realizes that Choso wasn’t assigned a task to complete yet.

Choso hesitates. “I’ll…go with you.” At Hanami’s curious look, he elaborates: “Since I don’t have anything else to do, might as well help you catch that sorcerer.”

“Dagon and I will be enough to capture Sukuna’s vessel,” Hanami says, frowning. “If you are unavailable, you could ask Geto for more work. I’m sure Jogo might need some help with his diplomacy duties.”

Hanami tries to move forward, but Choso grabs his arm. Choso grimaces. “It’s not—let me go with you. Geto only said we should bring him back alive. After what he did…my brother…”

Saying the words looked like it physically pained Choso to say. Hanami looks at Choso warily, but then the implications clicked. 

“Bwoo?” Dagon asks, or in another words: Revenge? 

“You want to fight him,” Hanami realizes. “Rough him up before he gets here, because of what he did to your brothers.”

Choso’s eyes widen in relief, and he nods his head quickly. “Yes,” he says, “just that.”

Now Hanami understands his situation a bit more. He probably doesn’t want to bring this to Geto’s attention since this is just one of many personal revenges planned, right? That is exactly what Hanami would do if any of their fellow cursed spirits were exorcised. 

No— Choso is doing much better than what Hanami would do. If given an opportunity like this, Hanami would definitely try to kill the sorcerer. The fact that Choso is holding back means he really must respect the plan Geto created for Shibuya.

Hanami lifts their arm up, shrugging off Choso’s grip, and puts a firm hand on Choso’s shoulder. Choso stiffens, and they nod. “Alright, let’s go.”

They leave the premises, with Choso trailing behind sketchily. He seems somewhat jitterish compared to normal—but that could be bloodlust. After all, his brothers were killed weeks ago and the dirty jujutsu sorcerer who did it walks free. Now that this opportunity landed in his lap, Hanami can’t imagine the amount of excitement Choso must be feeling.

However, the thought of a sorcerer dampens their mood. Sorcerers and humans— it was all due to them that this planet was so polluted. They had defiled nature, and continue to do so without consequences. The evidence of it is displayed on every street corner that Hanami came across.

It’s absolutely disgusting, and just another reminder of why their group’s goal is so important. Curses were born from nature and deserved to take care of the Earth. They could do a better job of it than humans, that was certain.

Soon enough, Choso, Dagon and Hanani find themselves at a crossroad splitting off into left, right, and straight ahead.

“We should go this way,” Choso suggests, pointing to the left. 

“Why?” Hanami asks. He can’t identify anything uniquely appealing about any of these roads.

“It leads to the same area, but it takes less time,” he reasons, sweating for some reason.

“Hm?” Dagon asks, expressing a sentiment similar as Hanami.

“That sounds counterintuitive,” they point out. “Why not just make one road to the left?”

“Humans are stupid,” he says quickly, and shrugs. “Probably just another excuse to hurt nature.”

They scowl. That does sound awfully in-character for them. There’s still something not entirely adding up though. 

“Let’s split up, then,” they suggest. “We can go on each road and come back together by noon.”

“Sure,” he says, sounding almost too eager to be left alone. Dagon nods bleakly.

Hanami starts walking on the road to the right. Choso frowns. “Hey — what are you doing?”

They frown too. “You suggested the left road, so shouldn’t you go on it?” Hanami doesn’t understand why Choso is upset.

Choso winces. “No, I’ll take the right. You can…make sure the left is the fastest.”

Dagon shrugs and begins walking straight ahead, but Hanami pauses and stares at Choso. The behavior Choso is displaying is very suspicious. Now that Hanami thinks about it, why didn’t Choso just ask Geto for permission? It’s not like Geto would be opposed to Choso’s revenge; he would still be bringing Sukuna’s vessel back “alive”, only somewhat injured. That wouldn't be a hindrance to Geto's plans.

The caw of a crow disturbs Hanami’s thought process, but their gaze lies on Choso. Choso looks back apprehensively. For a moment, Hanami can sense cursed energy in the environment, but it dissipates just as quickly. 

Choso’s expression remains stoic, with his arms tensed. Surely he hadn’t tried to attack Hanami…right?

Hanami shrugs and moves past Choso, onto the left road. “If that’s what you want,” they say.

They don’t miss the sigh of relief Choso lets out.

Choso all but runs to the abandoned building once he is sure Hanami went down their path. He got lucky—really lucky that Hanami didn’t press further. In normal circumstances, he would be suspicious, but now he didn’t have time to be suspicious: his brother’s life was on the line.

Half-heartedly making sure he isn’t followed, Choso enters a nearby building and passes through a bridge leading into another building. This place is the secret hideout. Itadori should be on the third floor.

Please be safe, Yuuji, Choso thinks desperately as he climbs the stairs. Please be safe. He doesn’t want to lose another brother. He’d rather die. A head of pink hair enters his vision, and he breathes out. Phew. “Yuuji!” 

Yuuji perks up at the mention, leaning against the wall. “Choso? What’s up?”

The smile drops from Choso’s face as he remembers the severity of this situation. Right. How will Yuuji escape…?

Yuuji's expression hardens when he sees the serious look on Choso’s face. “What happened?”

”Yuuji, you have to go,” Choso decides. “Now. The curses had a meeting—they know you’re missing and sent Hanami and Dagon after you.”

Yuuji's eyes widen. “What!? How could they—“ Then, he gasps. “Mechamaru! He’s still working for them. But that means…!”

”I got Hanami and Dagon off your track but they’ll figure it out soon,” Choso says impatiently. He gently pushes Yuuji to the stairs. “You have to leave.”

Yuuji almost nods, and then he pauses. “Wait, but what will happen to you once they figure it out?”

Choso winces. He wishes his brother wasn’t so astute at the moment. “I’ll…hold them back.”

“And when Kenjaku finds you?” Yuuji dares, betrayal shining in his eyes. He stands still at the start of the stairs. “You’re leaving with me, or we aren’t leaving at all.”

”Yuuji—“ 

”No, Choso,” he says forcefully. “You promised me. Don’t break your promise. If you do…”

You’ll never forgive me, is what Choso expected him to say. It would be a bitter pill to swallow, but something Choso would jump at the chance of doing if it meant Yuuji's survival.

“…I’ll never forgive myself,” Yuuji whispers. 

That hit harder than any attack could.

But suddenly, Choso’s hairs stand on its ends. He and Itadori exchange a quiet look. He can sense small rise in cursed energy. A crow perches on the windowsill above the staircase. It seems to stare at them, their reflection mirrored in the eyes of the crow. It flies away.

And nearly seconds later, Hanami crashes through the ceiling in all of their floral yet monstrous glory.

Hanami spits out a piece of broken concrete, mouth downturned in disappointment. “I had a feeling you were suspicious,” they croak, putting a hand on their white sash. “What a coincidence that Sukuna’s vessel is on the path you said we shouldn’t take.”

Choso takes his hands off Yuuji's back and turns around to face Hanami. “Yes, what a coincidence,” he lies, forming fists with his hands. “I’ll take him back.”

Hanami gives him a bitter look. “What about your revenge?” they ask. “If you really want to take Sukuna's vessel back, hit him.”

Yuuji tenses while Choso gulps. He makes eye contact with Yuuji. 

He’ll catch us. Should we…?

Yes. Yuuji nods three times. On three.

Choso readies his fists as Yuuji turns around. One.

”Hit him, Choso,” Hanami says, anger seeping into their voice. Two. They tear off the white sash, unveiling a flower. “If you aren’t a traitor, then hit him!”

Three. Choso aims a piercing blood shot at Hanami targeting their brain as he and Yuuji run in opposite directions. The floor rumbles as roots emerge from the bottom floor to block the blood, which makes it ricochet off onto the wall behind Yuuji's head. Yuuji ducks and shoots his own piercing blood beam at Hanami's head, knocking them backward.

While Hanami is insanely durable, their large stature in this cramped building makes it difficult for them to move around. This location also lacks nature due to its metropolitan design, which is a huge disadvantage to Hanami. If Choso and Yuuji can corner them and attack on both sides with Blood Manipulation, Hanami's strong exterior would be destroyed. Normally their exterior wouldn’t be as weak, but the Hollow Purple from Gojo seriously damaged them. They still haven’t recovered from all the injuries they gained at the Kyoto Goodwill Event.

As Choso and Yuuji work together, alternating between simultaneous close-up and long-distance assaults, Choso begins to feel that they have a chance at beating the disaster curse. 

“Choso!” Hanami yells as they throw a wooden ball at Choso’s feet. “Why would you side with this murderer? He killed this Earth! He killed your brothers!”

Choso jumps to the side, narrowly avoiding impalement via branch as the wooden ball explodes. The branches cut into the ceiling, bringing the roof down on them. The concrete breaks on Choso’s back while some falls on his head. At least he has more blood to use now.

Then, his heart stops for a second as he looked around. Yuuji—!

But Yuuji is fine. He stands up after the collapse and gives Choso a thumbs up.

“Why are you protecting him!?” Hanami shouts, baffled. Their attention is on Choso, something that Yuuji takes advantage of as he leaps at Hanami, right fist aimed for their head.

Hanami notices this, but Choso shoots a beam of blood at their face, knocking their head back. Their arms protect their head and neck, but Yuuji's punch was a feint. He lands a powerful kick on their chest — powerful enough to create black sparks. He lands a second black flash with his other foot. Hanami coughs and stumbles behind as blood leaks from the areas Yuuji hit him.

Choso gasps. Did Yuuji just use Black Flash? Twice!? As expected of his amazing younger brother! He’ll have to compliment Yuuji on it after the battle.

Hanami aims wooden balls on the floor in front of them so the branches will impale Yuuji as he comes down, but Yuuji grabs Hanami’s antlers and uses them to hoist himself onto their backside. He pulls their antlers backward so their head would move back too, leaving the rest of their body open for Choso to shoot at. 

He won’t waste this chance. Choso fires his most powerful slicing exorcism yet, while simultaneously creating a blade from his blood. The black flash from earlier significantly deteriorated Hanami’s durability, and the slicing exorcism aimed at their heart only worsened it. All that’s left is Choso’s blade to finish him off.

Choso solidifies the blade and stabs him in the lung. He intended to hit the heart, but Hanami's sudden thrashing changed his target. 

Strangely enough, Choso senses another source of cursed energy, but the next words Hanani says steals his focus.

“New Binding Vow,” they start. Choso feels his heart sink. “Increase Cursed Energy for a Domain Expansion parameter of less than 3 meters.”

Choso’s eyes widen. Crap. He doesn’t have a domain expansion or barrier technique to counter with. Yuuji and him need to deal with Hanami now. 

“Get away!” Yuuji yells, pulling the antlers out of Hanami and making them scream. Yuuji leaps off his back and rolls onto the ground while Choso aims a piercing blood beam at Hanami’s neck. The beam bounces off, but Choso can tell it seriously injured their throat.

Still, that doesn’t stop Hanami from speaking. “Domain Expans—“

And then they disappear.

Choso blinks once, and then twice. Hanami is still gone. In his place is a crow that seems to be made from cursed energy. What…?

But now he has the chance to acknowledge the fourth, no, fifth source of cursed energy. 

A tall, tanned, and muscular man stands behind him, hands clapped together. “Itadori Yuuji,” he booms, “my besto friend! What is this I hear about you running away?” 

Chapter Text

When Todo Aoi first heard that his beloved besto friendo was missing, he felt panic -- for approximately 0.01 seconds. "Fear is the mind killer," went the famous Dune quote, and Todo's greatest strength (aside from his physical strength) was his intellect, boasting a 530,000 IQ. His brilliance could not afford to be killed. After the centisecond had passed, he immediately began formulating a plan to find Itadori Yuuji. He reached out to the boy with lame taste in women from Tokyo Tech since he seemed to be friends with Itadori and was probably looking for him too. Then, he partnered with Mei Mei, taking advantage of her crow surveillance technique to track down Itadori. Two days of searching non-stop led him to rural Fussa, and the situation where he is right now.

Todo pauses by the staircase as a loud thump echoes from the floors above him, and the ground shakes. Mei Mei's crow flies past him, and he trails behind cautiously, tapping his earpiece. "Mei Mei," he whispers, "what do you see?"

Mei's even-tempered voice responds, "Two curses, one of them is humanoid looking. Itadori seems to be fighting the nature curse we saw walking around earlier."

He clenches his jaw. It was expected that a fight would occur, but this soon...Todo will have to find a way to help out. He hurries up the stairs, avoiding any creaky steps that could notify the curses of his presence. When he reaches the third floor, he is greeted with a scene of chaos: Itadori pulling back the nature curse's antlers while the humanoid curse stabs it.

What? His mind whirs in confusion as he tries to fathom the situation. Seems to be using blood manipulation--is the curse helping Itadori?--Itadori's position looks dangerous, maybe I should clap Itadori out--how did the nature curse find Itadori in the first place--when should I step in--

As though reading his mind, the nature curse cries out: “New Binding Vow. Increase Cursed Energy for a Domain Expansion parameter of less than 3 meters.”

Todo's eyes widen, and now he knows what to do. Yelling his domain requirements out loud could be for the benefit of revealing your hand -- or it could be a lie but I doubt that the length could be any longer because of how worn out the curse looks -- Mei Mei's crow is nearby -- three meters is fairly small.

He grins, readying his hands. The success of his plan depends on his timing, so if he is even a second late, it could spell doom for him and his best friend.

"Get away!" Itadori yells, tone colored with desperation as he pulls out the nature curse's antlers. Todo wonders if the statement was meant for him, but upon further attention notices that Itadori is looking at the humanoid curse. Do they know each other?

"I can attack the curse," Mei offers. Her crow sits perched on a tree branch outside an open window, surveying the situation adeptly. Not yet, Takada-chan's soft voice whispers in his head.

"Not yet," Todo echoes, carefully watching the nature curse's actions. "I have a plan."

A beam of blood pierces the nature curse's neck, but it still finds the energy to speak. "Domain Expan--"

Now! Takada-chan yells. Todo claps his hands, swapping the crow and the nature curse. 

"si--huh?" Todo can hear faintly. Then, several tree branches break from underneath the nature curse, and it falls on the ground, forming a crater. Phew, that was close! Takada-chan says. She smiles, indirectly causing Todo's heart to skip a beat. Good work, Todo!

He smirks and steps out of the stairway and onto the third floor garage, relishing in Takada-chan's praise and Itadori and the curse's baffled expressions.

“Itadori Yuuji,” he exclaims, “my besto friend! What is this I hear about you running away?”  

The humanoid curse looks at Todo warily, stepping in between him and his best friend. Itadori stares at him in pure bewilderment. "How...? What...?" he gapes. Then his eyes narrow. "The curse! Let's finish him off first and then talk."

"I've got it," Mei says. Her crow soars past them, no doubt being used for a bird strike attack. A strangled cry and the sound of the bird's penetration confirm Todo's theory, so he relaxes. 

"Mei Mei's taken care of it," Todo relays. He grins, opening his arms. "So, brother, tell me what happened. And who is this curse you're working with?"

Itadori's shoulders rise. "He's not-- well, he partly is but -- he's on our side!"

"I'm on Yuuji's side," the humanoid curse specifies, emphasizing the distance between Todo and Itadori. Todo frowns. Itadori and the curse are on first-name basis? Todo hasn't even progressed that far yet, and he's known Itadori since middle school!

This curse...he's a rival for Todo's position as Itadori's best friend. Todo feels oddly threatened. "You," he points to the curse. "What's your type of woman?"

The curse blinks. "Huh?" He looks at Itadori for guidance but Itadori just shrugs. "My type?"

"Yes," Todo says, mildly impatient. "You can hear, can't you?"

The curse exhales in irritation. "Of course I can. And, I don't know, I've never talked to a woman before." 

Todo makes a disgusted face. "Bo-ring! If it weren't for Itadori being my best friend, I would've killed you already." His hands are already itching to swap the curse out with one of Mei's crows, but there aren't any in the area now that she used bird strike, and hurting the curse probably wouldn't be beneficial to Itadori's opinion of Todo. Probably.

"Like you could even try," the curse spits venomously, glaring at Todo. He turns to Itadori. "Do all humans care this much about someone's 'type'?"

Itadori winces. "No, Todo's just uh, unique. With how he makes friends. Don't worry about it, Choso. Anyway--Todo, how did you get here?"

Todo's heart leaps. He was asked the question! He spent the past two days dreaming of what he would say to Itadori after he found him. Of course, the human-looking curse impeded his idea of a heartfelt reunion, but he's wilfully ignoring that at the moment. He rubs his hands together in excitement. "Well, I..."

He goes into elaborate detail about the long journey he took on Saturday morning, starting from the missing person posters to the arduous task of convincing Mei Mei to partner up. 

"You got Mei Mei to work with you?" Itadori asks, in awe. "I heard from Kugisaki that Mei is super expensive!"

"Ah, yes," Todo says, wincing. "Your sensei wasn't picking up the phone, so your friends and I are now several million yen in debt." That memory was not a fond one. He had to give up his entire monthly Takada-chan fan meeting allowance for Mei to be satisfied. She may be a jujutsu sorcerer but on that day, she resembled the curses they fought in battle. He shudders and moves on with his story-telling.

Then he discusses how he came across multiple witnesses who saw Itadori doing parkour -- "I guess pink hair isn't as common as I thought," Itadori mutters -- and how that led Mei Mei and him on the trail to Fussa. Finally, he closed up with the details of his stakeout: Mei's crows would surveil the area for cursed energy, and if they did sense any, they would scope out more before giving Todo the go-ahead to investigate.

"And that's how we found you," Todo summarizes. Itadori looks astonished, as Todo expected, but the furrowing of his eyebrows makes him appear vaguely disapproving.

Itadori sighs, giving him an oddly apologetic look. "That was...really kind of you, Todo," Todo beams, "but I'm not coming back to Jujutsu Tech."

His smile drops. "What?" he asks, shocked. "Why?" He knew something was suspicious when Iori-sensei simply said Itadori 'went missing' instead of clarifying if he was kidnapped or not, but Todo never considered that Itadori intentionally wanted to leave his school.

"It's complicated," Itadori says. His mouth is pressed in a firm line and his brown eyes are stone-cold; he's resolute on this matter. "I'm not returning, and you aren't staying with me. Choso is only sticking with me because...because he works for the people who attacked us at the Kyoto Goodwill event. He's our double agent. That's why."

Todo frowns. "I don't understand," he says plainly because everything is incredibly confusing right now, "why are you averse to coming back? Why can't I join you? And why do you trust this 'Choso' curse so much? He could betray you!"

Choso glares at him, crossing his arms. "I would never betray my brother. Suggesting such a thing is disgusting, though that's expected from you hu..." He trails off as he makes eye contact with Itadori, who shakes his head. "Nevermind."

"Brother?" Todo isn't sure he's hearing things correctly. "How could this curse be your brother?"

"That's also complicated," Itadori says, wincing. "He's a half-curse. We share a parent, I think. The point is-- you can head back now!"

Todo scans Itadori's face for any hint of humor. "You're joking, right?"

Itadori's solemn expression looks the farthest thing from a joke. "No," he says seriously. "You can go tell Megumi and Kugisaki that I'm unharmed if that's what you wanted out of this. But if you wanted me to come back, it's not going to happen."

"At least explain," Todo pleads. For all his intellect, he can't see any reason behind Itadori's strange insistence to be alone, and it makes him feel upsettingly powerless. "You can tell me! We're best friends -- we're practically brothers!"

The darkness of Itadori's eyes seems to pin Todo, gaze lingering on his hands before meeting his eyes. "That's exactly why I have to go," Itadori says quietly.  

Todo inhales deeply. Think, Todo, Takada-chan says. Think! What can you do to make him stay?

His mind turns completely blank. There’s nothing he can say that will persuade Itadori. But while his intellect is a strength of his, his physical strength might be more convincing. He rips his shirt in two, tossing it aside as he raises his fists. Choso tenses and puts his palms together. Itadori looks at him wearily.

"Todo, don't," he says tiredly, not even readying his fists. "Just let us go. I don't want to fight you."

Sometimes the only way to reason with people is to beat the sense in them. Todo bares a grin, injecting false bravado into his voice. "You'll have to go through me first!"

Hopefully, he can hold to that statement.

Instead of spending their Monday in class, Kugisaki and Megumi are skipping school. If Gojo were around, he would probably tease them about it, but he went off the grid after his assigned mission on Saturday and hasn't been picking up Megumi's calls. Ordinarily, this would be a blessing, but this situation was anything but ordinary. Of all the times he decides to disappear...

Megumi sighs. Maybe the lack of sleep is getting to him. Itadori's Japanese Literature notebook is a gold mine that he and Nobara spent the past few hours hacking at while on the subway to Kyoto, but there are a frustrating amount of holes. There are numerous instances where an event will have question marks and only an outcome listed -- don't even get him started on the Culling Games. The rules and players of the game are a whole other level of complexity!

The book didn't contain any information about their deaths, but he imagines Itadori already has those events imprinted in his mind, no need to reiterate them on paper. Morbidly enough, Megumi wonders how he died. Itadori seemed to think he was responsible for Megumi's death, but Megumi's not sure if he literally killed him or if it was just Itadori's failure to protect him. If it was the latter, it wouldn't be Itadori's fault, and Megumi doubts there would be a situation in the future requiring Itadori to kill Megumi, so it has to be something else...but what?

"You have arrived," the Google Maps voice on Kugisaki's phone says, interrupting his thought process. The two stop their walk and look at the long wooden bridge leading into a school yard. 

“This has to be Kyoto,” Kugisaki says confidently. She smirks. “See—I told you we could find the school on Google!”

“It’s not supposed to be found on Google,” Megumi groans. 

”And we’re entering pretty easily too,” Kugisaki points out as they walk on the bridge. “Fushiguro, it sounds like you’re just making excuses, don’t forget you have to pay up soon~”

”We’re both broke,” he deadpans.

“Exactly!” Kugisaki exclaims. “I need the money. Hear me out, when Gojo comes back, what if we force him to pay us the money we owe Mei through compensation? We could hire that lawyer guy from Itadori’s notebook — Higa…Hiru…”

“Higuruma,” Megumi completes. “And we can’t hire him for two reasons: first, we’re broke, and second, we don’t know where he works.”

”I bet Google would know,” Kugisaki dares, sticking her phone in his face. 

Megumi sighs, unfazed by the invasion of his personal space. “Go for it.”

Kugisaki looks at him with a vague expression on her face, and then sighs as well, her smile falling off her face. She pockets her phone and stretches her arms, letting it run over the railings of the bridge.

Water ebbs and flows, while birds caw in the distance. Koi fish swim in schools, with one brightly colored fish catching his eye. It departs from the school of fish and swims alone. A few other fish break away from the school to convince the bright fish to come with them, but it swims farther away.

“I…miss him,” Kugisaki admits, tearing Megumi’s attention away from the foreboding fish. “The idiot. Our friend.”

She avoids Megumi’s eye contact. “I just…I make jokes and he’s not there to carry them on even though we’re supposed to be a comedy duo. It’s—it’s unfair that he keeps leaving us and we’re supposed to just be okay with it! What kind of people does he think we are!?”

She exhales, vexed, and shakes her fists at the sky. “What kind of friends does he think we are!? That we’d just move on from his disappearance — when he died and now! It’s so stupid of him, I don’t know what to think!”

“You and me both,” Megumi mutters. “If Todo doesn’t bring him back, I’m going to kill him.”

Kugisaki glances at him in surpise, rage fading from her face. “Itadori or Todo?”

”Both,” Megumi decides.

She cracks a small grin. “I’ll help. It’s just…crazy to think Itadori had a whole life. Up until he time-travelled. How old do you think he was when he regressed? I bet he was an old man, hah! I probably retained my youth while you and Itadori looked like ugly uncles.”

Megumi shrugs, intentionally ignoring her last sentence. “His future could be our near future too,” he points out. “He doesn’t have to be old.”

”It would be funny if he was, though,” she counters. Her facial expression turns scandalized. “Wait — do you think he gave Ozawa a chance? Should we call her again?”

He rolls his eyes. “Let’s think about that once we get him back.”

Kugisaki huffs a sigh. “Fiine.”

She spots Iori-sensei standing at the gates of Kyoto Technical College and waves. Iori-sensei waves them over.

”Sorry for the short notice,” Kugisaki apologizes. “I know we were supposed to visit later this week but this couldn’t wait.”

Iori-sensei smiles. “It’s alright! The sooner we get this visit done, the better, honestly. Gojo just picked the 19th because he thought it was the ‘most convenient date’.”

There’s an underlying tone of mockery in Iori’s voice when she talks about Gojo. Megumi approves of this.

”So, where do we get started?” Kugisaki asks. 

Iori’s face becomes pensive. “Gojo informed you all about the mole, right?”

Vaguely, but Itadori’s notebook also included it. Megumi nods.

“We think there are multiple people giving information to the enemy. One has to be a member of the higher ups — there’s nothing we can do about that as of now — but another should be a student, which is today’s goal. We need to capture and interrogate the mole.”

Iori checks their expressions to see if the two are following along. “The mole is…”

”Mechamaru, right?” Megumi finishes.

Iori’s eyebrows raise, but she nods, almost disappointed. “Yes, it seems like it. Walk with me.”

Iori begins walking, and Kugisaki and Megumi trail after her. “Mechamaru was picked not because he was suspicious, but by process of elimination. His cursed technique ‘Puppet Manipulation’ is also well-suited to fathering information.”

They walk down a series of stairs going underground. Iori puts a hand to her lips and opens the door to a hallway of dorms. She turns left and points to a door in front of her.

”The real Mechamaru is here,” Iori whispers. She pulls on the door, but it doesn’t budge.

Itadori’s strength could really be helpful right now, but he’s not here, unfortunately.

Megumi pushes himself onto the door and it swings wide open. He readies his hands to summon a shikigami, but it’s not needed since…

”There’s no one here,” Kugisaki whispers.

Iori frowns. “He got us,” she admits. “But this means he is definitely the mole, so at least we have one traitor figured out.”

Megumi meets Kugisaki’s wide eyes. The exact same occurrence was described in Itadori’s notebook, meaning all the other events from Itadori’s future could happen too.

Even…

Megumi swallows. Even him and Kugisaki dying.

Chapter Text

"You'll have to go through me first!" Todo Aoi boasts, with more confidence than he believes. Choso slaps his palms together, no doubt readying for a blood technique, but Itadori pushes his arm down. 

"Ignore him, Choso," Itadori says quietly. 

The curse tenses, hands still pressed. "But he was going to--"

"He doesn't understand," Itadori says with finality in his tone. The curse lowers his arms and the sphere of blood dissipates.

"Oh yeah?" Todo yells, leaping at Itadori with a punch. "Well make me!" Itadori shields the majority of the blow with his arms, but the leftover momentum pushes him against a pillar. 

Todo claps, switching his position with Itadori while Choso’s kick is in mid-air. Only thanks to Itadori’s quick reaction skills is he able to duck the kick. Choso winces. “Yuuji—!”

Todo did not give the curse a chance to continue, swapping himself with the curse in time to hit Itadori. The blow is blocked by Itadori’s arm, but Itadori doesn’t retaliate and instead handsprings away. Todo grimaces. While Itadori and Choso not fighting back does increase his chances of winning, he’s starting to feel annoyed about Itadori’s dismissive attitude.

“What don’t I understand?” Todo grits. He tries to attack Itadori, but Choso intercepts him, palms pressed together. A blood beam hits Todo’s right wrist before he can clap. Sharp pain shoots through his hand. He winces. Choso must have figured out the trigger for his technique. 

“Don’t hurt him!” Itadori yells. 

Choso frowns, though Itadori can’t see it from behind the curse. “But he’s attacking you!”

Todo hits the floor with his left hand and the concrete breaks through, creating a cavity. As Choso and Itadori jump back, he claps, coming face to face with mid-air Itadori. Todo grabs Itadori’s shirt and dangles him over the hole. 

“Come with us,” he pleads. “Explain why you can’t. Please.” He hopes his sentiments reach Itadori.

Itadori places his feet on Todo’s chest and kicks Todo’s chin up. The roofless sky greets Todo’s eyes.  “You’ll…” Itadori grits. Then, Todo looks down and sees Itadori escaping his hold. “…get hurt!”

That’s progress. “Why?” Todo cries, leaping onto the spot where Itadori stands. Itadori somersaults away, another hole formed in his wake. As Todo moves, he notices something heavy latching itself on his back and pulling him back: Choso. Todo grabs Choso’s clothes and throws him into a pillar. Choso’s back breaks the pillar, and he soars through the sky into another building.

“Choso!” Itadori screams, panic raw in his voice. Itadori gazes at him with shaky eyes, pupils the size of a pinprick. It reminds Todo of a frenzied animal. “Why would you do that!?”

“He’s strong,” Todo says, inching closer. He’s confused about Itadori’s emotional response. “He should survive that.”

“No!” Itadori yells, fight forgotten. “He’s not supposed to get hurt— you’re not supposed to be fighting — just leave us alone!”

“Why?” Todo says, bridging the gap between the two of them. “Why is he allowed to stay by your side but not your friends and I? What is so dangerous that we can’t accompany you, but he can?”

“The future!” Itadori shouts. Todo is stunned into silence for a moment, trying to dissect the meaning of the statement. The future? 

Itadori’s chest heaves up and down. “The future…” he mutters, and his mouth becomes a nasty grimace. “In the future, everyone I know…everyone I love—they’re all dead! You, Choso, Kugisaki, Megumi, Yuta, Higuruma…even Gojo-sensei! You’re all dead because of me!” His voice breaks at the last part, and he turns away from Todo in shame.

The realization dawns on Todo, and suddenly everything he was confused about aligns. It all makes sense now. “Time travel,” he whispers, in awe. “You’re from the future, and that’s why you don’t want me to help you. Because you’re afraid we’ll die again.”

Itadori flinches at the mention of death, but nods. “Yes,” he says, his voice devoid of the high-strung emotions from earlier. He swallows. “That’s why. Choso promised me he wouldn’t get hurt. He’s experienced, and I trust his word, so I let him stay with me. But you…”

He looks at Todo’s wrist, and then meets his eyes. “The work I’m doing is dangerous. You and the others still have a lot of life to live — I don’t want to see it cut short again because you’re helping me. You deserve…” he sighs. “You deserve a better death than that.”

A better death. The words echo in Todo’s head, and he nearly laughs. “A better death?” he repeats incredulously. “Brother, have you forgotten what career we signed up for? Every jujutsu sorcerer knows they will die early — we’re all learning jujutsu regardless of that fact. Your friends and I know exactly the risks of following you, and yet we chose to do it in your future! Isn’t dying on our own terms an example of a good death?”

Itadori gapes at him, clearly having not expected a response. “I’m trying to prevent your deaths!” He says heatedly. “If you could just leave me—“

“What, to take this burden on your own?” Todo scoffs. “I would never do that. Why don’t you tell us how we died so we can prevent it from happening?”

“The only way to do that is to avoid me,” Itadori says. He gazes at the floor woefully. “Your deaths are all my fault. The only way to avoid them is to avoid me.”

Although Todo’s 530,000 IQ grants him near-predictive abilities, Todo has never yearned to know the future as he has now. What does Itadori mean by their deaths being his fault? He couldn’t have killed them, but perhaps Sukuna…?

Todo places his hands on Itadori’s shoulder, and then slaps him. The scar on his cheek curves into a smile as Itadori recoils, his cheek stinging red. He accepts the blow humbly. The sight makes Todo nearly cringe.

“Itadori,” he says seriously. “Get out of this mood. If so many people have died, it’s not because you physically killed them, it’s because they were fighting something bigger. You’re not strong enough to have killed so many people, nor do you have the heart for it. You can’t possibly prevent these deaths on your own — not even Gojo could, since he died according to you! What will you say if your reckless actions lead to more people dying, since you refused to ask for help?”

Itadori’s eyes widen in horror. “More people dying?” he whispers. He looks like the thought had never crossed his mind until this moment, which makes sense, considering Itadori’s age.

He’s too young to be carrying the weight of people’s deaths on his shoulders. Exactly the reason why he needs help.

“Let us help you,” Todo tries, for the last time. “If not because we care for you, then for the sake of our lives and the others. Walking alone is difficult, but walking together…” Todo looks at the blue sky. Itadori looks ahead too. “…together, we can share this burden.” 

Todo glances and Itadori, who is still gazing at the horizon. Frustration flickers on his face, then extinguished by hope. Todo can practically read his thoughts: Is it possible…?

Yes, Todo thinks. It is completely possible. Just stop running away from our help.

After a long minute, Itadori gnaws his lips and responds. “I…will try. To rely on you and the others.”

Todo heaves a sigh of relief, patting his brother’s back with his good hamd. “Thank you for coming around,” he says. He smiles. “As expected of my besto friendo—“

“Choso!” Itadori gasps. “We need to find him!” 

Todo grimaces, nearly rolling his eyes. He was hoping Itadori would forget about him. “I threw him in that direction,” he says, lazily pointing to the park outside.

Once he and Itadori spot Choso, they frown. Opposite to Choso is a red, squid-looking curse. The two appear to be in conversation.

Is Choso betraying Itadori? Todo hopes not, but if that’s a possibility, he and Itadori should step in now.

Tears bubbled down the red curse’s cheeks, and it began to tremble. Uh oh, that’s not a good sign. 

“Itadori, what are you doing?” Todo asks. Itadori continues walking backwards, and then sprints forward, leaping out of the building. Todo’s eyes widen and he leans over the balcony. Where did he—?

Itadori’s pink hair sticks out of a tree. He pops his head out and waves, gesturing for Todo to join him. Then, he slides down the tree and runs to the park.

Itadori is as impulsive as ever, Todo reflects. Still, he is grateful Itadori is allowing Todo to accompany him. He jumps out of the building and rolls into a landing on the ground, then runs after Itadori.

By the time the two of them reach Choso, the red curse has already been exorcised. Choso stares at the red splotches left on the ground, something like guilt swirling in his eyes.

“Choso!” Itadori greets, hugging the half-curse. “You’re safe!”

Itadori’s presence is enough to shake Choso out of his stupor. He offers a weak smile. “Yeah. I can handle this much, at least.” He gives Todo a suspicious glare, and Todo shrugs.

“Itadori and I worked it out,” he summarizes. 

“Yup,” Itadori confirms. Only then does Choso let go of his skeptical look.

“How did you beat him?” Todo asks, curious. This is one of the fastest times he’s seen a curse get killed before.

Choso’s smile fades, and he looks at the remains with a stoic expression. “…He was a child. That’s how.”

“…Oh,” Itadori says, since that is all that can be said. Todo suspects he might have felt sympathy if this weren’t regarding a homicidal curse. “Did you know him?”

“Yeah,” Choso replies, eyes not torn away from the corpse. Finally, he sighs and looks away. “He would’ve attacked us first for killing his sibling, so. I saved us a bigger expense.”

There’s a brief stilt in conversation as Itadori and Choso try to think of what to say. Despite claiming to be brothers, the two seem quite new to each other. Perhaps this is someone Itadori met in the future?

“So, where are we going to now?” Todo asks. “I suggest we head back to Tokyo Jujutsu Tech, but if you have any other business here, we need to find a new hideout.”

Choso and him look at Itadori expectantly. Itadori’s lips press firm together as he contemplates.  “We have one more thing to take care of,” he finally says. He looks at both of them, steely-eyed. “Mechamaru.” 

Chapter Text

Ring! Ring! Fushiguro's phone buzzes innocently as Nobara and him wait in fear-filled anticipation. This is the fourth time they've tried calling this number in just as many days, and the caller refused to answer each time. It's seriously driving Nobara crazy. Pick up, she thinks agitatedly. Her leg jitters up and down, betraying her nervousness. Pick up!

The call goes silent. Fushiguro and Nobara hold their breath. Did he finally…?

"The caller you have dialed is not available at present," the phone says. Nobara groans. "Please try again la—" Fushiguro hangs up, tossing his phone on the bed. Fushiguro and her are once again in Yuuji's room, heads peering over his notebook.

"Later my ass!" she grumbles. "The second Gojo-sensei comes back from his mission, I'm hairpinning him on sight."

Fushiguro glowers at the phone, staring at it with enough vitriol to kill a man. "He's never spent this much time on a mission before," he mutters. "Of all times he had to go off the grid, he chose now?"

Ring! Nobara's eyes widen at the noise, and the duo whip their heads in unison to the phone. Fushiguro snatches his phone off the bed and looks at the caller's ID incredulously: a blank photo and a name titled 'The Annoying One'. "Gojo-sensei," he whispers. 

"Answer!" Nobara says impatiently. She elbows Fushiguro out of his daze, and he accepts the call.

 "Well hey there, students!" Gojo greets cheerfully. The sound of Gojo's voice brings a sense of relief to Nobara. Though she can hear cars honking and people chattering, she can't for the life of her tell where Gojo is. Maybe in a crowd? "I hope you didn't miss me too much—“

"Where were you?" Fushiguro interrupts before Nobara can. "We've been calling you for days and you haven't picked up. Do you know how w..." He trails off, eyebrows pinching together in frustration.

Gojo notices his silence. "Aww, Megumi," he starts cooing. "Were you and Kugisaki worried about me?"

Nobara hates that she can hear the smile in his voice. "Heck no!" she answers immediately. "We were more worried for Yuuji than you. Why the hell were you MIA when we needed your help the most!?"

"That's my bad, I was pretty busy! But did you find him?" Gojo asks.

My bad!? Nobara wants to berate him, but she bites her cheek. "...yes," she begrudgingly admits. "But we could've found him faster—!"

"Well, if you managed to find him on your own then you never truly needed me," Gojo points out. He continues optimistically. "Reaching out to other sorcerers, gathering information — this was a good learning experience for you! You should learn not to rely on me as much anyway."

The last part catches her off-guard, and she shares a weird look with Fushiguro. Why would he say that? He's the strongest; isn't he supposed to be the most reliable person they know?

And even if they found Yuuji on their own, Nobara is still upset. "It's not about relying on you," she starts and then pauses as she tries to recollect her thoughts. She doesn't want to sound overly emotional or anything, but Gojo's absence did make her panic a bit. "But...we're only first years, and it would've been nice if you could have guided us like a teacher instead of just-- just dumping the load on us and saying it's a learning experience! That's not what a sensei is supposed to do."

Only the sounds of a busy marketplace are audible, now. Nobara hates how vulnerable her voice sounds, and she pointedly ignores Fushiguro's concentrated stare. She wishes she could see Gojo's face in person and witness the expression he has at the moment.

"I'm sorry you felt that way, Kugisaki," Gojo finally responds. "I didn't think--"

"But it happened anyway," Nobara interrupts. She's starting to feel embarrassed by her outburst but she mentally reassures herself that she's in the right. It's not her fault that Gojo sucks at his job.

"You're right," Gojo concedes soberly. He sighs, perhaps pondering something. "You two did have to shoulder that burden alone. I'm not used to-- usually, I'm the one -- no, I guess those are just excuses too, aren't they? I should've been there to guide you through finding Yuuji."

"Yeah, you should've," she repeats. She clears her throat; it's feeling oddly clogged for some reason. 

Fushiguro squirms, looking starkly uncomfortable by the atmosphere. She doesn't blame him. "It must've been scary, wasn't it?" Gojo asks. "Your best friend ran away and it seemed like you two were the only ones who wanted to find him, if that was even possible. Tokyo is a big city, too big for just two students to search. Though Mei...no, it doesn't matter."

Nobara takes a deep breath and gulps down her rising feelings. "Shut it, sensei," she grits. "It's already over. Just...don't put us in that situation again."

"Yeah," Fushiguro seconds. He fiddles with the sleeves of his uniform, his expression stoic and unreadable per usual. "It wasn't fair to us."

"Okay, I won't do that again," Gojo promises. If Nobara concentrates, she can hear the jingling of coins and the murmuring of people. He must be somewhere in Japan, Nobara decides. Some sort of street market.

Fushiguro's eyebrows raise. He must have had an epiphany because then he begins speaking again. "Gojo-sensei, do you know much about Itadori's... situation?"

"His situation?" Gojo parrots. Fushiguro winces, refusing to elaborate further. 

Nobara can't take the silence anymore. "He means, do you know Yuuji’s from the future?" she says abruptly.

Fushiguro looks at her in alarm. “Kugisaki, you can’t just—!“

”He probably already knows,” she reasons. Nobara remembers the morning after The Incident, when Yuuji crushed her in that strong hug of his and Gojo motioned for her to go with it. She didn’t think much of it at first, but once Fushiguro explained Yuuji’s situation, the moment's oddity stuck out to her like a sharp nail in a haystack.

"Yeah but we don’t know to what extent he knows!“ Fushiguro retorts. He's right like he normally is, but Nobara refuses to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Gojo interrupts both of them. “Itadori spilled the beans already. That’s why I was MIA. I went overseas—“

“You went overseas?” Nobara gasps. "The heck!?" Her reaction might be overdramatic, but she desperately wants to move away from this awkward atmosphere she unintentionally created.

Fushiguro puts his hand over her mouth, glaring at her for the interruption. She glares back. This guy was busy chilling on the beach while she and Fushiguro were sleep-deprived!

“Yes, Kugisaki,” Gojo says patiently. “Though it wasn’t as fun as you’d imagine. Antarctica is only a bit warmer than it was eleven years ago, can you believe it? All those climate change folks are exaggerating.”

Nobara almost lets out a sigh of relief. The comedic atmosphere is back! Then, she glances at the phone quizzically. Antarctica? Why was he there of all places?

“Anyway,” Gojo continues. “I got a weapon that could help us in the future. I couldn’t contact you for obvious reasons — Antarctica also has no signal, how lame — and there were a ton of curtains I had to undo so it took a while. Now do you forgive me?”

She frowns, glancing at Fushiguro warily. Fushiguro lets go of his hand, tugging on his bangs as he thinks. “Will the weapon prevent you from being sealed?” he asks tentatively. “Into…whatever the Prison Realm is?”

That's right; Gojo gets sealed in Shibuya and it leads to a crap-ton of bad stuff happening in the future. Maybe this is why he told them not to rely on him as much.

Gojo pauses for a moment. “Huh. Itadori told you about that?” he says, surprised. “I didn’t think he would — but anyway, yes. It should.”

Hm. As upsetting as it is, Kugisaki doesn’t really have an excuse to be angry anymore, even if it's as a joke. It seems that Gojo was off doing actual reasonable work instead of neglecting his duties like she thought he was doing. She feels some guilt trickle down her mind at the realization. Maybe she shouldn’t have berated Gojo as much as she did, or at the very least not have cursed him as much.

No, Nobara, she reassures herself. Confronting Gojo was right -- he even admitted it. 

“Fine,” Fushiguro says awkwardly, presumably having come to the same conclusion as her. “Apology accepted.”

“Same here,” she mutters. Then, she remembers the millions of yen she, Todo, and Fushiguro owe. She scowls, ire re-lit again. “I forgive you for being MIA, but not for making us broke as heck!” she says quickly. Fushiguro groans at the reminder.

This evokes a laugh out of Gojo. “What? What happened?”

“Mei Mei,” Nobara complains, as if that name summed up her troubles enough. “I know she was the only way for us to efficiently track down Yuuji, but damn if she isn’t expensive! I had to use all my make-up funds—“

“You never use them anyway,” Fushiguro interjects. “You normally use Gojo-sensei’s money—“

“—to pay her, want to die, Fushiguro?” She gives him a daring look, and he cleverly stays quiet.

“Wait,” Gojo says, tone lacking in humor. He sounds serious now. “Mei Mei forced you three to pay her?”

“Uh, yes?” Nobara responds, unsure. “Isn’t that normal?”

Gojo goes quiet. “…I already paid her. I told her if you and Megumi come looking for her, she should give you her services for free since I already paid for it.”

Fushiguro’s face is frozen in shock, and Nobara would cackle if she wasn’t feeling so equally horrified. What the hell? So that means…

“Mei Mei scammed us!” she erupts, hitting her fist on Itadori’s floor. “My make-up funds!”

“…it seems like she did,” Fushiguro murmurs, still stunned. Nobara isn’t sure what Fushiguro was going to use his money for, but any reasonable person would be enraged if their money was stolen, so she doesn’t ponder it much.

Nobara inhales deeply, trying to calm her raging thoughts, and then immediately lets out a string of indecipherable swear words. “That damn daughter of a—“

“Don’t curse your teachers,” Gojo chimes in. “I’ll sort out this issue with her. Anyway, do you want reparations money?”

“Heck yeah!” Nobara says, like it's obvious. Even if she doesn’t use her make-up funds that often, there may come a day when she’ll desperately need it. “Can you throw in some emotional compensation too? For you abandoning us?” 

“Sure!” Gojo says. Nobara grins. It’s at times like these where she’s deeply grateful to his bank account. “So you found Itadori, right? Where is he now?”

“He’s with Todo,” Fushiguro answers. “They’ve been trying to make contact with Mechamaru through an ally half-curse — Todo thinks it might be a cursed womb.”

“An ally curse, huh?” Gojo says, sounding impressed. “Itadori’s doing wonderful, then. I’ll be back in two hours, I just teleported back to Tokyo and have to submit a report to the higher-ups. Blegh." Nobara can imagine him sticking out his tongue with the sentence. "I also need to catch a student of mine. See you soon!"

"See you, sensei," she says. Fushiguro hangs up. 

The duo stew in silence after the call. Clearly, Fushiguro finds Itadori's ceiling fascinating. "So..." she starts. "He finally answered, yay?"

Fushiguro snorts as if to say that's one way to react. Then, he frowns. "How much of the future do you think Itadori told Gojo-sensei?"

She shrugs. "I would like to think he told Gojo-sensei everything and we don't have to worry about it anymore, but with how he's acting now, he probably told sensei the bare minimum." 

Fushiguro grimaces. "That's...unfortunately just like him. Though maybe it's a good thing." Nobara looks at him in surprise. He elaborates. "If Itadori told Gojo the full truth, Gojo-sensei would probably take on the burden of trying to solve the future's problems by himself."

Nobara might argue against that being a bad thing. Gojo is the strongest, so if anyone has the best shot of saving their timeline, he does. Right?

Then, Nobara has a belated realization that almost makes her laugh bitterly. "Saving the world by himself...isn't that what Yuuji's trying to do now?"

Fushiguro nods, his grimace deepening into a scowl. He leans against the bedframe of Yuuji's mattress, and Nobara joins him, both of them staring at the ceiling.

If Yuuji is somehow the strongest in the future, would that justify his working alone? If he had the strongest arms, would it be alright for him to carry the weight of the world?

Nobara closes her eyes and thinks, for a moment. The memories of her and Yuuji replay in her mind like a looped reel, finally terminating with the memory of him hugging her desperately. His fake smile when he told her he had a bad dream. She wants to be selfish and protest he isn't the strongest, so she shouldn't waste her time thinking about this, he's not at Gojo's level. But if he was, would that make any difference?

"Fushiguro," she starts. She licks her lips. "Does Gojo-sensei...have too much on his plate?"

Fushiguro raises an eyebrow judgementally, as if the answer was obvious to him all along. Sometimes she forgets that he's known Gojo longer than both she and Yuuji have. "He's the strongest, but people forget he's not a God. Even he forgets, occasionally."

Right. Being the strongest doesn't mean you are invincible: as demonstrated by the Prison Realm. She purses her lips. "Let's make sure our idiot doesn't end up like him."

Fushiguro's mouth tilts up in a half-smile. "That's what we're trying to do, aren't we? Trying to prevent these future tragedies together."

Nobara stares at him for a moment and then nods. "Yeah," she says. Maybe she needs to see Gojo and Yuuji so she can start feeling convinced.

She grimaces. "Welp, that's too many emotions for today." She stands up. "I'm heading out for now, wanna go shopping?"

Fushiguro sighs. "Why do I get the sense I don't have a choice?" he deadpans.

"You're finally catching on!" She jokes as they leave Yuuji's room. He rolls his eyes, pocketing Yuuji's notebook in his jacket. Nobara estimates they should be back in time to catch Gojo, and hopefully Yuuji if he's done finding Mechamaru in time.

Chapter Text

Despite being in robot form, Muta Kokichi feels hints of a shiver prickle the back of his neck. His robot, resting against the wall of a house near Geto's hideout, is technically supposed to be patrolling the area, but since nothing typically happens around this time, he figured it was fine to give Mechamaru some time to cool down. 

But apparently not today, Kokichi thinks sarcastically. Something dense wafts through the air: the presence of cursed energy. Mechamaru bolts up, shaking off his sleep-induced weariness, and assesses his surroundings. Immediately, he identifies the source of the cursed energy and relaxes. It's Choso, a cursed womb Mechamaru is forced to work with under Geto. Kokichi isn't overly wary of the half-curse -- compared to Mahito and Geto, Choso has simpler goals and is much easier to read. All he wants is revenge on the sorcerer, Sukuna's vessel, who killed his brothers. An understandable objective whose outcome Kokichi has no particular care for. If his plans for this Friday are fulfilled, he won't have to worry about Choso or the other cursed spirits in Geto's group again.

Mechamaru nods his head at Choso. Choso's face hardens, looking more brooding than ever. What annoyed him today? His brain makes the connection: probably because Dagon and Hanami were assigned to capture Sukuna's vessel while he wasn't. To think it would upset him this much...

From the darkness of Kokichi's room, he emits a huff. Curses really are one-dimensional. To a pitiful degree.

"Mechamaru," Choso addresses. He looks around, and then steps closer to Mechamaru. "Follow me."

Mechamaru frowns. "Why?" he asks. Choso's stern facade cracks, leaving a vaguely awkward expression on his face. He looks dismayed Mechamaru didn't immediately just follow him.

"I...have something to show you," Choso says. His eyebrows furrow in displeasure. "It's related to Itadori Yuuji."

Mechamaru straightens, listening more closely. "Sukuna's vessel?" he asks. He looks at Choso up and down suspiciously. "You haven't killed him, have you?" That would explain his shifty behavior.

Choso coughs. "No!" he says, with a bit more passion than needed. "I found-- just follow me and you'll see. Dagon and Hanami aren't around, so you're the only person I can ask about this."

Dagon and Hanami aren't around? Kokichi supposes that makes sense. They must have gone farther out to look for the vessel. How they missed the alleged evidence Choso is referring to, he has no idea. "Show me," he decides.

Choso nods quickly, sighing in what almost seems to be relief. "It's a few streets down from here. I'll walk you there."

"I could fly us there," Mechamaru offers. "To save time." He doesn't say this out of pure intentions: it's so that Mechamaru will have enough time to sleep before Geto comes back. His resting hours are sacred.

"Okay," Choso responds. Mechamaru's skin shifts as engines protrude from his elbows, igniting the air and warming his arms. He puts an arm around Choso's shoulders, with the half-curse putting his arm around Mechamaru's neck. Mechamaru doesn't bother asking if Choso feels secure, he just blasts off in the air.

"Where is it?" Mechamaru asks. His words are garbled by wind, but Choso seems to get the relative gist of what he's saying. Choso points to a stray building near a park. It seems like an abandoned mall, Kokichi notices as his robot flies closer to the building. It has several craters on the top floor. No wonder Choso brought him to investigate; some sort of altercation must have occurred, but between Sukuna's vessel and who?

The engines in Mechamaru's elbows and feet die down as the robot and the half-curse hover above the ground. Gently, they land on the ground outside the mall. Mechamaru senses it again -- a cluster of faint cursed energy. Sukuna's vessel could be inside the mall, possibly with someone else considering the amount of cursed energy he sensed.

He puts an arm in front of Choso and steps into the building. Choso trails behind cautiously. Once Mechamaru reaches the door to the staircase, his sense of cursed energy grows stronger.  "He's here," he tells Choso, and then opens the door.

Pink hair and a red turtleneck uniform: Sukuna's vessel perfectly matches his description as he stands on the first step of the staircase boldly. He doesn't look the slightest bit surprised to see Mechamaru with Choso, somewhat confusing Kokichi, but he sets it off. The vessel's presence just makes Mechamaru's job easier.

Choso closes the door behind Mechamaru and then stands in front of it, arms crossed. Mechamaru's eyes narrow. What? Choso isn't helping him capture Itadori? Before Mechamaru can begin to fathom this, someone walks down the stairs and takes a stand behind Itadori-- Todo Aoi. 

Kokichi's mind whirs, perhaps the fastest it may have done in a while. He's surrounded on both sides. Choso must have converted to Itadori's side, somehow. Maybe he struck up a deal with them? Todo with Itadori...maybe they went on the run together? Were they baiting him the whole time?

Nonetheless, each theory leads to one outcome: a 3 vs 1. Mechamaru might be able to win even in such an unfavorable circumstance, but since he's saving up all his cursed energy for Friday, he can't afford to expend the energy now. Most importantly, he can't afford to take any damage.

Mechamaru sighs, releasing his fists. "What do you want?" he asks. The only way he can escape this situation is through negotiation.

A smile cracks on Sukuna's vessel's face, unintentionally drawing Mechamaru's attention to a fissure-like scar bridging from his left cheek across his nose. "There's not much we want," he says. "We know you're the spy who's been leaking information to Kenja--uh, Geto's group about us."

Mechamaru is carefully stoic, not letting a single emotion flit through his face. So what? As degrading as this situation is for him, this conclusion could easily be deduced. 

"We also know that you made a condition for them not to harm Kyoto students, and they broke that rule," Itadori says.

Kokichi's eyebrows raise, unintentionally doing the same in his robot form. How would he know--? 

Itadori continues. "We also know you're planning to fight Mahito," -- Kokichi's eyebrows raise impossibly further, how could he know? -- "on October 19th." He winces. "And uh. You lose. Badly."

What the hell? Kokichi shivers. How could Itadori know his plans so well? To the exact date? Is this some sort of cursed technique he's using? The last part of Itadori's statement gnaws at Kokichi's mind, confirming a sinking feeling. He's planned for weeks about his rebellion against Mahito once he receives his new body, and how he'd spend his new life with his peers from Kyoto Tech. With Miwa. But if he lost...

The sinking feeling grows deeper in his chest. No, he can't accept this. Seventeen years of cursed energy, practically his entire lifespan, and it wasn't enough to deal with Mahito!? If that's the case, nothing he could do would grant him victory in that scenario.

Kokichi can't begin entertaining these doubts just days before his plan's execution.

"How do you know this," Mechamaru demands. Choso and Todo tense at his raised voice, no doubt ready to fall into action. Todo is understandable considering the rumors Kokichi's heard, but Choso...Kokichi still isn't sure why Choso is on Itadori's side.

Itadori winces. "This might sound unbelievable, but I'm from the future. A few months from now. Past... Shibuya." He trails off as he stares blankly past Mechamaru.

Shibuya. The word rings in Kokichi's head as Mechamaru scoffs. "Time travel? You expect me to believe that excuse, of all things? If you're going to lie, at least don't make it obvious."

"Itadori is not a liar!" Choso growls. Mechamaru scowls. Kokichi is even more confused about Choso's intentions. Does he actually like Itadori? Isn't Itadori the guy who killed Choso's brothers? 

"He's telling the truth," Todo confirms. "Mechamaru, despite our disagreements, you know I'm a smart person. Do you really think I would follow Itadori if he was lying so blatantly? Of course not. Naturally, I've done my own internal investigations to confirm his story and it all adds up. His truth is the only explanation possible for all of this."

Kokichi doesn't trust Todo at all, but he recognizes their similar intelligence, excluding Todo's unsavory intellectual flavor of crazy. If Todo believes Itadori, that adds a bit more credibility to Itadori's argument. And considering he knows about Shibuya...no, he could've heard about that from Choso. But speaking of Choso--

Mechamaru glances at the half-curse, who glowers in response. He seems protective of the murderer of his brothers for some incomprehensible reason. Choso's weird change in behavior could be attributed to Itadori's so-called time travel.

Itadori shakes out of his daze, making eye contact with Mechamaru. A shy grin forms on the vessel's face, and he steps off the staircase to get closer to Mechamaru. "Also," he says, now in a low whisper, "I know about Miwa and your feelings for--"

Mechamaru coughs loudly, interrupting Itadori. While the puppet can't blush due to its bark complexion, Kokichi is certainly feeling warm now. Fiery warm. "Ok, I get it," he hisses. "You're from the future. Now what do you want from me?"

Itadori's grin widens, and then it wobbles. "It's... not much," he repeats. His smile begins to fade as his face becomes more serious. "After Mahito's done transforming your body, please don't fight him. Just run."

Kokichi doesn't know whether to be surprised or annoyed. That was it? That was all Itadori wanted from him?

But at the same time, he's disappointed. If what Itadori is saying is true, that means he dies in the future. To think Mahito still finds a way to kill him after Kokichi uses seventeen years of cursed energy is just depressing, and somewhat shameful too. What use is Kokichi's cursed technique if he can't even use it to get revenge for the people he cares about? 

It bruises Kokichi's pride. "That's all?" Mechamaru asks. However, once Kokichi thinks about it more, it makes sense that Itadori won't ask more of him. There's no further role for Kokichi to play since he was supposed to die in four days anyway. "Nevermind. You have Choso as your spy, somehow. I don't have any other uses."

Itadori frowns. "I'm not warning you about your future because you are or aren't useful," he argues. "It's your choice whether you will run or not, but I'm telling you because I want to see you alive! Your classmates -- Miwa wants to see you alive! I can't handle..."

He trails off and sighs. "I'm just trying to prevent as many deaths as possible. Yours is the one I can prevent now, so please," his brown eyes shine with sincerity, "please just take my advice and run. I don't have any ill intentions, your death is the only reason I'm here now."

Kokichi is momentarily struck speechless. He can't comprehend why Itadori would go to such far lengths to save him. He tried to kill Itadori during the Kyoto Goodwill Event! There's no logical benefit to the vessel coming in person to persuade Kokichi. There's no real guarantee that Kokichi won't sell Itadori out immediately after this meeting. This kind of naive trust...

It's exactly what he sees in Miwa. The kind of heartfelt compassion to others that extends beyond logical reason.

Mechamaru's mouth presses into a line. "I will consider it," he says. It's a meager offer, but it brings unsurmountable relief to Itadori's face, and he begins smiling again.

"Thank you," Itadori says. 

Mechamaru rolls his eyes. "I didn't give any guarantees; I don't fully believe your time-travel shtick anyway. Have you been hiding here since you ran away?"

"Yeah," Itadori says sheepishly, looking at the holes in the ceiling of the staircase. "We're gonna move locations though since this mall is pretty wrecked." His stomach rumbles, and his face turns pink. "Do you have any food with you?"

A low gasp comes from Choso. "That's what I was forgetting," he whispers, staring at Itadori with horrified eyes. "You humans need food! When was the last time you ate?"

Itadori scratches the back of his neck. "Uh...Friday? I think?"

"Itadori/Yuuji!" Choso and Todo anguish. They frown at each other and then shift their attention back to the sheepish vessel. Mechamaru looks at him in mild awe. It's Monday. How could this brute of a human last several days without food?

"I can get some food from my stash," Mechamaru reluctantly offers. 

Itadori brightens. "Thanks Mechamaru!" 

Mechamaru rolls his eyes again. This guy is thankful for the weirdest things. "Whatever," he mutters.

10/19/2018 13:29.

The clock only seems to tick louder the longer Kokichi stares at it. October 19th: Today is the day he will live or die. Shape his fate, change his future. 

Despite his anxiety from the days leading up to this moment, now, he feels oddly tranquil. Mechamaru just had a conversation with Miwa, perhaps his last real one. And in little under a minute, the harbinger of his doom, Mahito, is scheduled to arrive and heal him. Kokichi reviews all the battle plans he had, the sequence of attacks he'll execute, and the dialogue he'll exchange.

After a minute, he feels ready. A minute later his door creaks open, allowing in the sun-illuminated figures of Mahito and Geto. From Kokichi's bathtub of blood and medical tubes, he smirks. "There you are," he says. "You're late, I was starting to think you forgot about me."

"I wouldn't make that mistake," Pseudo Geto reminds, a gentle smile on his face as though he didn't know what was going to happen next. "You know the terror of a binding vow better than anyone, right?"

Kokichi is tempted to roll his eyes, ignoring Mahito's complaints.  "...I wanted Muta to work at Shibuya as well, but there's no helping it," Pseudo Geto continues.

Kokichi's eyebrows furrow. "'Don't harm humans from the Kyoto School'," he quotes. "You're the ones who broke the binding vow first." 

Mahito shrugs. "Eh, but it was Hanami who--"

"Just heal my body," Kokichi scowls. "I don't intend to debate with you, you trash." Faintly, Kokichi wonders if calling Mahito trash was a step too far in taunting him, but his overwhelming feeling of vindication makes him ignore this.

Mahito's smile freezes as he looks at Kokichi, and then it turns into something more vicious. "I could always accidentally turn him into a caterpillar," he offers to Pseudo Geto.

"Mahito," Pseudo Geto warns. "A binding vow with another is completely different from a vow imposed on one's self. There's no telling the catastrophe brought about if you break the vow."

Mahito pouts. "Fine. Be grateful, trash." He puts a hand on Kokichi's shoulder and transfigures his bandaged, wrinkled body until it looks anew.  Kokichi doesn't have the time to admire the well-oiled machinery of his new body, though, because the murderous intent in the atmosphere increases twicefold.

"What? No frolicking?" Mahito asks faux-innocently. Kokichi carefully restrains his want to murder the curse. New body: attained. Now onto the next step of his plan.

"That's for after we're done here," Kokichi responds. 

Mahito puts a finger to his chin. "Hmmm, fair enough. Then." He raises his hands and activates his cursed technique. "Let's begin."

Kokichi's puppets rise from the shadows as he stares at Mahito. Pseudo Geto offers his assistance, but Mahito denies it. Kokichi hates that he finds relief in the curse's denial.

"Let's begin," Kokichi mutters, unleashing a wave of robots onto Mahito. They lunge forward, but Mahito magnifies his arm and crushes them all in one final swoop. And when he looks around...

Kokichi has left the room. Kokichi takes advantage of the distraction created by his robots to make a run for it. According to Itadori, he'll die if he stays any longer, and his life is not something Kokichi is willing to give up. His Ultimate Mechamaru will have to wait for another day.

Using his robots, Kokichi climbs over a wall barricading a forest. As he inhales, he notes the fresh scent of the air, something he couldn't notice when operating his robots. The sun's rays are unfamiliar to his skin, but it doesn't hurt him. After spending years in a dark room, Kokichi's first taste of true sunlight is delicious, albeit difficult for him to appreciate due to the high-stakes situation. Todo, Choso, and Itadori are on the other side of the wall, waiting for him to come down. But as Kokichi climbs down, he hears a cackle emerge from behind him. He instinctively jumps the remaining distance, landing on the ground. They have to go--!

"What is this?" Mahito crows from the top of the wall. Geto accompanies the curse. "I knew I sensed something odd. It was you, Itadori Yuuji!" 

Kokichi objectively knows that Mahito is the most pressing threat at the moment, but he's finding it difficult to look in Itadori's direction, for some reason. The sheer waves of murderous intent rolling off the vessel's body are deafening -- dense enough to make Kokichi's new body tremble at the knees. Choso looks vaguely sick, while even Todo finds it hard to stand. When Kokichi dares a glance at Itadori, he notices Itadori's pitch-black eyes and down-turned mouth. He's angry. Really angry.

But since Mahito is so far up, he can't sense the clear, obvious sign for him to stop talking. "Oh Yuuji~" Mahito taunts, and raises a transfigured hand. The hand is now shaped like a puppet sock, with dark, side-swept hair and stitched eyeballs. All of a sudden, blood drips from the puppet's head and eyes. Mahito grins. "How's this for a welcome present?"

The atmosphere has become so thick that Kokichi forgets how to breathe. He needs to survive. He needs to survive. 

"MAHITOOO!" Itadori roars. His body is soaked in cursed energy and he’s clearly ready to fight. Mahito cackles as Pseudo Geto's smile widens.

Kokichi scowls. Well crap. This isn't good. 

Chapter Text

A few days before October 19, 2018. ~12PM.

" Wait," Mechamaru says, pinching the brow of his nose in an exasperated fashion. He and the rest of Itadori's squad are sitting in a new secluded hideout they found. Mechamaru glances at Itadori wearily, and then recaps what the sorcerer has just told him. "So whenever you use a cursed technique, your body reverts to what your future-self looked like?"

Itadori shrugs sheepishly. "Yeah, kinda! It's hard to explain, but I think whenever I use a lot of my cursed technique or try to access a new cursed technique, it increases the rate my soul overwrites past-me's soul, leading to the changes in body. Like when I remembered how to use RCT and Blood Manipulation the other day, I got these scars." He points to his facial scar and then rolls up his sleeve to reveal a long cut on his upper right arm. Choso winces at the sight while Todo clears his throat.

"So, your soul and body are synchronizing?" Todo asks. Itadori nods, so he continues. "Do you know what percent your soul's synchronrization rate is at, now?"

"Uh." Itadori lifts his hand and begins counting, then shrugs. "I'm bad at math." Mechamaru rolls his eyes, and Choso elbows him in response. "Maybe about 40%? It doesn't synchronize at a consistent rate, it just kinda jumps up whenever I use an important technique. The body changes aren't following the previous timeline's sequence of events either, cuz in my timeline I got this face scar after..." He trails off and his expression hardens.

"After what?" Choso prompts. 

Itadori sighs and looks at Mechamaru. "This scar," he points to his face, "happened when I was fighting Mahito. But before that... I was fed eleven Sukuna fingers at once."

Mechamaru's eyes widen. Todo curses. "That was part of Geto's plan," Choso laments. "In our weekly meetings -- he's mentioned it before but I tuned it out because of my anger. Fifteen fingers at once, that would be..."

Choso doesn't need to complete his sentence for everyone to understand. Chaos, that's what it would be. Itadori balls his fingers into a fist, looking down ashamedly. "Hundreds...thousands of innocents were killed because of me, indirect or not."

Following that statement is a moment of silence for everyone to muse over their thoughts. For Todo, it is a moment to commemorate the sheer tragedy his best friend experienced in his timeline. For Mechamaru, it is a startling eye-opener to the massacre he would leave in his death if he failed in killing Mahito. For Choso, it is bitter reminder as he wonders how much of a hand he played in Shibuya's destruction. And for Itadori...

Itadori bites his lips and looks up. "I can't afford to lose control of Sukuna again," he says soberly. "I'm lucky I only got these scars from using RCT and Blood manipulation, but I don't know what will happen if I try using any other techniques. I'm not gonna rush anything this time -- I'll stick to what I have. No matter what, I won't let Sukuna take control again."

Unbeknownst to him, the scars underneath his eyes curve up into a smile. "No matter what," Itadori repeats.

Well crap, Todo reflects as Itadori dashes towards Mahito, fists alight with cursed energy. This plan is in the dumps. 

"IIIITADORI YUUJI!" Mahito screams back with a wide grin on his face. This seems to further Yuuji rage and he punches the wall Mahito is perched on so hard the wall trembles, cracks emerging as soon as Yuuji retracted his fist. Todo's eyebrows raise. He doesn't remember Yuuji being so strong in the past. Then, he glances at Choso and Mechamaru. Choso appears to be fixated on the man next to Mahito, while Mechamaru, or rather, Muta is standing cautiously. "Go!" he hisses to Muta. 

Muta frowns, for the first time appearing worried. "Go? I can't leave you with Geto and Mahi--"

"Just. Go," Todo enunciates. "If you die here, our entire purpose for coming is made useless. Take a train to somewhere with cell service and call for back-up. Go." 

Muta nods, mobilizing his robots to help carry him faster. Just as he's about to take off, he pauses. "You better not die," Muta says, eyebrows furrowed. "I don't like being in debt to anyone." 

Todo shoos him off, and Muta takes that as his sign to finally leave. Todo sighs. Finally, he has less variables to deal with. Now he can strategize how he and Choso will help Yuuji. He steps behind some foliage, hoping the trees and leaves could conceal him and Choso as he thinks. He doesn't know Mahito's cursed technique but Yuuji clearly does; Todo doesn't want to accidentally endanger Yuuji by rushing to his aid without any prior knowledge.

He grips the locket on his necklace. Think, Todo...! 

Mahito leans over the balcony of the wall. "You want me to come down that bad?" he taunts. "You must have missed me, Itadori!" 

The man standing next to Mahito -- Geto? -- pats his shoulder. "Keep him alive," the man reminds.

Mahito rolls his eyes. "Yeah yeah," he says leisurely. He stretches his arms and then forms fists. "I'm just gonna have some fun, Geto!"

Yuuji backs away from the wall, and then leaps onto it, taking one large step up the wall at a time. His hands grab onto the crevices in the wall to keep him anchored, and he continues hoisting himself up. Simultaneously, Mahito dives off the balcony, but Yuuji jumps off the wall at the last second and grabs Mahito's face with a single hand mid-air. Using his other arm to latch onto the balcony, he hauls himself over and smashes Mahito's face into the wall. Mahito barely has a moment to groggily regain his balance before being barraged with a series of cursed energy infused punches.

Todo raises his eyebrows, impressed by Yuuji's reaction time, but another pressing matter takes his focus. Geto...where has Todo heard that name before? The answer comes to him instantly: he was the man behind the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. Wasn't the mastermind killed by Gojo? How did he survive?

No--Todo doesn't have enough time to figure that puzzle out. He needs to find a way to help Yuuji. A way...

"Choso," Todo addresses, having some semblance of a plan forming. "Do you know what Mahito's cursed technique is? We need to help Yuuji get away."

But the half-curse isn't listening. "Stitches..." Choso mutters, the first word he's said since Yuuji began attacking Mahito. He's still fixated on Geto, and his body is slowly emitting cursed energy. The black stripe on the bridge of his nose glows red. "Both Geto...Kamo..." His expression turns cold with fury. "Noritoshi Kamo!"

A few birds fly away at the yell. Todo nearly curses. Shit-- Choso's just outed their hiding place. And Noritoshi Kamo? It can't be the Kyoto student, so is he referring to the most infamous sorcerer in jujutsu history?

Geto turns his attention from Mahito to Choso, then raises a single eyebrow. The sunlight illuminates the stitches on his head while his calm smile remains in place. "Took you long enough."

Choso makes a frustrated screech. "How dare you! You...you tried to make me kill my brother!" Choso shouts, breathing labored. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" 

"Choso, don't--" Todo tries to hold back Choso, but Choso breaks past him, sprinting to the wall. He aims a beam of blood at Geto. Geto side-steps it elegantly. 

"You'll have to try harder than that," Geto says lightly. Todo assesses the situation: Yuuji's giving Mahito a one-sided beatdown and Choso is challenging Geto to a fight.

Well shit, he reflects. His plans have really gone out the window now. This should make him upset, but for some reason, his veins hum with the excited pump of blood flow. Two opponents with unknown cursed techniques....

He bares a grin. Here's another chance to test his strength. Besides, it would be good for him to get a first-glance look at Geto and Mahito's cursed techniques: good for his future plans. And he'd be lying if he wasn't feeling excited by the bloodlust emitted from Yuuji and Choso.

"Wait up, Choso," he calls. Yuuji seems to be handling Mahito pretty well, so he might as well aid Choso in confronting Geto while also keeping an eye out for Yuuji. Neither of them could afford for Yuuji to go overboard.  "I'll assist you."

Choso nods grudgingly. Todo claps his hands, and suddenly finds himself on the interior of the wall, looking down on Choso. Choso takes advantage of the confusion to fist-fight Geto. Todo slides down the wall and claps again, swapping Choso's kick with his own punch. Geto is frustratingly imperviable to their attacks, however, somehow effortlessly blocking each blow. He grabs Todo's arm, presumably to flip him over, but Todo swaps with Choso again, who lands a hit on Geto's face. 

Geto wipes the line of blood flowing off his nose. "Todo Aoi, yes," he says ominously."Your swapping technique is quite intriguing." Geto's thin smile sends a sinister chill down Todo's spine. He shrugs it off. 

"Geto Suguru," Todo responds in an equally measured tone. "Or should we say Noritoshi Kamo. You're not getting past us."

Geto lets out a small laugh and then smirks. "We'll see about that."

As Mahito stumbles to his feet, a sharp pain surges through his nose. It's bent askew, but after a few seconds, it morphs back to normal. Mahito's grin broadens. "Looks like you've... gotten stronger," he chokes between breaths. 

The raging Itadori barely spares him a moment of refuge before breaking his nose again, and then several of his ribs. Mahito hides his wince. Sheesh, these punches hurt! Somehow, each one was targeting his soul; he needs to get away fast. Mahito transfigures his arms into wings and flies above Itadori. He twists the flesh on his sides into two long arms that smash the walkway Itadori stands on. 

To think Itadori developed his skills this much...that means Itadori must have been training hard for this confrontation! The thought reinforces the smile on Mahito's face. It's touching, but Mahito needs to crush Itadori's confidence before the sorcerer gets too powerful. 

Itadori dodges the two hands crashing onto the wall and clasps his hands together. A second later, a tear rips into Mahito's left wing and it fails him. He begins plummeting, but quickly remodels another left wing. That was bad--what did Itadori do? Itadori's hands are still pressed together; a pearl of blood hovers in front of them. Just as Mahito's regained his balance, a beam of blood rushes forward, rupturing his right wing. Mahito's forced to crash now -- but he can decide where he'll land. There's a lake on the interior side of the wall; if Mahito can just transform himself into a fish, he could dive into the lake and launch a sneak attack on Itadori.

Itadori is impressive, Mahito thinks. But at the end of the day, he's still human. I'll win, I'm sure--

And suddenly, four orbs of blood hover over the surface of the lake. Mahito adds wings to the heels of his feet to stop his descent, floating above the orbs now. The orbs--they have blood encased in them, right? That's the same as Choso's technique, but how can Yuuji use it? And why use place them above the water instead of shooting at Mahito again?

The answer hits him, but by then, it's too late. The orbs of blood detonate, creating an explosion that hurls Mahito upwards against the wall. Mahito's legs have burned off, forcing him to recreate small wings on his back to propel him upwards. Itadori grabs Mahito by his hair and drags him over the balcony of the wall back onto the walkway. Mahito's body stumbles over the rough parts of the balcony, but by the time he's completely on the walkway, his legs have finally regrown. He ignores the slight chills travelling through his body -- probably just his nerves acting overshot. Mahito is still in an advantageous position; he grabs Itadori's wrists and hoists himself onto Itadori's back. There, now that he's taken care of the source of the Blood Manipulation, Itadori's hands, he can freely fight Itadori. 

Mahito forces himself to think. He can’t transfigure Itadori’s soul and he’s not as skilled at martial arts so what can he do to hurt Itadori Yuuji…

The only option available is a Domain Expansion. Mahito gets thrown onto the pavement, but this does nothing to break his stream of thought. How can he get around Sukuna’s interference? A normal domain expansion would instantly be shot down, but maybe something shorter?

A shorter domain expansion…Mahito’s eyes widen. Yes! A domain expansion for such a small length of time Sukuna would think it’s insignificant, but if Mahito can use the time wisely, he could instantly kill Itadori!

Mahito opens his mouth, miniature hands popping out of it, and casts a domain expansion. Or at least, he tries to, before his vision goes dark and he comes face-to-face with Sukuna. The pink-haired man reigns on his throne of bones, looking down amusedly at Mahito. 

"I take it I'm safe here, right Sukuna?" Mahito states arrogantly. He knows Sukuna respects strong individuals like him -- curses who get straight to the point. "It's you we're talking about. You must have some sort of agreement with Itadori. But I won't let that happen -- he'll be dead before you switch with him."

"So..." Mahito falters. Sukuna doesn't look afraid in the slightest. If anything, he's grown even more bemused, and the subtle arrogance in his smirk is starting to annoy Mahito. "Just shut up and watch."

Sukuna leans into his throne and raises an arched eyebrow. "Just keep agonizing him, Mahito. That's all I need."

A low growl escapes from Mahito's throat as his surroundings change. Sukuna was blatantly looking down on him, and it makes Mahito's blood boil with anger. "Domain Expansion!" he yells. Large hands emerge from behind Mahito as the domain expansion kicks into effect, with the sky turning black and his hands metamorphosing by the milisecond. Mahito can almost taste his elation now -- he can transfigure Itadori’s soul! Itadori shouldn't have a counter to this!

Then, Mahito feels a push against his soul. And 0.5 seconds later, the sky returns to blue, with Itadori remaining untouched. 

Mahito stares at Itadori in horror. “What?” he wheezes. “That should’ve — how did—“

And then he realizes. “Simple domain,” he whispers. He’s torn between laughing and screaming, but somehow forces a deranged grin on his face. “Divergent fists, Black flash, Blood Manipulation, and now Simple Domain?” 

Even though Mahito’s the one saying it, the statement brings a shiver down Mahito’s spine, one he desperately tries to bite down. He stands up sluggishly. “You really…you really got an upgrade, Yuuji!”

I need to become better, Mahito thinks feverishly. I need to evolve.

Itadori kicks him in the stomach, and Mahito’s back hits the end of the walkway, backed up against the balcony. Itadori walks up to Mahito  slowly. For some reason, Mahito starts clamoring backwards. The action does not root from intimidation — it can’t! Mahito is a natural predator, he doesn’t get intimidated.

I need to…

But as Mahito shakily makes eye contact with Itadori Yuuji, he could practically feel his soul squeeze with terror. Itadori’s abyss-dark eyes seemed to nail Mahito to his place in the same way a person would pin down a butterfly to a dissecting board. Normally, Mahito would try to rile up Itadori with some outrageous phrase, but this time, he gets the odd sensation he can’t. Itadori’s grim, down-set mouth and emotionless eyes convey nothing to make fun of.

I need to get the hell out of here.

This feeling seeping into Mahito’s limbs, this bone-cold chill in the face of his pursuer, it could be nothing but the elusive ‘fear’ he’s heard so much about. This disgusting emotion clogs up Mahito’s throat, and something akin to a wail escapes him.

It’s only then he pays complete attention to the state of Itadori’s soul. Before their fight, he noticed the shape of the soul’s outline had changed but couldn’t focus much on it, but now, it’s on full display in front of him. The sight is equally grotesque and fascinating. Itadori’s soul is a chimera: an imprint of a soul, the one Mahito is familiar with, and another darker outlined soul devouring the former. 

It rattles Mahito’s nerves. Not even Geto had a soul as complex as this. Mahito had previously thought he and Yuuji were the same due to their shared task of killing, but now…

”You…” Mahito wheezes, fighting the pressure in his chest to speak. “You really…are…me!”

This lack of compassion…the brutal unmerciful tactics Itadori was using…it’s exactly what a curse would do! Exactly what Mahito would do — if maybe even crueler.

Itadori doesn’t even flinch at the comparison, drowning the last bit of hope Mahito had at taunting him. ”So?” he responds. “You’re the start of my misery. I’ll be the start of yours.”

Damn. Mahito wants to throw up.

Itadori raises his hand and forms a hand signal Mahito has never seen before: his index and middle fingers are flexed while the rest of his fingers are down.

Mahito has a strangely foreboding sense that whatever technique Itadori uses next will be the end of it for Mahito. And perhaps, the tipping point for Itadori if his soul is anything to go by.

A shout interrupts Itadori’s next actions. “YUUJI!” A tall, buff man shouts. “DON’T OVERDO IT!”

Badump. Badump.

All Mahito can hear in the ensuing silence is the sound of his heartbeat.

Badump. Badump.

Does his life really depend on a sorcerer’s faint echo? Mahito would complain about how disgusting that is, but he’s not in any situation to complain now. 

Itadori has his eyes off him, that’s all that matters. The tension on Mahito’s chest has decreased by a bit, but its still everpresently burdening Mahito.

Badump. Badump.

I need to get the hell out of here!

With his last stamina, Mahito transfigures himself into a fly and gets away from the wall. The transformation holds for a few seconds, and then he finds himself plummeting again, right into Geto’s arms. 

Geto holds him, unperturbed. He doesn’t offer any words of solace, but the widening of his manic-scientist grin tells a story as they make a break for it.

Mahito’s heart still pounds in his ears. Badump. Badump. Badump.

So this is the taste of fear.

Mahito will never forget this moment as long as he lives.

Chapter Text

Whisps of shadow stretch beneath Megumi's feet as he stands over a lagoon of abyss. Beads of sweat roll down his face, but he pays them no mind. The shadows are his kin, he should have complete control over them. The darkness converges and builds upon one another to form an animal, or rather, multiple. A multitude of shikigami bunnies spring forth, hopping over the lagoon-like darkness and disturbing the croaking frogs hidden beneath the water. Megumi should have complete control over the darkness, but...

Megumi drops his hands, and the attempt at a domain expansion disappears, the stretch of darkness retreating into his shadow. The faint sensation of blood dripping from his nose registers as he tries to assess his latest attempt. He's made progress -- his domain expansion lasted longer and contained more shikigami than his previous tries -- but it's not enough. Megumi is still struggling to infuse it with a barrier. 

"'Winning by dying' and 'winning even if you die' are two completely different things, Megumi." Gojo's words replay in his mind. When he cast his first domain expansion, these words motivated him to go beyond his limits, but now they burden him more than ever. If Megumi really wants to avoid his early death and more importantly, the deaths of others, he needs to master his domain expansion. But how? And in such a short time?

He tugs on his bangs, letting out a frustrated sigh as he takes a seat on the gym floor. Today is October 19th. There are only 12 more days until the Shibuya massacre; this fact stresses him and Kugisaki to no end. Megumi needs to be at his prime state to prevent as many casualties as possible. 

Around 9:20PM : Gojo Satoru is sealed. Because of Gojo's trip to Antarctica, he now has a tool that can counteract his sealing. Megumi should be reassured by this, but he isn't. Megumi hasn't even heard of cursed object that can seal humans -- just who are the people targeting Gojo? 

The gym door creaks open and Gojo's head pops out. "Hey there Megumi!" Gojo greets. "Still working on your domain expansion?"

"Yeah," Megumi grunts. The toll on his cursed energy is starting to kick in, making him feel somewhat winded. He tries to rise from the floor, but on second thought, decides to stay there. He needs a break to recover his strength. 

Back to his previous train of thought: who is after Gojo? The curses from the Kyoto Goodwill event could be involved, but they aren't rational enough to strategize the attack on Shibuya so well. No, there must be a coordinator -- a hidden figure manipulating them from behind the scenes. But why? And for what purpose?

A finger flicks his head, and he winces, reflexively swatting the hand away. The source of the hand is Gojo-sensei, who stands above Megumi with an amused expression on his face. "Stop thinking so hard, Megumi," he teases. "You're going to fry all your brain cells."

Megumi rolls his eyes, taking Gojo's hand as he gets up. "I made some progress with my Domain Expansion," he says as they leave the gym.  

Gojo grins. "That's good! I'm glad you're taking this so seriously." Gojo pauses by the gym door. "But Megumi, don't forget that a jujutsu sorcerer's growth--"

"--isn't linear and sporadic understanding can massively increase mastery of the technique," Megumi completes. He raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. How many times has he heard this? "I know, but I'd rather spend my time trying to practice instead of just waiting around for Halloween to roll around."

"And that's admirable!" Gojo says as they exit. He slings an arm around Megumi's shoulder. "But don't get burned out while trying to practice: you need your cursed energy for when we do actual missions. Test out your techniques in battle -- that's how you would be able to make more advancements!"

Megumi's raised eyebrow remains arched. This is a rare moment of Gojo actually giving good advice. Megumi's somewhat surprised by this, so all he mumbles is a "Yeah, sure." Gojo pats his head and Megumi swats the hand away. 

The two walk down the hallway. Megumi isn't sure where Gojo is taking him to, or if Gojo even has a destination in mind. There were many occasions in the past when Gojo would just stroll around Jujutsu Tech for no reason except to irritate people, and most of the time, Megumi was the victim.

"So..." Gojo starts, just as Megumi is beginning to treasure the silence. "I hear Inumaki's pillowcase is missing. You know -- the green one with meme frogs."

Megumi stiffens. "...yes," he says carefully. "What about it?"

Gojo gives him a knowing look, to which Megumi averts his eyes. "Well, I had to console him by buying a replica of the pillowcase, and it was surprisingly hard to find! I sure hope whoever has Inumaki's pillowcase ends up returning it soon." Megumi can still feel the weight of Gojo's stare.

Megumi bites down his lip. Screw it, Gojo already knows he's the culprit. "Well maybe they wouldn't have stolen it if their only alternative wasn't a disgustingly pink Barbie pillowcase," he says, irritated.

This startles a laugh from Gojo. "But pink looks so good on you!" he teases, poking Megumi's cheek. "I should buy some Barbie merch in full stock--"

"--for yourself, maybe," Megumi interrupts. "Or Tsumiki, just definitely not for me." 

"Don't worry!" Gojo assures. "I already got Tsumiki some Barbie merch, she was very grateful for it." Megumi snorts. Like Gojo could tell that. Even though Megumi exorcised the finger-bearer curse, his sister still remains in a coma.

The thought sobers his irritation. Right...his poor sister is suffering all because of an encounter with a curse. The curses in Shibuya will be much stronger than the finger-bearer curse; they can do more dangerous things than putting people in comas. They can kill. They probably did kill many civilians in Itadori's timeline, and probably sorcerers too, based on the things left unsaid in Itadori's notebook. Itadori made a list of sorcerers involved in the culling games, and Nanami wasn't there. Neither was Gojo or Kugisaki. Megumi hid this fact from Kugisaki to avoid agitating her. Knowing such things will happen in the future, Megumi can't just stroll around. He needs to do something. "Gojo-sensei," Megumi addresses, shrugging off the arm on his shoulder. He stops walking. "I need to go back to training."

Gojo doesn't stop walking, but slings his arm on Megumi's shoulder, dragging Megumi with him. "You can do training after this," Gojo says. Megumi starts to recognize where they're walking to: this hallway leads to the cafetaria, and beside it is the lounge room, where students typically slack off and play games. He can identify a few voices coming from the lounge: Maki berating someone, Inumaki listing rice ball ingredients, and Kugisaki gloating. 

"If you're going to make me waste time, at least tell me why," Megumi grumbles. He doesn't understand why everyone is there -- especially Kugisaki! She knows the important events in the future and Megumi saw her training earlier in the day, so why did she stop now?

Gojo frowns. "Megumi, do you even know what time it is?" he asks, concerned. "It's 7PM, Yuuji and the others could arrive any minute now."

Oh. Megumi's eyebrows part in surprise. During lunch-time, he and Kugisaki received a message from Todo stating that Mechamaru was safe and Todo, Itadori and their ally would arrive at Tokyo Tech by evening. Megumi intended to wait for them, but he must have been so swept up in training that he lost track of the time.  "...Right," Megumi says stiffly. "Thanks, then."

"It's no problem, Megumi," Gojo says, wearing his usual carefree smile. Megumi wonders how he can be so positive when such an ominous future lurks ahead. Then again, Megumi has rarely seen Gojo rattled by anything. Maybe a side-effect of being the strongest is that you tend to worry less.

But Megumi remembers all the tight smiles Gojo gave in the past and notices his tension-wrought shoulders. As the strongest, Gojo has more to worry about than anyone -- he quite literally carries the weight of jujutsu society on his back. He isn't immune to worries, but maybe he's better at hiding them. 

"Gojo-sensei! Fushiguro!" Kugisaki greets as they enter the lounge. She's currently involved in what appears to be an intense game of Uno with Panda and Maki. "You losers finally came -- I was beginning to think you forgot or something."

Gojo gives Megumi a knowing look, and then smiles at Kugisaki. "Nope! No forgetfulness here. Hey, does your game have room for one more person?"

"Nope," Maki says, holding three cards close to her chest. "We're in the middle of something, find another game to join." Panda grunts in agreement.

Gojo pouts. "Pleaaase? You guys can't restart for your precious sensei?" Kugisaki looks affronted at the idea.

"Stop bothering the students," a deep voice says from behind Megumi. It's Nanami, standing with his back leaned against the wall as he looks at Gojo judgementally. Megumi nearly cringes. Gojo getting called out by another adult? That's embarrassing, but it's good entertainment for Megumi.

"Hah!" Kugisaki celebrates. She throws down her last card. "I win! Take that, Panda."

Panda puts down his last card too. "Well, at least I beat Maki," he says. "Again. How many times was that?"

"Shut it, Panda," Maki hisses, throwing her cards on the table. "We're having another rematch. That was just luck."

Gojo chirps in. "Can I join?"

"Nope," Maki says at the same time Panda says, "Yes." Gojo cheers as he takes a seat. Kugisaki excuses herself from the table and stands next to Megumi.

She taps her foot impatiently, drumming her fingers against nearby furniture. "When is that idiot coming back?" she mutters. "He should've been here by now. What if something--?"

"He's probably just running late," Megumi reasons, but it seems like neither him nor Kugisaki believe in the platitude. "Todo's with him, he would've texted us if something happened."

Kugisaki sighs. "I know. I know, but it doesn't stop me from worrying. I guess I'm just acting nervous, right?" She fishes for a nail in her bag and starts fiddling with it. "It's just, if Ita--Yuuji comes back, it'll mean that everything is real. His..." she looks around before speaking in a hushed voice. "...his time travel. What happens to Gojo-sensei. Shibuya. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not scared. I know we can prepare well enough to stop these bad things from happening if we have Yuuji's help, but it's just weird. To think all of this could genuinely happen. And has happened, in his future."

Megumi can somewhat relate. Sometimes he does find it hard to believe how utterly screwed Itadori's timeline was, but he has never doubted that Itadori was from the future. Mechamaru being the traitor confirmed that, but even before, Megumi genuinely believed that Itadori was from the future. Unlike Kugisaki, though, he had direct evidence -- Itadori practically confessed he was a time-traveler and the scar somehow materializing on his face affirmed the supernatural element involved. Kugisaki only had his testimony to go off of, so it makes sense she was finding it difficult to wrap her head around.

Megumi's back straightens as he catches sight of something outside the window. A tall man and...someone with pink hair. Megumi's eyes widen, and he whispers a small "Itadori's here" to Kugisaki before rushing for the door. Kugisaki matches him in speed, flinging the door open as her hand forms a fist. 

All conversation in the lounge comes to a halt as they take in the scene. Standing outside is a sheepish Itadori Yuuji, with Todo and the cursed womb (?) standing by his side. Itadori's uniform is as torn up and bloody as his face, while his pink hair's sheen is dampened by dirt.  Megumi can spot a long gash on the side of Itadori's right arm, and most notably, the scar trailing from his right eyebrow to his left cheek. Kugisaki fixates on the scar with a horrified expression on her face. Itadori's weary eyes meet Megumi's, and then the eyes sweep the room, finally lingering on one person, a student Gojo brought in after his trip to Antarctica. The student stares back, confused.

"Yuta," Itadori whispers. He huffs, and a small smile forms on his face. He looks around the room again. "Everyone's...safe." 

Then, as if all the energy was drained from Itadori, he stumbles forward, falling onto Kugisaki. Kugisaki releases her fists to catch him in a hug, but she looks obviously overpowered by Itadori's weight. Megumi helps her hold him, putting one of Itadori's arms on Kugisaki's shoulder, and the other arm on his. He looks at Todo questioningly. What happened to Itadori?

"He's probably exhausted," Todo responds, frowning sadly. 

"We've had a lot of fights," the cursed womb adds. "Yuuji needs to get rest."

Kugisaki gives a suspicious glare to the curse. "How are we supposed to know you didn't hurt him?" she demands. "What's your technique?" 

The cursed womb scowls, glaring at Kugisaki. "I would never hurt Yuuji!" he says heatedly. "He's my brother! Who are you to be asking me this?"

Todo stops the curse. "Choso's cursed technique is Blood Manipulation," he says calmly. "He's an ally. Can we talk about this more inside?" 

Kugisaki and Megumi reluctantly step out of the doorway, letting Todo and Choso come in. Something Todo said bothers Megumi...Blood Manipulation? How is Choso able to use the cursed technique of the Kamo clan?

Megumi wants to question Todo and Choso further, but the weight of Itadori on his shoulder reminds him of a more pressing matter. "We should take Itadori to his room," he says to Kugisaki. "He needs the sleep."

Kugisaki nods quietly, but her eyes remain fixated on Itadori's facial scar. The two shoulder past a few students to get past the lounge, and then haul Itadori down the corridor to his room. Although the room is messy because of Kugisaki and Megumi ransacking it the other day, at least the bed has been made. They gently offload Itadori on the bed and cover him with a blanket.

The moonlight illuminates the scratches and blood on Itadori's face, contrasting his peaceful expression. His closed eyes make it easier to observe the dark circles underneath them, while his smiling lips are cracked and dry, with a small scar on the right side. Megumi can spot patches of blood and dust in Itadori's hair, and faintly wonders if he and Kugisaki should have changed Itadori's uniform before letting him sleep. A week without a bed to sleep on and food to eat paired with constant fighting and cursed energy exhaustion accumulated to this.

Kugisaki finally tears her eyes away from Itadori's scar. She looks at Megumi with a sober expression, and then back at Itadori. "So, it's real," she says, her voice devoid of emotion.

Megumi sighs, resigned. His back slides against the wall, and he stares at Itadori's peaceful face.

The time-travel. What happens to Gojo-sensei.

Shibuya.

Their deaths.

"Yeah," Megumi admits. "It's real." 

Chapter Text

A brown ceiling, a wooden floor, and a small bed: Yuta Okkotsu's room looks the same as it did seven months ago, and yet, the surroundings seem to have changed so much. Maki, Panda, Inumaki and him are now second years, and the new first years seem to be a particularly rowdy bunch. And one of them being Sukuna's vessel...

Yuta sighs as he gets off his bed, making his way to the cafeteria for breakfast. Gojo explained the current situation to Yuta while they were on the plane back to Japan. The story is kind of mind-boggling, it's enough to make Yuta's head spin. He could have predicted many things about this year, but time travel? Not on his list. 

Sukuna's vessel -- no, Itadori Yuuji, seemed to have recognized Yuta last night before he promptly collapsed though. Maybe Yuta and Itadori are well-acquainted in Itadori's future? Yuta hopes they can get along well: he's heard a lot of stories about Itadori's character from the first years and the stories painted Itadori as a friendly guy.

"Yuta," Gojo greets cheerfully, waiting outside the entrance of the cafeteria. Yuta smiles and greets him back, about to enter the cafeteria before Gojo holds him back. "Nope," Gojo says as he pushes Yuta away from the entrance. "They're having a moment."

Hm? Yuta's eyebrows crease and he peeks into the cafeteria, confused by Gojo's actions. A black-haired student, Fushiguro (?), cradles a mug of coffee as he scowls at Itadori indignantly. A brown-haired student, Kugisaki (?), steps out of her seat, making large hand gestures and communicating something Yuta can't hear. Itadori winces, and his hand scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. Kugisaki seems to be leading the tirade, while Fushiguro makes brief interjections at points where Kugisaki seems too tired to continue. Itadori doesn't respond, looking down at the floor with a conflicted expression on his face.

No wonder Gojo prevented Yuta from entering. The first years seem to be having a serious conversation with Itadori. Yuta wouldn't want to break the brewing emotional tension in the room. 

"His friends...they really care for him, huh?" Yuta whispers, after a few minutes. "Yesterday, Kugisaki was saying she would punch Itadori the second he got back, but look at her now. And I think this is the most emotion I've ever seen from Fushiguro."  At least, in the past few days he's seen Fushiguro. The first year seemed like the stoic, impassive kind, but now he looks uniquely vexed. 

A smile tugs on Gojo's lips. "Yeah," he says fondly. "They were really worried about him." There's an oddly longing look in Gojo's eyes, as if he wished to be part of Kugisaki and Megumi's tirade parade. Yuta wonders if Gojo was worried about Itadori too.

Yuta glances at the rest of the cafeteria and notices that other than the first-years, the room is empty. Weirdly empty, for this time in the morning. "Where's Maki and Inumaki?" Yuta asks. "Aren't they usually up at this hour?"

Gojo snickers. "Once Yuuji arrived, Maki said something about 'sensing an argument was going to start' and left with Inumaki. I was going to leave too, but I got a message from...." he scowls, looking Yuta directly now, "...from Gakuganji. The higher-ups want a meeting with you and Yuuji, ASAP."

Yuta distantly remembers his previous experience with the higher-ups, when they issued him the death sentence and he agreed to it. Those were dark times and he's matured in his self-confidence much more since then, but the thought of the higher-ups still leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. They were the kind of psychos willing to execute a sixteen year old for the greater good. Who knows what they would do if they realized one of their greatest threats, Sukuna's vessel, had also come from the future?

"Do we have to attend now? Can't we put it off?" Yuta asks. How did the higher-ups even find out about Itadori's disappearance in the first place? Yuta knows the first and second years have a strained relationship with Principal Gakuganji, so it had to be from another source. Did someone from Kyoto Tech tip them off?

Gojo shakes his head. "Technically we could just ignore them, but I'd rather we deal with the meeting now. It'll be easier to plan for the future if we know what plans the higher-ups have. And besides," he winks conspiratorally, "we won't tell them everything. In fact, we'll barely tell them anything."

Gojo looks into the cafeteria again, and Yuta follows his gaze, stopping at the first years. The tense atmosphere from earlier has mostly diffused; they seem to have come to an agreement about something. Itadori takes a seat at their cafeteria table and accidentally knocks over Fushiguro's coffee mug, spilling its contents out onto the table. Kugisaki snickers at Fushiguro's betrayed frown, and Itadori apologizes sheepishly as he pats the area dry with a towel. Fushiguro waves him off, but the disgruntled expression remains, similar to an irritated cat. Then, Itadori catches sight of Gojo and waves at him. Gojo grins and gestures for him to come over. 

"Yuuji!" Gojo greets happily. "How's your morning been?"

"Pretty good!" Itadori glances at Yuta with unveiled curiosity. Then, a complicated emotion arises in his eyes and he looks away. "Did you need me for something?"

"Yup," Gojo confirms, beginning to walk away from the cafeteria now. Yuta and Itadori follow him. "The higher-ups want to hear why Yuta returned from his trip to Africa early, and more importantly, they want to know what you've been doing for the past week. Listen, here's the story we're going with: you..."

The Jujutsu Headquarters is dark and shadowy, with only the dull glow of candles to illuminate the room. The higher-ups are equally as shadowy -- they sit hidden behind doors that encircle Itadori, Gojo, and Yuta, presumably to appear as eerie as the location. Yuta doesn't find it intimidating, on the contrary, he finds their concealment a stark sign of cowardice. How these people controlled jujutsu society while hiding behind a screen, Yuta cannot fathom.

Itadori continues speaking. "...I was training with Gojo-sensei during this week. Since I don't know much about cursed techniques, Gojo-sensei wanted to teach me some more theory and let me see some one-on-one action with other curses." 

All of that is a lie, of course, but what really matters is whether the higher-ups perceive it as such. Itadori did a good job of relaying his message, despite starting off a bit awkward, he finished with a serious expression, though he still looked somewhat uncomfortable. It was a remarkable delivery for someone who was just told the script on the drive to here.

Yuta wonders if the doors concealing the higher-ups are partially transparent; if it isn't, there wouldn't be a reason to worry about Itadori's facial expressions or his scars. But if it is see-through on their side...

Yuta holds back a scowl. He hates that he's guessing for these crucial clues. The dim spotlight and encirclement of the doors makes Yuta feel like he's an organism being examined under a microscope, or an insect running around in someone's palm: helpless to the whims of the observer. Though perhaps that's the purpose of this room's design -- to strip away any sense of superiority or arrogance a person may have, special grade status or not.

It's annoying.

Finally, a low, sneering voice echoes from behind a door. "That's not the information we were told," Principal Gakuganji says. "Several reliable sources told us that you, Itadori Yuuji, had disappeared. Presumably kidnapped, some said."

The hostility in his voice is so apparent that Yuta fights the urge to reach for his katana. Just stick to the plan, he reminds himself. We can't afford to look untrustworthy.

"That was part of our plan," Gojo says. Now it's his turn to explain, and he does so with his usual, carefree smile. If Yuta didn't know better, he would think Gojo was telling the truth. "As you already know, there's a mole who gave out information about us, leading to the attack during the Kyoto Goodwill event. Utahime and I deduced that the mole must have come from the Kyoto Tech Schools, so we created the rumor that Yuuji disappeared as bait for the mole. A few days after, my students visited the Kyoto Tech school and discovered a Kyoto student, Muta Kokichi, was missing, proving that he must have been the leak."

A disgruntled silence follows as the higher-ups digest this information. "Then why bring Okkotsu?" One of the higher-ups ask. "There was no need to interrupt him from completing his missions in Africa."

It's time for Yuta to step in. "For back-up," he says. "Gojo explained the situation to me on the phone and I offered to come back to support him. I already learned everything I could from Africa, and to be honest, I was really missing Japan anyway." He scratches the back of his neck, forcing a smoothly sheepish smile on his face. Slouched shoulders, accentuated eyebags, and fidgeting hands -- Yuta is using his experience with being bullied to amplify a message of low self-esteem. He wants the higher-ups to think he has nothing to hide, and the easiest way to do so is to appeal to their sense of ego. Here is a young, powerful, and lowly jujutsu sorcerer. 'Trust me', is what Yuta hopes he conveys. 

If the higher-ups want an organism to inspect, or an insect to observe in their palm, Yuta will gladly deceive them into thinking he is one.

Someone takes the bait. "Enough with Okkotsu," the person says, hints of condescension in their voice. "We need to hear more about the traitor. What happened to Muta Kokichi? Is he alive?"

"Yuta and I safely retrieved Muta from the curses, and he arrived at Kyoto Tech last night," Gojo responds. "We plan to inter--"

But one of the higher-ups interrupts Gojo. "If he's at Kyoto, we can just request him next," the person mutters, presumably to the other authorities next to him. "Get the information out of him and then punish him for his betrayal."

"Yes," Gakuganji agrees. "Naturally he should get the death penalty, like what should've happened with Geto Sug...ur...u..."

Yuta's eyebrows raise. Bringing up Geto? That was possibly the worst decision the principal could've made. 

The principal trails off as the door in front of him shakes. Gojo grabs the top of the door, bending it backwards as he cranes his head over to look at Gakuganji menacingly. Even though Gojo's eyes are covered by blindfolds, Yuta gets the sense he can see right through the higher-ups, literally and figuratively. 

Sounds of protest erupt, but they are silenced by Gojo's sigh as he looks behind Gakuganji's door, glancing in both directions to get the full scope of the higher-ups. "Muta Kokichi will not be executed," Gojo intones. "Utahime and I will lead his interrogation since we're most qualified to do so. He will be punished, but it will not be execution. Are there any complaints?"

Principal Gakuganji growls. "You're being too brazen," he hisses. "How dare you disrespect us in our own headquarters!"

"Oh yeah?" A loud creaking noise echoes as Gojo peels the door further. His sadistic grin widens. "What are you going to do about it?" 

Yuta stifles his smirk. This whole time, Yuta was irritated by the condescending placement of the doors and lights, but Gojo never felt that. While Yuta felt like an organism under observation, Gojo was always on the same plane of sight as the observer considering he could literally see right through the doors. And now Gojo was making that painfully apparent.

What a monster, Yuta marvels. Gojo broke the atmosphere of superiority along with the door. Yuta glances at Itadori and finds him staring at Gojo in open awe, along with hints of...nostalgia? Before Yuta can interpret that, someone speaks.

"Alright," a higher-up concedes. "We agree to your terms, however, we want one of us to be present during the interrogation."

"Hmmm." Gojo pretends to ponder on it. "Nope, no can do!"

The higher-up exhales frustratedly, voice raised a notch. "Listen, Gojo, we refuse to just rely on your word alone for the interrogation--"

"Listen, higher-ups!" Gojo parrots. He's blatantly mocking them at this point. "We can't afford to have the results of the interrogation compromised by your presence. The poor kid would be much too intimidated. Utahime will send you a voice recording of the questioning."

This strikes a nerve in the authorities. "Technology!" someone hisses. "Do not patronize us, Gojo Satoru--" 

Creeeak! The door bends backwards even more, to the point where Yuta can almost see Principal Gakuganji's entire body.

"Fine," the same higher-up from earlier says, tone distinctly annoyed. "If that's the best you can provide, I suppose we can take it."

Supporting grumbles echo from behind the other doors. Gojo grins satisfactorily and releases his hold on the board, letting it spring back into place. There are some leftover creases from where Gojo bent, to Yuta's humor.

As the higher-ups begin discussing more mundane things with Gojo, it becomes clear that Yuta and Itadori are out of the red, so Yuta reflects on the meeting. He thought it would be somewhat stressful, but having Gojo by his side made the meeting entertaining. The different approaches they all made to the meeting was pretty fascinating too -- Yuta took advantage of their egos to assert his point, Gojo straight up obliterated their egos to prove his point, and Itadori...

Yuta gazes at Itadori with a contemplating expression. He can't recall Itadori acting any differently when Itadori was sharing his part of the story, except maybe that he was more uncomfortable than usual. Perhaps Itadori knew the higher-ups were looking down on him and didn't care?

Yuta suddenly feels more curious about Itadori Yuuji. He wants to learn more about the sorcerer. While they shared a pleasant conversation on the drive to Jujutsu Headquarters, Yuta didn't really learn much about Itadori's personality or his time-traveling experience, he only managed to confirm that Itadori was familiar with him, something he already guessed prior to the drive. Sukuna's vessel, a student of Gojo's, and a time traveler? Itadori is such an enigma.

"So," Yuta starts, once they walk out of the headquarters. "What's next, Gojo-sensei?"

Itadori looks up expectantly at Gojo, even though he already looks like he knows the answer. "Now, we plan," Gojo says. "As soon as we get back to Jujutsu Tech, we're having a strategy meeting."

The conflicted expression from earlier arises on Itadori's face, and he reluctantly nods. "To prevent...more people from dying," Itadori whispers to himself. Yuta unintentionally picks up on the whisper and frowns. Did he hear that wrong?

He shrugs off the odd feeling. "So, Itadori, you said we know each other in the future, right?"

Itadori smiles, but it's tinged with sadness. "Yeah. You can call me 'Yuuji', by the way. That's uh, what you call me in the future."

They're on a first-name basis? Yuta smiles back. He must be good friends with Yuuji, then. "Sure, Yuuji! How did we first meet in your timeline?"

Itadori's smile widens at the mention, and then something must have spoiled his mood, because his eyebrows crease and the smile turns wistful. He shakes his head and huffs. "You'll hear about it in the strategy meeting, I guess."

Huh. What a strange reaction. Yuta didn't do anything weird in the future, did he? Or worse, did Rika?

Just what happened in Itadori's future?

Chapter Text

October 11, 2018. ~3AM.

”Uh, Gojo-sensei,” Yuuji says, unclenching his fist to scratch the back of his head, “you wouldn’t happen to know if this is the afterlife, would you?”

Satoru pushes up his blindfold, revealing his strikingly blue eyes. Megumi and Yuuji are momentarily stunned, as they should be -- Satoru rarely shows others his eyes because of the strain it puts his eyes under. Seeing Satoru's eyes should snap Yuuji out of whatever daze he's in.

“This isn’t the afterlife,” he says, white eyelashes fluttering as he winks. “After all, I can’t die! I’m the strongest, Yuuji.”

But for some reason, Yuuji looks crestfallen at this statement. He frowns sadly, and his void-like eyes stare at Satoru as though they see past him. It's a strange feeling, considering Satoru is usually the one with too-perceiving eyes. “The strongest,” Yuuji echoes, and then looks at the shard of glass in his hand. He sighs, presumably having made a decision. “Gojo-sensei, could I talk to you?”

”Sure, Yuuji!” Satoru forces a grin. The view his six eyes are giving him of Yuuji's soul is jarring, to say the least. Something has definitely happened to Yuuji, but what?

“Alone, please?” Yuuji says, looking nervously at Megumi. 

”Sure!” he says, seemingly unperturbed. “I’ll take you to my headquarters!” Yuuji snorts and suddenly, the mood is lighter, just as Gojo intended.

“Thanks, Gojo-sensei!” Yuuji says, relief transparent on his face. After saying goodnight to Megumi, the two head to Satoru's 'headquarters' (aka his room). Yuuji takes several nervous glances at Satoru, but never quite manages to say something. This only serves to pique Satoru's interest -- what happened to Yuuji? Why is his soul in such an odd state? Satoru has never seen a soul that looks as complicated as Itadori Yuuji's, and he can't help but maintain a somewhat wary disposition considering Yuuji's previous violent actions to his room.

"So," Satoru says, once they arrive at his room, "what did you want to talk about?"

Yuuji bites his inner cheek, shifting his feet as he avoids Gojo's gaze. "I...I don't...I think I may have..."

"Hm?" Satoru prompts as he observes Yuuji's soul in more depth. His six eyes reveal two splotches of white in Yuuji, one symbolizing Sukuna's soul and the other symbolizing Yuuji's, but the outline of Yuuji's soul is strange -- there seems to be another lump of white eating into his soul, similar to a chimera. The lump is still small, but it's unlike anything Satoru has ever seen. Maybe it's the effect of a curse? But the only curse Satoru knows has the ability to change the soul is Patchface, the curse Yuuji fought a month ago. Could they have crossed paths again without Satoru knowing?

"I'm in the past, I think," Yuuji finally says. "This feels too real to be a dream." He looks at Satoru's blue eyes as though to confirm this. "A lot of bad stuff happens in the future, sensei -- a lot. I can't believe I'm here -- I get a chance to fix everything!" Yuuji huffs small laughter as a bittersweet smile grows on his face. "A do-over, just like in the movies!"

Satoru stares at him, so dumbfounded he forgets to smile. From the future? That explains the state of his soul. But..."What do you mean 'a lot of bad stuff happens in the future'?" Satoru asks. "I'm there to protect you all, right? Wouldn't I have dealt with the danger?"

Instead of answering, Yuuji inhales deeply and looks to the side, hands forming fists at his sides. Satoru's heart skips a beat. Huh? Why is Yuuji avoiding the question?

"You know you can tell me everything, Yuuji," Satoru tries, ignoring the anxious thoughts arising in his head. He must be jumping to conclusions. He has to be. "I'm there to protect you, right?"

Yuuji keeps his eyes on the ground, but his shaking fists and trembling chin betray his overwhelming emotions. "Yuuji," Satoru calls, but by now he already knows the answer. For the first time in a while, Satoru feels a chilling sense of dread, a sensation he'd almost forgotten since the death of Geto Suguru. 

Earlier, Yuuji asked Satoru whether they were in the afterlife. Why would Yuuji ask an alive person if he was in the afterlife? No, it had to mean Yuuji thought Satoru was...

Crap. Satoru refuses to believe this. His eyes implore Yuuji for an answer, but Yuuji continues staring at the ground, ignoring the thick tension hanging in the air. Finally, he speaks. "It's...complicated..."

Gojo Satoru saunters into the lounge and claims one of the comfy chairs, sinking into the seat as Yuuji and Yuta find places to sit. Satoru sent a message on the Tokyo Tech group chat telling everyone to come for an important meeting, so more students should arrive soon. And hopefully jujutsu sorcerers -- Satoru knows Nanamin stayed over last night in one of the empty dorms, but he still doesn't know where Mei Mei is. That woman must have realized Satoru caught onto her scheme because as soon as Satoru began looking for her, she went off the grid. Granted, he hasn't had much time to look deeply between all the chaos that was fetching Yuta and sorting out Yuuji's situation, but once this strategy meeting concludes, he should be able to put more time into finding her. There aren't many places she can run to discretely, anyway.

"Yo, Satoru," Maki calls, sitting next to Yuta and Inumaki at a table. "What did you call us for?"

Satoru surveils the room briefly. It seems like all of the students and Nanami have arrived. Even Todo and the cursed womb (Choso?) came, surprisingly. It looks like it's time for the meeting to start. Satoru sits up straight. "I'm sure you second-years must have been pretty confused about the situation," he starts, and grins when most of the second-years nod grumpily, "so I'll summarize the current situation: Itadori Yuuji is from the future."

Inumaki's eyebrows raise to an astronomical height and Maki starts choking on her water. "You're joking, right?" she asks incredulously. "Yuuji? A time traveler?"

Panda, who doesn't seem very surprised by this, just shrugs. "I'm a talking jujutsu panda and you think time travel is the weird thing?"

Maki opens her mouth to protest, and then upon further consideration, closes it. She sulks. "Fine, I guess. Is the time travel what made him disappear for a week?"

"Uh, kind of?" Yuuji says. Sitting next to him is Megumi, who winces at the answer. "I woke up in the past on Wednesday night and then..." his ears turn red "...I ran away on Friday. And that's how I met Choso! He's a good guy -- he protected me from some of the curses."

The cursed womb puffs up his chest at the reminder. "By the way, how can he use blood manipulation?" Megumi asks. "That's a technique only used by the Kamo clan." This is something Satoru is curious about too. Good on Megumi for asking it first.

The cursed womb winces. "My father is Noritoshi Kamo from the Kamo clan. He mixed his blood with my mother to pass down his techniques, and that's how I have blood manipulation." He's scowling by the end and his hands are clenched. Yuuji squeezes Choso's hand in sympathy and Choso relaxes, looking at Yuuji gratefully.

Choso doesn't seem to be harmful. While Satoru doesn't understand Choso's brother allegations, he can see how painfully obvious it is that Choso cares for Yuuji. It's to the point where Todo is starting to get jealous.

"...does Yuuji emit some strange pheromones?" Panda whispers in a low voice. Pfft-- Satoru bites down a laugh. Wait, no, everyone got side-tracked! This should be a strategy meeting, not a goof-off session. For the most part. 

"Okay going back to the time travel part," Satoru says, drawing everyone's attention, "Yuuji, can you explain the major events happening in the future? Like the one happening this Halloween?"

Yuuji smile fades, shoulders slumping as he walks over to the whiteboard in the center of the lounge, notebook in hand. He opens up the notebook, picks up a marker ,and begins scribbling on the whiteboard. "That event is called the Shibuya Incident," Yuuji starts. Gone is the light-hearted atmosphere from earlier -- Yuuji's change to a serious demeanor has made everyone else adopt the same. "On Halloween, around 7PM, a four hundred meter curtain was cast over Shibuya, trapping all non-sorcerers inside. Gojo Satoru was the only sorcerer allowed to enter. Three teams of students and teachers were sent to investigate and deal with curses in the area. At 8:30PM, Gojo-sensei enters the curtain. The natural disaster curses tried to overwhelm sensei by killing civilians. Mahito used his cursed technique to transfigure a train full of humans. The 4th team, me, Mei Mei, and Ui Ui, tried to stop the train in time but there was a curtain set up around the station, so by the time we got rid of the curtain, the train had already taken off to Shibuya. The transfigured humans were released into Shibuya. I'm not entirely sure what happened next, but around 9:20PM, sensei got sealed into a cursed object called the Prison Realm."

As Satoru looks around, the reactions he observes are as expected: shock, fear, and disgust. Even Nanamin appears perturbed. The use of curtains confirms Satoru's theory that the Shibuya Incident was intricately orchestrated by someone who isn't a curse -- curses don't contain that kind of strategic intelligence. Satoru instinctively reaches for his storage pouch, feeling for the weapon he traveled to Antarctica to retrieve. It's ironic that the Inverted Spear of Heaven, a weapon that killed him before, is now the key to saving him. 

"What did the cursed object look like?" Yuta asks. "And what was their goal in sealing Gojo-sensei?"

Yuuji draws a box with eyes on each side. "This is what it looks like," he says. "Gojo-sensei was sealed so the Culling Games would happen, but first I have to explain the rest of the Shibuya Incident, since that was just the tip of the iceberg."

Satoru scowls. Of course the future is horrible: since he was stupid enough to get sealed, everyone else had to pay for his mistake. He would've been able to protect them because of his status as the strongest, but once he was taken away...of course everything crumbled apart. A society built upon the back of the strongest will fall apart when the strongest does. If he could've just held out longer...if he could've predicted the curses and Kenjaku were planning something...

The point is, the blood is on his hands.

Yuuji bites his lip as he looks at his notebook. Satoru wonders for a moment whether Yuuji is mentally stable enough to continue explaining, but he resumes speaking. "Mei Mei and Ui Ui handled a special-grade smallpox curse while I went to Nanamin's team to tell them Gojo-sensei got sealed. There were a few curse users in Shibuya Tower we had to get through to break the curtain over Shibuya station. Then, I..." Yuuji glances at Choso, and then looks back at the whiteboard, "...I fought a curse and was uh, knocked unconscious. And then..."

The pause draws Satoru's attention to Yuuji's face. Yuuji's eyebrows are creased and he winces, as though bitterly recalling some memory. He takes a shaky breath and continues. "One of the curses, Jogo, and a few of Kenjaku's followers force-fed me eleven fingers."

Satoru's eyebrows widen. A curse escapes him, but it's overshadowed by Maki's louder "Oh shit!". Megumi looks queasy at the thought and Kugisaki shudders. Yuuji shifts his feet, shoulders cowering in shame. 

Damn. If Satoru thought Shibuya was bad, now he thinks it's an absolute nightmare scenario. The strongest person was sealed, curses were on the loose, and even worse -- Sukuna was revived!? It wouldn't be an overestimate to assume Shibuya was completely massacred. With no one to hold Sukuna back, just how much destruction did he bring?

The thought leaves a bitter taste in Satoru's mouth, and it only contributes to the weighty atmosphere in the room. Satoru tries to change the subject. "What happens next?" he asks.

This snaps Yuuji out of a daze, and he scrunches his eyebrows, scratching the back of his neck. He closes the notebook. "My memories are sort of fuzzy. Sukuna and Jogo fought, then Sukuna killed Jogo. I think Megumi fought with someone? He ended up summoning Mahoraga."

Satoru turns to stare at Megumi accusingly. Megumi reels back in horror. "What?" Megumi hisses. "How could I--?" He stops, having realized something. Then, he pinches the bridge of his nose, sinking into his seat as though he wishes to become one with the shadow, and utters a low curse. "...shit."

It seems Megumi has realized the same thing Satoru has: Megumi's trigger-happy habit of near-summoning Mahoraga has finally bit him in the arse. Satoru always knew that Megumi had incredible potential for the Ten Shadows Technique, enough to rival him in the future, but great potential for strength also means great potential for destruction. Mahoraga, when untamed, is that great potential for destruction -- of both the strong and the innocent.

Satoru would say he's surprised, but it's more so that he is disappointed. Not in Megumi -- Megumi did the best he could do in the situation. Satoru is disappointed in himself. That single moment of weakness he had was enough to act as the catalyst for this horrible chain of events. 

The squelching sound of a marker on a whiteboard breaks Satoru's attention. Yuuji is writing the next events. Right, Satoru mentally reprimands himself. Now isn't the time to be contemplating what could and should've happened. The only thing he can do now is prepare for the future.

Satoru rubs his hand against the Inverted Spear of Heaven and sighs. He doesn't feel very reassured. "And next?"

"Sukuna healed Megumi and used a domain expansion to defeat Mahoraga. Then Sukuna switched out with me and..." Yuuji swallows. "...well, the city was destroyed. I went back to Shibuya Station."

Yuuji's fist shakes and he looks down, biting down hard on his lip. Yuta gives Satoru a wary look, eyes asking if they should give Yuuji a break. Satoru shakes his head. Yuuji is almost done explaining; Satoru can tell. And besides, Satoru feels this must be some sort of karmic retribution -- to acknowledge the sins of his past (or future?)- self, he needs to fully hear out all the ways Yuuji's future was screwed up. "There's a curse I've fought before -- Mahito. I saw him again at Shibuya and we fought again." Yuuji gulps and he looks around, glancing a little too long at Kugisaki and then Nanamin. Yuuji clears his throat. "Anyway, I almost beat him, but Kenjaku dealt the final blow and escaped with the Prison Realm. That sums up the Shibuya Incident."

The atmosphere is frigid with tension as everyone processes what they just heard. "Let's take a lunch break," Yuta offers. Everyone mutters a weak assent to the statement. Megumi slumps in his seat, evidently still startled. Kugisaki pulls on his arm, dragging him out of his seat as they follow the second-years exiting the lounge. As everyone leaves, Satoru stays behind in his chair, mind replaying the events revealed to him. 

Satoru has never once felt overwhelmed by information (or to be more precise, he has always felt overwhelmed, thus making it never occur), but now he feels more overwhelmed than ever. Damn. He really screwed up in the future, didn't he? 

He buries his face in his hands, fingers pulling down his cheeks. It's as if an insurmountable pressure has been loaded onto his shoulders. I can't afford to screw up this time, he decides. For the innocent people, for my students...I have to be their pillar.

Nanami stands in front of a vending machine, staring at his reflection in the glass. His broad stature, defined muscles, and Matsuda glasses stare back at him, evidence of his adulthood, but it does little to stop his feelings of unease. The Shibuya Incident's events are enough to make his stomach churn. The thought of an entire city being wiped out because of one night's altercations chills Nanami's bones. And it was obvious Itadori left out some information near the end; the brief emotionally fraught glance he gave Nanami was enough to confirm Nanami's fear. Paired with the strange hugging from last Thursday, the day after Itadori supposedly time-traveled, it paints an unpleasant image.

"Nanamin!" someone calls. This time, Nanami doesn't have to guess who's calling him, the reflection allows him to see the signature pink hair belonging to Itadori.

"Itadori," Nanami greets as he presses a few buttons on the vending machine. The old machine rattles and two drinks clunk against the push door. Nanami picks up the drinks, offering one to Itadori. "Coke?"

Itadori beams at him, graciously accepting the cold drink. "Thanks Nanamin!" The two take a seat at a nearby bench, sipping on the cans in the heat of the autumn.

"So, a movie, huh?" Nanami says.

Itadori looks at him quizically, and then the reference dawns on him and he chuckles. "Yeah, that was code for my time-traveling situation. It was a pretty lame excuse, heh.”

Nanamin opens his mouth, and then closes it. He debates for a second whether he should really be asking this, but decides to anyway. "Itadori," he addresses. It's almost comedic how quickly Itadori straightens his posture. "What...happens to me in the future?"

Itadori freezes, his eyes open wide at Nanami in panic. Then, he relaxes, shaking off the startled expression. “Nothing! Nothing happens,” he says forcefully.

Nanami gazes at Itadori with pitying eyes. From the future or not, Itadori still wears his heart on his sleeve, much like Haibara. It makes it all the more obvious to tell when he is lying. 

“You can be honest with me,” he advises. 

Itadori looks down, and the only indication of emotion Nanami can glean is through the trembling of Itadori’s hand. For a moment, the boy doesn’t speak. “The curse I mentioned earlier, Mahito, he…he killed you. And Kugisaki.” 

Ah. The news is as chilling as Nanami’s drink: expected, but still enough to make him falter. He deduced something had happened to him, but for something to happen to Kugisaki? He isn’t very familiar with the first-year, but for her youthful life to be cut short is tragic.

Nanami takes a sip from his coke and places it on the bench. He knows he can’t make any promises not to die in the future — such is the life of a jujutsu sorcerer. He also knows that he can’t necessarily give comfort to Itadori because of Itadori’s unique situation. After all, how do you comfort someone who is mourning for the person right in front of them?

So with this in mind, Nanami looks at Itadori. If there’s one thing Nanami regrets, it’s that…

”I’m sorry you had to see it,” he says solemnly. 

Itadori’s head whips up and he stares at Nanami with incredulous eyes and dismayed lips. His mouth trembles, and suddenly, a tear spills from his eyes. Several follow until he’s eventually sobbing. He grabs onto Nanami, hands latching onto the back of Nanami’s shirt as he cries into Namami’s chest.

Nanami puts his hand on Itadori’s back to soothe him, lifting his other hand to cradle Itadori’s head. “I’m sorry you had to see it,” Nanami repeats in a low whisper.

”I—I don’t want you to die!” Itadori hiccups between sobs. “It’s not fair — you, Kugisaki, everyone —I don’t want you to die!”

“I don’t want me to die either,” Nanami responds. “Nor any of your friends.” Nanami’s shirt is stained with tears, and he feels his eyes become misty as well. He continues. “That’s…that’s why we’re having this strategy meeting: to plan a way to prevent these deaths.”

Itadori nods weakly. “I know!” he says, sniffling his nose. “I know! I just get worried —what if I’m putting everyone in more danger? What if because of my actions, more people get hurt?”

Nanami doesn’t have an answer to this, because he makes it a policy not to deal in false promises. There is no real guarantee that everything will work out, and that’s what makes life scarier. Nanami has a feeling this response may worsen Itadori’s emotional condition, so he just stays silent, trying to be a solid rock of support for Itadori. 

He and Itadori stay within the embrace for a few moments as Itadori’s breathing patterns calm down to normal. When Itadori’s spine quivers, Nanami tightens his embrace, trying to assure Itadori he is safe to express his emotions. Finally Itadori pulls back, and his eyes are red and puffy. Nanami offers him a tissue and he takes it graciously.

”Thanks Nanamin,” Itadori says in a small voice. 

“It’s no problem,” Nanami says as he pats the spot where Itadori cried dry. He’s grateful Itadori decided to confide in him instead of bottling the emotions up. 

He feels a sense of pity arise as he looks at Itadori. He’s been through so much chaos and destruction — far more than any child at his age should endure. But unfortunately, jujutsu society does not allow children to stay children. Everyone has to keep moving on in this cycle of killing curses, no matter who is lost in the process.

”Let’s head back to the lounge,” Nanami suggests. 

Itadori looks at the whiteboard once more and then steps away. “Okay, so to summarize everything,” he says, “for the next few days, we’re going to patrol different parts of Shibuya —“

”— but in pairs, so the higher-ups won’t get suspicious,” Gojo adds. “They’ll definitely send spies to monitor after today’s meeting.”

Itadori nods earnestly. Nanami notices that his eyes are still red-rimed from earlier, but no one has pointed it out yet thankfully. “Yeah! But we’ll keep an eye out for suspicious activities in other city hotspots for major Halloween celebrations. We can’t go after the curses and Kenjaku because we don’t know where they are.”

Everyone looks at Choso, who winces at the attention. “Our group was usually nomadic, we either traveled to discrete, abandoned areas or we stayed in a curse’s domain expansion, but since we exorcised that curse…”

”…the only option left is to travel,” Todo finishes.

“So all we can do for now is train for potential matchups,” Itadori says. “And that’ll be easier since Choso, Mechamaru and I know most of the group’s cursed techniques.”

“Okay nice!” Gojo says, cheering. “We’re done!” He offers a high five and Itadori hits it, as invigorated as Gojo. Gojo offers a high five to Nanami and Nanami ignores the hand.

Nanami’s mind drifts to the conversation he and Itadori had over a week ago. It seems like they are going with the latter option of waiting until the event occurs. But will luck be on their side?

Only time will tell.

Chapter Text

"Behind you!" Yuuji calls, holding back a curse. The low rustlings of a cursed spirit echo from behind Maki, but she turns on her heel, cutting down the curse's belly with her naginata. To her dismay, some of its blood splashes onto her uniform. She grimaces. Her cut was too superficial. At least the blood didn't get in her hair this time.

The curse lets out an intelligible shriek and lashes at Maki. She backs away, trying to get a good scope of the cursed spirit's abilities. It doesn't seem very strong -- perhaps a grade two curse? Semi-grade one if she's pushing it. The curse's long, black hair billows in the wind as it launches itself at Maki. Maki notices markings around the curse's enlarged abdomen, potentially a weak point? She side-steps the attack and the curse crashes into the brick wall behind her. Evidently, this is not a smart curse. 

Maki stabs the curse through its spine. The curse slumps, and she pulls out her naginata from the body, shaking off the goo and blood coating it. That was a fast exorcism, she thinks. Too fast for the amount of cursed energy her glasses detected. What's the catch?

Seconds later, her 'catch' makes itself known. The curse emits a low wailing "NOOOOOO" and rolls onto its back, revealing its split belly. And then, shockingly enough, another curse crawls out of the belly. This curse is much larger than its thin, skinny mother, towering over Maki in this alley.

Maki curses. It's just her luck to encounter such a weird curse. What is this curse's origin -- the fear of pregnancy? "Yuuji!" she calls as she blocks a blow from the curse using the staff side of her weapon. Her heels touch the back of the alley."You good?" 

A splash, and then a thud. "Yup!" Yuuji responds. He probably finished dealing with his curse. "Need help, Maki?"

Maki scoffs at the suggestion. She drops to the ground, swinging her naginata at the kneecaps of the curse. The cut is clean and precise, toppling the curse onto its knees. Taking advantage of the curse's bewilder, Maki darts out of the corner and cuts off the head of the curse. The head rolls in front of the mother curse, who surprisingly hasn't died yet, and the mother begins weeping. 

Maki turns to Yuuji, smirking. "I'm good," she responds. She's about to say more, but the wailing of the mother curse cuts her off. She frowns.

"...my youth..." the mother curse mumbles. Maki notices how oddly disproportionate the curse's body is: an enlarged belly but childlike arms and legs. "...mm sacrificed...my youth...for..."

Swoosh! The tip of Maki's naginata pierces through the mother curse's head at the same time Yuuji steps on its body, ending its mumbling. She grimaces, slightly unsettled by the implications of the curse's final statement. In Itadori and her attempt to patrol Shinjuku, they wandered to the outskirts of Kabukichō: a red-light district. It's not surprising they found a curse like this hanging around the city. 

As for why they were even in Shinjuku in the first place...Maki's mind floats back to a conversation they had at Tokyo Tech earlier. Since Yuuji already fought some of Kenjaku's group last week, it would be understandable if they were suspicious of his fast growth. If they somehow encountered Yuuji at Shibuya, it would be too suspicious for them to ignore: it would tip them off that their plans for Shibuya were compromised. There was no need to risk all of that, it was far safer to have Yuuji patrol another potential Halloween hotspot.

And Maki was lucky enough to be randomly placed with Yuuji. For once, she's not being sarcastic. The future Yuuji described on Saturday seems horribly depressing, and Maki can't help but wonder how she fared in his future. Did she survive the Shibuya Incident? And just as important -- did Mai?

"And that's why I -- Maki?" Yuuji asks, waving a hand in front of her face. Maki blinks and then scowls, batting the hand away. Yuuji pouts. "You weren't paying attention!"

Maki winces. "Sorry, I was zoning out. Were you saying anything important?"

Yuuji opens his mouth, and then frowns. "Not really," he says, trailing off. He stares at the ground with a concentrated focus, as though he picked up on something.

The back of Maki's neck prickles, and she feels a weighted stare on her. She straightens her posture, barely resisting the urge to touch her neck. Yuuji leans forward, lowering his voice. "You felt that too, right?" he asks.

"The spy," Maki grits. Just as predicted, the higher-ups sent a someone to monitor their activity. The gaze on her neck feels like it's from afar, so luckily it doesn't seem like she and Yuuji need to whisper. "Let's just...act normal. It's like Yuta said -- we want to be seen by them, unfortunately. How many hours are left in our shift?"

Yuuji checks his phone. With the amount of cracks it has, Maki's surprised it even works. She even sees a few notifications on it. "Two hours."

Maki almost groans. She's bored out of her mind: the curses she and Itadori just fought are the only ones they've seen all day! It's borderline suspicious, now that she thinks about it. Why is today such a slow day for curses? 

"Let's look for spookier places," she decides as they walk in no particular direction. That's probably the reason why they aren't seeing many curses: it's not like she and Itadori went searching for haunted places, they mostly just followed the flow of the crowd and wandered around. "We're bound to encounter a curse if we go to scarier locations."

"That makes sense," Yuuji says absentmindedly as he types on his phone. Instead of searching things up, he seems to be texting someone. At Maki's unimpressed glance, he blushes, embarrassed. "Sorry, Choso just figured out how phones work so he's been texting me non-stop. He's really sweet, see?"

He scrolls through their messages on the LINE app. Choso sent an onslaught of bear stickers by accident -- Maki huffs, he must have really liked them -- and then typed a paragraph-long apology. No wonder Yuuji was so eager to reply: for a curse, Choso seems to take this whole big brother thing quite seriously.

The thought of family dims her smile, and she looks at Yuuji apprehensively. She can't wait to ask any longer. "Yuuji," she starts.

"Yeah?" Yuuji looks up from his phone, pocketing it. 

Maki looks ahead of them, shoulders relaxed but hands still clutching the end of her naginata. She tries to appear casual, because based on what she's seen so far, approaching Yuuji while acting emotional makes him close up: the opposite of what Maki wants. She wants a simple conversation, that's all. "What happened to me after Shibuya?"

Yuuji looks at her in surprise, caught off-guard by the question. She raises an eyebrow, with a relaxed smile on her face. "What, I can't ask about it?"

"No, you can ask!" Yuuji says, and huffs a nervous laugh. "I was just a bit surprised, that's all. You actually get a pretty big power-up during the Culling Games!"

Maki nearly sighs in relief. She's alive. But what's this about getting stronger? "A power-up?" she says, a bit incredulous. "How exactly?"

He shrugs. "I wasn't there when it happened, but I think it was during..." he trails off and then looks at her with wide eyes. His mouth makes an 'o' shape and he clears his throat. "Anyway, it probably won't happen again--"

Maki grabs his arm. "Yuuji," she says threateningly.

Yuuji tries to shake off her grip, but she holds on tighter. "Like I said, Maki, it won't happen this time around so there's no reason to--"

"Yuuji," she says, tugging his arm. "What. Happened?"

He winces, trying to pry her fingers off. Because of his irritating strength, he succeeds in his mission, but as he tries to walk it off she puts her arm around his neck, hugging him in a half-sleeper hold. 

"Yuuji," she warns again, with considerably less patience. She's getting annoyed now. What is he trying to hide?

He sighs. "Let me go and I'll tell you."

Maki huffs. She's heard this before. "Then you'll just run."

Yuuji frowns. "I won't run!" he protests weakly. Maki raises an eyebrow. He winces. "Okay, I might run."

Just as she thought. "Just tell me, Yuuji," she says, frustration leaking into her voice. "At least -- nothing happened to Mai, right?"

Then, Yuuji goes quiet. Maki looks at him with wide eyes and he avoids her gaze. No. She must be overthinking things. She has to be.

"All I know is, there was some sort of fight in the Zen'in clan," Yuuji says. He hesitates before continuing. "Mai died and I think she took your cursed energy with it, which let you completely use Heavenly Restriction. And then you uh…wiped out the Zen’in clan.”

It’s as if gong bells are going off in Maki’s head, and each resonance is pounding her heart. Yuuji gently slips out of her sleeper hold, looking at her with pity. Normally Maki would snap angrily at Yuuji for that, but now…

”Mai is…dead?” Maki whispers, distraught. Her eyebrows furrow and her eyes start to burn. Mai…her twin sister, the other half to her soul…she was gone?

Maki is normally filled with all sorts of opinions she’d like to express, but now she finds herself oddly wordless.

Her rational mind takes over. Given the state of Yuuji’s future, it makes sense the Zen’in clan would try to target Mai and her — they were the black sheep of the family. What hurts to admit is the fact that the Zen'in succeeded. The fact that Maki failed to protect her sister. 

"I'm sorry," Yuuji offers. He looks like he knows death all too well, and Maki dimly wonders how many people he's seen die. Probably thousands of strangers, given the Shibuya Incident. Would that compare to the anguish of a loved one's death? "I don't know if you were close, but no one deserves to go through that. To lose someone."

He bites his lips. "And, on the bright side, at least you got stronger? You're probably physically the strongest out of all the first and second years."

Maki feels a wave of irritation overtake her. "'Physically the strongest'?" she hisses, venom in her tone. She grabs his shirt. "What use is that if I couldn't even save my sister! She's the one person I wanted to protect, and she--"

Maki exhales shakily, trying to calm herself, and releases her grasp on his uniform.  Then, very calmly, she punches a wall. Her fist leaves a dent in the bricks, and some pain sparks around her knuckles, but it's enough to knock some rationality into her head. Cool it, she tells herself. There's no use getting worked up over something that hasn't even happened. It's just a possibility, at this point. If they prevent Shibuya, the Zen'ins won't be brazen enough to try assassinating Mai.

Still, this whole experience is just so shitty. Maki's been training her whole life to prove to the Zen'ins that she can become powerful despite her limitations, but the only cause for her getting a power-up is because of her sister's death? That was just unfair.

"You always have to sacrifice something important to become someone important," Yuuji says as he stares off into the sky.  "To become the strongest...well. You have to sacrifice something equally significant."

Maki hits his shoulder. "Are you trying to justify Mai's death!?" she whisper-yells, enraged. "Because if you are--"

Yuuji's eyes widen and he quickly defends himself. "No! Of course not! It was just...an observation, that's all. I didn't mean--"

"You better not have," she interrupts. "And screw that Heavenly Restriction thing anyway. I'll find a way to become the strongest without sacrificing my sister. I will!"

Yuuji nods along, but there's something akin to pity in his expression. This further angers Maki. "Don't look at me like that, Itadori Yuuji!" she spits. "I will achieve this, I don't need you to shelter me like you do with Megumi and Nobara and the others." Maki takes in some brief pleasure at his taken-aback expression. She's noticed how he treats them during their training sessions, how he tries to shoulder all the work.

"I'm not trying to become strong to survive, I'm trying to become strong to prove a point! And I will, damnit, okay!?" she yells, ignoring all the weird looks she gets. She looks him in the eye daringly. Just try to prove me wrong.

Then, Yuuji does something unexpected. If this were the old-Yuuji, Maki predicted he would have cowered back, mumbled an apology and decided on a quick topic change. But this Yuuji...

He makes eye-contact with her, unflinching. His eyebrows furrow together and he makes a wobbly smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes.   

"I hope so."

Maki is the first to break eye contact. She walks ahead, trying to focus her attention on other pressing matters. Like this patrol. Like where they were going. Like the spy from the higher-ups, probably observing their conversation with confusion. 

Yuuji is supportive of Maki's goal, so why does she feel so confused by his last statement?

She clears her throat, some blush returning to her cheeks. Anyway, she shouldn't have gotten so worked up -- and in public! How embarrassing. It's not like Mai's death was Yuuji's fault either, he was just the messenger of the bad news. 

Maki eyes Yuuji, who stares ahead in the distance, probably having trailed off in thought again. He's the messenger of a lot of bad news, she reflects. Unfortunately for him.

"Let's... find a haunted house," she says, feeling a bit awkward. Yuuji looks at her in surprise, shaken out of his daze. "A real haunted house, not like the ones people decorate to make money." 

Yuuji's smile grows, and Maki finds some relief in the fact that the smile seems more genuine now. "Sure!"

He pauses. "Oh, and Maki? About Heavenly Restriction...there's a special-grade sorcerer, Tsukumo Yuki, who's researching that kind of stuff. Gojo-sensei can probably put you in touch. And I think there was a blacksmith's workshop you could go to? You might have to ask Tengen though, if we have enough time."

Maki looks at him wordlessly. He really does want to support her. She averts her gaze. "...thank you, Yuuji," she says, feeling touched. Though her voice is clogged with emotion, neither of them comment on it.

Yuuji grins. "It's no problem."

Chapter Text

Jogo unravels a scroll in his hands, looking around as he walks on a bushy traveling path. According to the message, Pseudo Geto and Mahito are located somewhere on this mountain, close to a pond. Jogo pockets the scroll and lets his hands drift among the thickets, the rough leaves tingling his equally rough hands. Then, his attention fixates on something ahead of him. 

A pair of humans, presumably a couple, given how they hold hands, are strolling on the path. With their wheat sun-hats, black binoculars, and light backpacks, the humans must be tourists. For them to be straying so close to Pseudo Geto's area... to Jogo's pleasure, it seems an extermination is necessary. Jogo walks up to them from behind and places his hands on their backs, feeling his palms heat up. And seconds later, screaming fills the air as the humans are immolated. Jogo walks past the shrieking figures, dusting off the ashes on his arms as he inhales the luxurious scent of smoke. On a normal day, it might almost be enough to calm his rage.

Today is very much not normal. He grits his teeth, recalling the contents of the message. His hands shake with barely contained anger. He needs to hear the full story from Pseudo Geto. And luckily, it doesn't seem like he'll have to walk much longer: a body of water is in sight.

As Jogo approaches Pseudo Geto and Mahito, he catches snippets of their conversation. 

"--like-- like a chimera! There's no way his soul could've changed like that unless a cursed technique was involved!"

"A technique like Idle Transfiguration? I haven't heard of a sorcerer with anything remotely similar. And besides, as Sukuna's vessel, he should naturally inherit Sukuna's techniques, not blood manipulation and simple domain--"

"So what are you suggesting, Geto?"

"Yuuji's soul truly is a fascinating mystery, but I propose a cursed technique might not be the cause behind it. As for the other possibilities..." Pseudo Geto's mouth quirks up and he takes a sip from a tea cup. "...I have a theory, however outlandish it seems. It needs to undergo further testing before I can share it though — but it may pose a threat to our plans. We need the massacre next Wednesday to go without a hitch."

Pseudo Geto lifts his head from the cup and his cold eyes meet Jogo's. He smiles and waves Jogo over. "Jogo! It's good to see you're back. How was Ogami and her family?"

Jogo scowls, taking a seat on a nearby rock. "Fine, they agreed to work with us. What happened to Hanami and Dagon?" He looks around, noticing the distinct absence of their spiky-haired member. "And Choso? Who killed them? How?"

Pseudo Geto sighs. "There's a lot to catch you up on, but the short answer is: Itadori Yuuji and his friends ambushed and killed Hanami and Dagon. Choso may have assisted too, since he defected." 

Jogo sucks in a breath, his fist shaking as he mulls over the facts. Itadori Yuuji...that's Sukuna's vessel, the pink-haired kid with Gojo. And the murderer of Choso's brothers. Why on earth would Choso side with that vermin?

Jogo doesn't care what excuse Choso comes up with. Regardless, he, Itadori, and the other sorcerers killed Jogo's companions. It fills him up with such rage that his palms light on fire subconsciously. He'll kill them! He'll kill them!

"Woah cool it, hothead!" Mahito calls, scooting away from Jogo's fire. "You nearly set my cup on fire!" 

Jogo glowers at Mahito. "And where were you when all this was happening? Half of this could've been avoided by you! Itadori is only a few fingers strong, you could've easily overwhelmed him!"

Then, surprisingly enough, Mahito's teasing expression falls off his face and an uneasy one overtakes it. He clutches his cup and shuffles his feet, looking at the ground. "I…"

Jogo's flames waver. Huh? What is Jogo witnessing? But before he can dwell on the weird reaction, Pseudo Geto resumes the conversation. 

"Let's get you caught up, shall we?" Pseudo Geto says, with a sinister smile on his face. "It all started last week, when we received a report from Mechamaru..."

Five minutes later, Jogo is astonished. "So we lost Hanami, Dagon, Choso, and even our spy?" he says, incredulous. "They were important to our Shibuya plan! How are we going to make up for these losses?"

"We already predicted the spy would defect, so his loss isn't detrimental to us," Pseudo Geto says. "And as for the others, while it was unfortunate they were exorcised, I've tweaked our plan slightly to accommodate for this. Trust me, Jogo, I've lived long enough to know everything will work out according to plan." The sorcerer pulls a scroll of paper from under his sleeves and hands it to Jogo. "Read it."

Jogo warily glances at Pseudo Geto, and then unravels the paper, eyes flitting over the text as he skims the content. His eyebrows raise, and he looks at the sorcerer in shock. "You--!"

Pseudo Geto's smirk widens. "I did."

Jogo gapes at the man. Twin sensations of relief and dread shiver his spine: relief that he and the disaster curses chose to work with this man instead of against him, and dread for the opponents who would face him in the future. For a human, he was astoundingly devious, exemplifying all the deceitful and crafty traits Jogo so hated. And yet, it is precisely because of these traits that their plan for Shibuya would likely succeed. Jogo gulps and continues reading the plan. 

As Jogo reads through the document, he feels more assured of their eventual success. By the time he's finished, he's all but grinning. He can already taste the sweet feeling of revenge in his mouth. And a chance to fight the strongest jujutsu sorcerers...just the thought gets him excited. The era of curses has almost arrived.

"Hey, Jogo?" Mahito asks, tone strangely serious. Jogo looks at him. "You fought Gojo last time, right? Wasn't he kind of...overwhelming?"

What a weird question to ask. "Of course he was," Jogo says, scowling at the memory. His past overconfidence is shameful to recall. Is Mahito bringing this up to rub it in Jogo's face, somehow? "I'll admit, I underestimated him: he's far stronger than I thought he was. Why do you ask?"

"Weren't you scared? He almost killed you! How..." Mahito frowns wanly, looking into his cup of tea. "How do you still want to fight Gojo again, despite that fear?"

Huh. Jogo eyes Mahito carefully. He never thought the curse would be mature enough to ask such a deep question. Perhaps his fight with Sukuna's vessel was more traumatizing than Pseudo Geto put it. Still, the answer to the question is quite simple. 

"Sealing Gojo is the key for us curses to thrive in the future. I don't care how weak I am, if fighting Gojo is how we attain this goal, I will give my all. Together, we'll succeed. And on a personal level...much of my life has revolved around fighting the strong and proving myself. Fear, ambition, passion, glory: these are the spices that flavor a fight! To become powerful, you have to use those feelings of fear to motivate you -- to empower your rage! Do you understand?"

Mahito looks at Jogo with wide eyes "Yeah...I get it," he mumbles, scratching his chin. "Fear as a motivator..." He grins. "Gee, thanks Jogo! I guess you aren't useless all the time!"

Jogo throws a fireball at Mahito's head. The curse ducks, but he drops his tea cup, and the liquid splashes Jogo's feet. Mahito pouts. "Not fair, Jogo! Do you know how hard it was to find that brand of tea?"

The volcano-head rolls his eyes. Anyway, there's something that's been gnawing away at his mind since he heard the past week's recap. "Geto," Jogo addresses. Pseudo Geto lifts his gaze from his tea. "What about the spy? Won't he tell the sorcerers our plan?"

"Nope," Pseudo Geto says. "We created a binding vow..."

"...that prevents me from telling you any details," Muta Kokichi finishes. He's currently handcuffed to his seat, feet bound as he stares at the two intimidating figures in front of him: Gojo and Iori-sensei. Kokichi tries to ignore the phone placed right next to his mouth, recording every word he says. He clenches his hand, trying to shrug off any nerves threatening to overtake him. It's not like he's never considered the possibility that he would get caught as the traitor, but his half-baked musings were nothing compared to the bitter reality.

Iori-sensei, one of the few teachers he respects, is disappointed in him. The Gojo Satoru is standing next to her, the strongest sorcerer and the teacher of the students Kokichi put in danger.

Kokichi isn't stupid. He knows what's going to happen next: he'll be executed.  If there's anyone who would jump at the chance of executing Kokichi, it would be Gojo, and if, somehow, not Gojo, then the higher-ups. He deserves that kind of death because of his betrayal, and if he were any nobler a person, he wouldn't be scheming ways to get around this. Unfortunately, Kokichi is selfish and scummy -- despite being in a brand new body, he's still the same old person. The most he can do now is try to elongate his usefulness, so they have further reason to keep him alive. For now, at least. If he can survive just enough to see his classmates live past Shibuya...

"...However," he says. "my robots automatically record every interaction they have and upload it to their memory bank. It might take a while, but we can sift through the memories and find information from there."

Iori-sensei frowns. "Isn't it too dangerous to be playing around with binding vows? What if you get seriously hurt?" Despite being disappointed, she still seems to care for Kokichi, adding to the guilt weighing on his heart. He would've felt less tumultuous if it was anyone but her interrogating him.

Kokichi glances at the recording phone. The higher-ups probably don't know about Itadori's situation. If they did, they would've opted to immediately execute Kokichi and interrogate Itadori. This interrogation means they expect crucial information from Kokichi -- information they don't know they already have access to -- so he needs to perpetuate this misunderstanding.

"It's a stretch," he admits, "but I need you to see this information. And technically, it's not me 'giving' you any information; you're just reviewing the robot's memories. If some important information comes up in the memories, so be it."

"This is risky," Gojo says. He's strangely impassive for someone confronting a traitor. "Binding vows don't conform to our logic -- you might die."

Kokichi looks at the man apathetically. If he didn't know any better, he would think Gojo was trying to dissuade him. "What I've done is worthy of death, anyway," he says bitterly. He doesn't necessarily believe what he's saying, but the higher-ups might. "I've experienced what it's like to live in a healthy body now, so I guess my life's complete. At least this way, I'll be risking my life for the right cause."

Iori-sensei walks up to Kokichi and kneels, holding his chained hands. "Muta," she says, eyebrows furrowed and jaw clenched as though to hold back tears, "you will not be dying any time soon -- as your teacher, I can promise that. Okay?" 

Kokichi averts his gaze. He didn't plan on his teacher getting so emotional. This is getting awkward now. Thankfully, Gojo interrupts the emotional scene. "Yup," he says, "I already convinced the higher-ups to repeal the execution -- you're good to go now! Of course, you have to serve an unspeakably horrible punishment, but you can get these spooky ideas about death and execution out of your head."

Kokichi's eyebrows part in surprise, but he's still suspicious. "And what exactly is this unspeakably horrible punishment?" he asks, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

Gojo grins. "I'm glad you asked, Muta! Utahime and I haven't talked about it much, but so far the punishment is..." he pauses, as though waiting for a drumroll. After receiving unimpressed looks from Iori-sensei and Kokichi, he proceeds: "Community service!"

Kokichi gapes at the sorcerer. What? "You're sentencing the traitor who ratted your students out and nearly got them killed...community service?"

"Yup!" Gojo says cheerfully. "Pretty dreadful, I know. We're also making you form a binding vow restricting your cursed technique, in case your urge to rebel pops up again. Uhh, Utahime, do you have anything else to add?"

Iori-sensei examines Kokichi's face, and then sighs. “You have to explain this mess to your classmates,” she says sternly. “I’ll think about more punishments after we see your robot’s memories, if that can be done safely.”

Kokichi is confused, to say the least. Why aren’t they giving him a more severe punishment? Is this a joke to them?

”I don’t understand,” he finds himself saying. “My actions hurt people!" His friends, his teacher -- they were still attacked by the curses even though that was the one thing Kokichi warned them against. "Why are you letting me off so easy? Are you stupid?”

Iori-sensei flinches. “Stupid?” She hisses. Uh oh. Kokichi's never seen his teacher this upset. “This is not stupidity — it’s kindness, mercy for your actions since you are a child! A child who has done bad things, but a child nonetheless! I refuse to see any of my students go down the wrong path, and your betrayal is just…it’s my fault! As a teacher I failed to set you right.” 

Where is she getting that idea from? "It was my decision," he argues. "I--"

"Your decisions have consequences on others!" Iori-sensei interrupts. "How do you think it reflects on me when my own student, whom I trusted, betrays our school and sells out information to the enemy? How do you think it reflects on your classmates? Did any of that pass through your brain when you made the decision to become a traitor?"

Kokichi looks away. Of course, he did consider that his school may come under attack by the curses -- that's why he made a deal to leave Kyoto students out of their line of fire. And then the curses went back on their word, and Kokichi couldn't even get revenge on his school's behalf, albeit at Itadori's request. It was pathetic, but that's how he survived.

If Itadori is telling the truth about his timeline, even if Kokichi did try to kill Mahito, he wouldn't be victorious.

Iori-sensei sighs, stepping away from Kokichi. "I'm assuming you can't talk now because of the binding vow, right?" Kokichi nods. "Just...show us the memories. I think it's a good enough circumvent, especially since it's our only solution. Gojo?"

Gojo shrugs. "If Muta's comfortable with it, I'm good. Go ahead with your transformer stuff."

"Can't exactly do that locked up," Kokichi snarks, raising his handcuffed fists. Clang! The handcuffs hit the metal underside of the seat; he winces. 

Before Iori-sensei can, Gojo steps forward and unlocks the handcuffs and bound feet. "Y'know, Muta," Gojo starts as Kokichi rises from his seat, "I personally requested the higher-ups spare you from execution, I even, heh, threatened them over it."

Kokichi's eyes narrow. And why exactly is he mentioning this? In front of the recording phone too? 

Gojo continues. "I don't know why you worked with the curses, but from today, I have observed one thing: you seem to really care for Kyoto High. You're not too far gone, so lighten up!" He smiles, playfully hitting Kokichi's arm. "You've still got some good in you."

"...Hurray," Kokichi mutters dryly. "That bit of good will somehow erase my past as a traitor. I'm overjoyed."

Gojo pouts. "Come on, I didn't mean it like that," he says, "I just mean -- you haven't killed anyone, at least. That makes you pretty redeemable!"

Kokichi gives him a skeptical glance. "If you arrived a bit later in the Kyoto Goodwill Event, someone might have died because of the information I gave."

Gojo smiles, but it's thin, faintly reminding Kokichi of Pseudo Geto. For a moment, the atmosphere feels denser, more congested than usual. "You should be thankful no one died, or else this interrogation would be operating quite differently." Gojo's smile morphs into a more genuine smile. "The point is there's still hope: with the death sentence, you would have died a traitor, but at least now you can live long enough to see yourself become a hero."

Huh. Kokichi never thought about this situation like that. Usually, when he  contemplated what would happen if he got caught, the interrogation was the last scene he would think about, since after it would be game over for him. But if Gojo is to be trusted, there’s still a chance…

Then Kokichi thinks of what his classmates will say when he reveals himself, what Miwa will say. He clenches his jaw. He has no shot there. 

If Gojo wanted to tell a lie, he should’ve at least made it believable.

And there’s a weird sense of familiarity Kokichi feels about Gojo’s quote. As though he’d heard it before…

Kokichi raises an eyebrow. “The Dark Knight? Very original,” he quips.

Gojo groans. “Darn, I was hoping you hadn’t seen that one. Just get your transformer.”

Kokichi’s mouth quirks up, and he summons his Mechamaru puppet. “Can I start?”

Iori-sensei nods. Gojo almost does, but then says something unexpected. “Ah, I almost forgot! One of my students, Panda, is asking for your number. ‘Says he wants to visit sometime.”

Kokichi stares at him blankly, and then the reference kicks in. Ah, Panda is the cursed corpse who defeated him in the Goodwill Event, and then proceeded to ask for his number as if they could be friends or something. For a cursed corpse, the panda was really persistent. Kokichi rolls his eyes. “We’ll see if I survive this first.”

Yuta is in the middle of giving tips to Fushiguro when Yuuji suddenly approaches him.

Yuuji fidgets with his hands. “Uh, Yuta, could I talk to you for a bit?” Yuuji glances at Fushiguro, and then lowers his voice. “Alone?”

“Sure,” Yuta says. He looks around, searching for Maki in the training gym. Once he spots her, he yells: “Maki! Could you teach Fushiguro weapons-training?”

A moment of silence, a groan and then: “Yup! I’m done with Nobara.” 

Yuta steps away from Fushiguro, ducking to avoid Inumaki’s flying figure. Inumaki lands on his feet with an “oof”, and Panda claps.

“So,” Yuta starts, when the two of them have walked far enough from the action. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Yuuji looks around, and then rests his gaze on Yuta. “You heard about the state of my soul, right?” he asks. “How, if I overexert myself, my soul might transform into when I was fed eleven fingers?”

Yuta nods, feeling uneasy about the direction of this conversation. The sounds of clanging weapons and flung bodies echo through the gym, but strangely, Yuuji’s quiet voice sounds the clearest. 

“If that happens during Shibuya,” Yuuji looks him in the eye, “please don’t hesitate to put an end to me.”

Yuta inhales deeply. Yeah, he thought this would happen. Perhaps, if he were closer to Yuuji, he would be more upset about the request. Logically, however, Yuuji’s request makes sense — if Sukuna takes over Yuuji’s body in the Shibuya attack, thousands would be killed. There’s no guarantee most people in this gym would survive. So for that reason…

“Okay,” Yuta agrees quietly. “I’ll do it.”

Yuuji breathes a sigh of relief. “Thanks Yuta! I’ve been worried about this for a while so…” he scratches the back of his head, and then smiles sheepishly. “I’m really grateful that you’re willing to help!”

“Yuuji!” Panda yells. “It’s your turn to get tossed!”

Yuuji sweatdrops. “I better go,” he says. “Thanks again!”

Yuta watches Yuuji’s retreating figure with a conflicted expression on his face. He doesn’t feel so good about their conversation.

Did he make the wrong decision?

The days pass by quickly, until finally, it is October 30th. 

Chapter Text

He's burning. A blazing fire scorches his back, melting the skin of his arms and making his head dizzy from a lack of air. All he can see is red-black darkness, and he doesn't trust himself to look behind him. But even with all this chaos, he stands firm in his position, biting down on his mouth hard enough to draw blood so he can resist the urge to scream. Why is he enduring this? Where even is he?

What a foolish question. There's something important he's guarding -- someone he's protecting. The most important person in the world. As he gazes at the person, the thumping flow of his blood reassures him of their precious bond. For a moment, he feels a sense of sadness. To think they would be separated so soon... He opens his mouth. "Yu--"

Choso gasps as he wakes up wide-eyed, blood pounding in his veins. He stares at the brown ceiling of his room, not processing the low hum of the ceiling fan. Goosebumps rise on his skin. "-uji," he completes in a low whisper. He continues staring off into space, feeling somewhat detached from his surroundings as he replays the dream. The air is cold, but his blood burns painfully hot inside. The furnace...that excruciating pain...the person he was protecting...

His mind drifts off to a previous conversation he had with Yuuji.

”Choso,” Itadori whispered, "seriously, Choso. Please don’t die for me. Please."

Choso exhales. Yeah, it all makes sense now. The blood never lies, after all. He climbs out of bed, slipping on a pair of sandals. He better check up on his younger brother. Hopefully, Yuuji doesn't have any nightmares about what his timeline's Choso did. Choso would hate for his act of sacrifice to be the reason why Yuuji couldn't sleep. 

Choso tiptoes down the hall and peeks into the room next to his, Yuuji's dorm. He frowns. Yuuji isn't here. Where could he have gone? He enters the room and draws back the curtain, revealing the moon hanging in the darkened night sky. The moon's shine blinds his eyes; blearily, he blinks out spots in his vision. Glancing around the room, his eyes land on a digital clock. October 30th, 4:24AM, the clock reads. His frown deepens. 

Yuuji shouldn't be awake now.

He traipses out of Yuuji's room and looks for him in the next dorm, Fushiguro's room. Despite the teen's eyebags, Fushiguro sleeps soundly, no sign of Yuuji in sight. Choso walks down the corridor. Maybe he's in the cafetaria? But when Choso arrives at the cafetaria, the room is empty. He glances in the lounge, but his brother isn't there either. Where could he be?

A lightbulb goes off in his brain. Ah, if it's Yuuji, then maybe...

Choso exits the lounge and walks down the shadowy hallway, wincing every time his footsteps make a loud thud. As he approaches the destination, he begins to hear scuffling sounds. Finally, he approaches the gym, pushing the door slightly. It creaks, alerting the assailant inside of his presence. 

"Who's there?" Yuuji asks, suspicious. He stands next to a human dummy, fists drawn. Choso pushes the door back all the way, and Yuuji's expression melts into relief, then confusion. "Choso? What are you doing here?"

Choso enters the gym, the door slamming behind him. "I could ask the same of you, brother," he says. "It's 4:30 -- you should be asleep by now."

Yuuji winces, catching the human dummy mid-swing. "I couldn't sleep," he admits guiltily, jaw clenched. He resumes attacking the human dummy. "You should go back to sleep though, Choso! No need to look after me."

Choso huffs, stepping behind the dummy to stop its motion and pushing the dummy to the floor. He raises his fists. "Let's spar," he suggests. "I wasn't going to fall asleep anyway."

Yuuji opens his mouth, no doubt to complain, but ends up sighing in resignation. "Sure. Why not."

Choso smiles. That was a rare win. He lunges forward at Yuuji, right fist ready to strike, but Yuuji blocks it with his right arm. Choso spots a flicker of movement from Yuuji's left side and instinctively raises his left hand to deflect the oncoming punch. Then, Yuuji's left fist aims for Choso's leg, and Choso blocks it with his arm. The two are at a brief hold, then Choso backs up. Yuuji leans in to reduce the distance, but there's still enough distance for Choso to aim a kick. He jumps up, lifting his right knee as a feint and then kicking with his left. Yuuji doesn't fall for the feint, however, and Choso's kick lightly hits Yuuji's arm. Choso backs away before Yuuji can grab his leg.

Choso grins. This is pretty fun! The two circle around each other, swept up in a rhythm of exchanging blows, blocks, and kicks while never quite harming one another. It's only as Choso sidesteps Yuuji's kick that he gets the chance to see the clock behind them. Choso sweatdrops. It's already been an hour and a half? 

But in the midst of Choso's distraction, Yuuji drops low on his heel and does a sweep kick, making Choso tumble over. Choso grabs Yuuji's offered hand as he gets up. "Let's have a water break," he suggests. 

Yuuji nods, looking perspired from the sparring session. Still, he seems significantly less stressed, even offering a light smile to Choso. Maybe now is a good time to ask. The two sit on a bench as they drink bottled water. Choso plans his question carefully.

"So," Choso starts. He doesn't want to upset his brother. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

Yuuji sighs, putting aside his water bottle. "You know why." At Choso's probing look, he reluctantly continues. "Tomorrow's Halloween, so the Shibuya Incident. I know we've prepared, but I just can't help but feel..." He buries his face in his hands. "...feel anxious, I guess."

Choso observes Yuuji, subtly scooting closer to him. Yuuji continues. "It's not like this is my first time preparing for a big event -- there was the fight against Sukuna, and even after..." He trails off, looking into some distant space for a bit before snapping back to reality. He shakes his head. "Anyway, I just feel so worried. Like, by involving you in this plan, I might be dooming you all. Instead of saving everyone, I might be sending you all to your deaths."

He lifts himself from his hands and glances at Choso. Choso puts a hand on Yuuji's back, trying to comfort him. Up close, Choso can notice the dark circles under Yuuji's eyes, the weary tug on his brother's mouth. He wonders if Yuuji had dreamt about that bad outcome happening too. Yuuji certainly looks tired. 

"It's not like you're forcing us to," Choso says. "It was our choice to help you. And besides, as jujutsu sorcerers, your friends are required to throw themselves into life-threatening situations constantly. As your older brother, it is my duty to protect you. This is just an extension of my role."

Yuuji bites his cheek. "I know," he says, a pained expression on his face. "I get it. As a cog, I know we have our roles, our 'functions' to accomplish in this world. And -- I can accept that for myself, but, when it comes to you and all the others I care about, I just can't bear the thought of you all getting hurt because you were fulfilling your 'role'. In my timeline, when you uh, died protecting me, I was grateful, but I also felt so guilty. So awful. I would've wanted you to stay alive with me instead of dying in your duty to protect me, y'know?"

Yuuji exhales. "So lately, I've just been kind of confused. I'm a jujutsu sorcerer, a cog in the wheels of exorcism, that's for certain, but if you all aren't cogs, then how does the cycle work? What even is the purpose in...all of this?"

That's a tough question, one that came up multiple times during Choso's 150 years of living. But ultimately, there was only one response. Choso flicks Yuuji's head. "You're not a cog, you're my brother," Choso says, like it's obvious. Yuuji huffs fondly, rubbing the spot he was flicked. But Choso is serious, he doesn't want Yuuji to treat his advice as something offhanded. "Don't belittle your existence to a single role you can play -- that would be dehumanizing yourself. That's how curses think. I'm sure in your timeline, I protected you not only because it was my duty as your older brother, but also because of my whole-hearted love for you, Yuuji. That's something no curse, no cog, no function can replicate."

Yuuji inhales deeply, faintly nodding. His brown eyes, usually dark and cloudy, seem uniquely clear now. "Love," he repeats. "That's...something I'll think about." 

Choso smiles, running a hand through Yuuji's hair. "You'll have plenty of time to think more about it after Shibuya. For now, let's get back to sparring."

The contemplative expression leaves Yuuji's face, and in its place is a determined smile. "Yeah, sure. Are you ready to lose again?"

Choso splutters. "That was because of the clock! I didn't realize so much time had passed."

"Like I'd believe that," Yuuji teases. "You start on my side, then. We'll see who wins this time."

Choso nods, a fond smile on his face. The two get up from the bench and take their respective positions on the gym court. Before the sparring resumes, Yuuji speaks. "Ah, Choso?" he says. "Thanks for...being there for me. And your advice, back there. You're the best big brother I could've asked for."

Choso swallows hard, his elation over Yuuji's statement tinged bittersweet with the reminder that Kechizu and Eso aren't here to witness it. In other circumstances, Choso is certain they would have adored Yuuji as much as he does.

"It's no problem," he says, mustering a smile. Hopefully, Yuuji will remember his advice in future events. "Now let's get sparring already."

"Fushiguroooo," Kugisaki whines, clinging to his shoulder. Megumi sighs, bitterly wondering how he keeps getting himself into these situations. "Why are they always lateeee? Where are those idiots?"

Kugisaki is once again taking Megumi and the others on a shopping spree. This time, there is some merit to the idea since Megumi and the others planned to go out anyway, but it doesn't stop this situation from feeling less annoying. Kugisaki and Megumi had just patrolled Shibuya together, and now they are waiting for the other members of their group to join. According to the group chat, Gojo and Itadori got held up by some activity, so now it's just Kugisaki and Megumi waiting outside the entrance of Shibuya Hikarie.

Megumi taps his foot on the floor. Logically, he knows there's no reason for him to be this agitated. It doesn't stop him from being annoyed. Maybe it's his anxiety talking -- later on today, he's going to visit Tsumiki for the first time in weeks. The last time he saw her was after he exorcised the Finger-Bearer Curse, and she was still in her comatose state. He knows she's not going to magically awaken, but he still feels apprehensive about this upcoming visit. What if this is the last time he gets to see her...? 

He inhales deeply, trying to calm his nerves. That's why tomorrow's plan has to go off without a hitch. If even a single thing goes wrong, someone might die. Hopefully that someone isn't him.

Before Megumi can overthink this any further, the idiots, Itadori and his sensei, come into view. Itadori's wearing a bright red hoodie and black sweatpants, while Gojo dons a blue dress shirt and black skinny jeans. Even without doing anything, Gojo is attracting attention from women. Great. Megumi nearly groans. Maybe everyone should've dressed in their jujutsu uniform, even if it could interfere with their plan for the evening. It would make this trip more bearable. 

"There they are," Kugisaki grumbles, arms crossed. "What took these idiots so long?"

"Gojo kept getting stopped for his number," Itadori explains apologetically. "Oh, nice outfit Kugisaki!" Kugisaki, ever the more fashionable member of their group, has her hair in two low buns, with an apricot orange beanie to cover her head. She's wearing a black crop top and white shorts, topped with a tangerine unbuttoned cardigan. Her black socks and dark amber Converse shoes complete the look. Overall, the outfit guilts Megumi over his simple choice of a black hoodie over black pants.

"Where are the second years?" Megumi asks. He doesn't see them with Itadori and Gojo. "I thought they said they were coming."

Gojo grins. "Last I checked, the second years were teaching Choso how to play board games. They were caught up in a pretty fierce game of Monopoly! Maki’s talking with Yuki about some research stuff, so I don't think any of them will be joining us anytime soon."

Megumi rolls his eyes. Great. His hopes of having reasonable, intelligent company are now dashed. Maybe he can somehow survive this shopping trip without losing all his brain cells? Somehow.

Kugisaki pouts, looking a bit miffed. "Aw, I was hoping Maki would come." She shakes her head and starts walking ahead quickly. "Anyway, let's get going! We have 4 floors to run through. Yuuji, where should we start?"

Four floors? Megumi grimaces, and Itadori gulps. "Could we get ice cream?" Itadori suggests weakly.

"Later," she promises. She looks as determined as ever. "Think of another store! Sensei, help him!"

Gojo shrugs. "I don't know what you teenagers like nowadays, but if it was me...maybe Gucci?"

"Gucci it is!" Kugisaki declares. But as soon as they enter the first floor, she backtracks on this decision, making a beeline for a fragrance store. "Wait, let's check out Bath and Body Works first. Fushiguro, cough up the coupon."

Megumi leans closer to a corner and subtly dips his fingers into the shadow. He reaches into the void, feeling the darkness tingle his fingers, and then latches onto a flimsy scrap of paper: the 75% off Bath and Body Works coupon. He hands it over to Kugisaki, who examines every inch of it carefully like it were some prized possession. Finally, she pockets it. "It shouldn't be expired," she surmises. "I don't know how you got this coupon with all that was going on that day, but thanks!"

Megumi shares an awkward look with Itadori and then winces. He'd rather not revisit the painfully embarrassing memories from that Friday. Thankfully, Gojo spares them the uncomfortable silence, clearing his throat before he speaks. "What scents are you getting, Kugisaki? You normally stick with roses-scented stuff, right?"

"Yeah!" she says, sounding a bit surprised. Megumi doesn't blame her; he's surprised that Gojo even noticed. "But this time I want to check out their Halloween season fragrances, I've heard really good reviews about the sweet cinnamon pumpkin line."

"Nice! You'll have to recommend me some scents too, then," Gojo says, grinning as they enter the Bath and Body Works store. Thankfully, this is a different location than the other Bath and Body Works store Megumi initially went to -- Megumi's sure he would be arrested on sight if he entered that one. This fact doesn't stop him from regarding everything in this store with suspicion though.

Kugisaki rolls her eyes. "And make you get more attention from bystanders? Nah, I'm good, sensei."

And so, for the next agonizing two hours, Megumi, Itadori, and Gojo help Kugisaki get her shopping list checked off. By the end of the shopping nightmare, everyone is arms-deep in shopping bags, and Megumi even has to store some of the bags in his shadow dimension. Part of him doesn't understand why Kugisaki's making them shop so much the day before the Shibuya masssacre, since it's not exactly guaranteed that everyone would make it out alive -- but that's too dark an opinion for him to voice out loud. Megumi has a strong sense he would get slapped instead of getting an answer.

"Now can we get ice cream?" Itadori begs.

Kugisaki pauses, making Megumi's heart skip a beat. If she makes them visit ANOTHER clothing store, Megumi may have a reasonable outburst. "Sure," she eventually relents, tightly gripping her shopping bags. "I've spent enough for a day anyway."

"You mean Gojo-sensei spent enough," Megumi mumbles. She's probably using Gojo's black card. Kugisaki elbows him, making him wince. Damn that woman.

The four of them find an ice cream shop near Shibuya Station called "CREMIA". It's pretty popular, almost bustling with customers, and Megumi wonders whether they should have just stuck with store-bought ice cream instead of soft serve. This line is nightmarishly long.

“Should we just head back?” Megumi suggests. Kugisaki gives him a dismayed look, but Itadori nods along with him.

“Leave it to me, students!” Gojo says confidently, adding a wink. Then, he proceeds to walk parallel to the line, catching the eyes of all the ladies standing there. He sends a provocative wink and then retreats to the back of the shop. Within seconds, he’s swarmed with people asking for his number, and the line in front of Megumi has drastically shortened.

Kugisaki gapes at Gojo. “Did he just… flirt his way through the crowd?”

”Dang,” Itadori says, wide-eyed and in awe. “That’s pretty cool!”

”Pretty privilege, more like,” Megumi grumbles. He’s not displeased though, and the trio quickly make their order, with Megumi ordering an extra ice cream for Gojo.

The cashier looks around, and then leans in. ”Were you three with the hot mister over there?” the cashier asks.

Itadori nods reluctantly. The cashier giggles and hands them a napkin with info scribbled on it. “Here’s a deal — give my number to him and I’ll let this order be half off, got it?”

Damn. Pretty privilege strikes again.

Kugisaki, ever the opportunist, leaps on the opportunity. “I’ll throw in a date if you make it 75% off.”

”Deal,” the cashier agrees in a heartbeat.

Megumi marvels at the cashier’s stupidity. There is no way Gojo is saving her number, let alone taking her out on a date. 

And that’s how the three of them successfully scam their way into luxury ice cream at a significantly cheaper price than it should be. 

Megumi twists his plastic spoon in his mint chocolate ice cream, mind wandering off to his looming visit later that day. If something goes wrong tomorrow...who will take care of Tsumiki if he’s gone? She would have no other close family left except maybe his father if the bastard is still alive, but at this point he’s basically dead to them. Maybe Gojo? Gojo will probably survive tomorrow, but what if he still somehow got sealed? What if the weapon he brought from Antarctica isn’t enough to save him?

The conversations floating around the room are loud, but none can compete with the quiet, rational voice inside of Megumi’s head. Suddenly, Megumi wishes he were training instead of out relaxing. At least when he’s training, he doesn’t have enough time to dwell on these anxiety-inducing thoughts. 

The snap of a finger startles Megumi out of his thoughts. The manicured finger obviously belongs to Kugisaki.

“Hellooo,” Kugisaki says.

“Earth to Fushiguro?” Itadori tries. “You there?”

Megumi automatically scowls, waving away the hand in front of his eyes. “I’m fine. I was just thinking.”

”About…?” Kugisaki prompts. 

“About my sister,” Megumi says stiffly. “I’m visiting her this afternoon.”

The light-hearted atmosphere dims. “Oh,” she says. “Tsumiki, right?”

Megumi nods. She must remember Tsumiki from the Yasohachi Bridge mission.

”Oh!” Itadori says, eyes lighting up. He looks at Megumi. “Fushiguro, I was gonna ask you — y’know the patchface curse I was telling you all about, Mahito?” Megumi and Kugisaki nod. “Well I was thinking: what if Yuta copied Mahito’s idle transfiguration technique? Then Yuta could get rid of whatever curse has made her comatose!”

Megumi stares at Itadori with wide eyes, his mind racing at the possibility. This could work. This could work. But there’s a problem. “I don’t know if Okkotsu can copy cursed techniques from curses—“ Megumi admits.

Itadori deflates. “Oh yeah…We’ve never tried this in my timeline either.”

”But,” Megumi continues. Even with the possibility their plan won’t work, Megumi feels oddly fired up. “I would like to try it out. If there’s a chance Tsumiki could be healed, I would give up anything.”

Itadori smiles. “Great! I’ll talk to Yuta about this as soon as I see him. I know how important Tsumiki is to you.”

Megumi nods, keeping a stoic but grateful expression. His fingers quiver with excitement.  Tomorrow, if everything works out well, his sister could be awake and walking again. Maybe then, he would be able to apologise for all the times he let her down.

“It’s nice you might have a family to come home to tomorrow,” Kugisaki says, as she spoons through her strawberry ice cream. Though her tone is nonchalant, her eyes contain a wistful gaze. “Only family I can visit is my scary old grandma.” She shivers. “She’s the one who recommended me to Tokyo Tech, by the way. I love Gran, but she’s terrifying.”

Kugisaki tugs down on her left eye. “The woman’s eye is shut, I tell you! Closed! I’ve tried begging her to wear an eyepatch to at least look fashionable, but she doesn’t care!”

Itadori laughs. “Seriously? What happened to her eye?”

Kugisaki shrugs. “She never told me. Probably some fight with a curse. Either way, it’s scary — she’s got this menacing one-eyed stare that got her nicknamed the ‘Goblin of Tohoku’. Sometimes that’s helpful though: when some boys would try to bully me as a kid, I’d bring my Gran to school and they would shit their pants!”

”For real?” Itadori snickers.

Kugisaki nods vigorously, a smile playing on her lips. “Yes, for real! One time someone even fainted at the sight of her! Straight up!”

Megumi’s mouth quirks upwards. Itadori laughs uproariously. Kugisaki continues breathlessly. “One time, there was a robbery happening and my Gran caught the thief, but when the police arrived they tried arresting her! Even the shopkeeper was confused about who the culprit was because of how…” Kugisaki dissolves into laughter, “…because of how…haha…pissed she looked!”

Itadori begins wheezing. “One year…” Kugisaki continues between breaths. “One year, we printed out her face on a mask…and…and used it as a jumpscare for haunted house!” She wheezes. “I never…heard…so many screams before!” 

Even Megumi can’t help but grin. “Here, let me…find a photo!” Kugisaki scrolls through her phone and lands on the photo. 

At the same time, Gojo returns to their table. “Whatcha looking at, Kugisaki?” he asks, and then takes a peek at the photo. His eyebrows raise to astronomical heights and he jumps back, unintentionally knocking Megumi’s ice cream into Megumi’s face.

There’s a moment of silence. Then, Itadori howls with laughter and Kugisaki starts banging the table with her fist.

“BAHAHAHAHAHA—FUSHIGURO, YOUR FACEEE!” She wheezes. “YOU LOOK LIKE YOU SUCKED A TOAD!”

That’s a fair enough description. His 75% off mint chocolate ice cream is about 75% smeared all over his face. He should be annoyed, but hearing the pure laughter of his friends mildly softens his instinctual urge to scowl.

”Er, sorry about that Megumi!” Gojo says as he chortles, trying to wipe the ice cream off Megumi’s face with a napkin — coincidentally, the same napkin the cashier gave them. 

Thunk! Itadori, presumably having noticed this, cackles so hard he drops out of his chair. 

“Yuuji!” Kugisaki says. “Are you…pfft…are you good?”

Itadori gives a thumbs up. “I just need a moment,” he says. 

Megumi chuckles. Out of all the ways he’s thought of spending his (potential) last day on earth, this isn’t too bad.

“Do you want my ice cream?” Gojo asks, genuinely concerned.

Megumi waves it off. Trying his best to maintain a stoic face, he says, “So, did you like what you saw?” Gojo looks at him, confused.

“Is Kugisaki’s Gran your type?” 

Kugisaki and Itadori guffaw. A minute later, the four of them are escorted out the ice cream shop.

Around evening, several people covered from head to toe in black clothes stroll around Shibuya, putting up mysterious posters and graffiti.

By the morning of Halloween, the people of Shibuya wake up to a bomb threat. Graffiti, posters, signs — all pointing to a potential bombing attempt if people enter the premises. Still, some particularly courageous partygoers are willing to head to downtown Shibuya, unafraid of the possible ramifications. 

Around noon, the first ‘bomb’ goes off. An earthquake of unprecedented magnitude forces the ground to cave in and several Shibuya citizens have to be evacuated. No deaths or large injuries, luckily. But no one is stupid enough to try going near Shibuya station again. 

The same people, this time clothed in uniforms, observe the chaos from afar. “Phase one, complete.”

Now if only the rest of their plan will go as expected.

Chapter Text

October 20th, 2018. Around noon.

"So, the Halloween crowd is the most glaring advantage they have over us," Todo says, looking intensely at the information on the whiteboard. The students and teachers had just returned from their small break to resume their strategy session. A few of them nod at his point. "How do we get around this?"

"We could try putting up warning sign," Kugisaki offers. "Like a bomb threat or something. Maybe not on social media though -- it could be traced back to us."

Okkotsu shakes his head. "Alone, it won't be enough. People will take it too lightly." He strokes his chin. "No, what we need is...a way to flush them out."

"Flush them out, huh?" Gojo says. His grin sharpens. "Then why don't we use a real bomb?"

For a moment, everyone looks at him in disarray. But in the minds of their strategists, this confusion only lasts for a second, followed by a period of genuine contemplation. Todo and Okkotsu make eye-contact, realizing one thing: it could work. As harebrained as the scheme sounds, it is the best way to guarantee a complete evacuation of civilians. 

"Uhh guys," Maki says. "We're not actually considering this, are we? How would we even get a bomb? Aren't we supposed to be protecting people?"

Nanami shrugs. "I agree with you, Maki. But it doesn't have to be a real bomb, just something mimicking the effects of a disaster. An earthquake, even."

"Phase one, complete," Tsukumo Yuki whispers into her earpiece. She rushes off the scene of the 'earthquake' with all the other evacuees, making sure her black hood conceals her bright hair. Yuki still has a few more destinations to hit, so she needs to make her escape fast. Shouldering past the crowd, she bumps into a man and accidentally makes him fall over. She grimaces as she walks past him. Whoops, she must still have some leftover virtual mass. She adjusts her mass and continues looking around, trying to find the rendezvous her group had agreed on. 

She walks down a street, turning into an alley between two buildings. This is where she was supposed to meet up with them, but...

Two police officers are scouring the alley, both clutching handheld radios. One of them notices her and frowns. "Miss, it's not safe to be here," the man says. "Do you need someone to escort you to the disaster relief services?"

Yuki shakes her head and leaves the alley, internally cursing. Damn, she must have underestimated just how many police would respond to her little 'earthquake'. The street is practically crawling with them. She tugs on the strings of her black hoodie, to the point where her face is barely visible, as she navigates out of their range. Once she's out of their sight, she taps her earpiece. "Mechamaru, where are the others stationed?" 

Mechamaru's voice responds. "A truck parking lot. It's about...three streets from where you are. Take a left there."

Yuki nods, resisting the urge to make a joke about his GPS-like role in this. That would probably distract him from his difficult duty of managing all of their locations. Speaking of which...up ahead, she spots a few red trucks. Disaster relief services. She groans. Yet another hurdle she needs to subtly sneak past.

"Mechamaru?" she whispers as she approaches the trucks with other evacuees. 

"Turn left," he orders. She follows his instruction, turning into a narrow road with a few wrecked cars parked. "Okay, now turn right."

She walks on the path between a run-down store and a building before someone grabs her, pulling her over to the side. She instinctively lashes out, but another hand catches her arm mid-attack. The hand belongs to Choso, and now that she looks past him, she can see the rest of the Tokyo Tech squad -- minus Maki and Itadori -- crouched in the corner. "Shh," Choso whispers. "Don't draw attention."

Got it. Yuki nods, taking a seat next to them on the pavement.

"Sorry about that," Okkotsu apologizes. "The police started snooping around close to our area so we had to relocate."

"I figured," Yuki says, shrugging. "So, where next? Do I move on to Shinjuku, or should I stay here for the time being?"

She only arrived two days ago, so this whole plan is still somewhat new to her. Exciting, but confusing. And dangerous, it seems, but Yuki's no stranger to that -- it's all but a day's work in the life of a jujutsu sorcerer. She practically jumped at the idea of being part of this plan anyway.

Mechamaru interrupts. "The last of the civilians are being evacuated, but I can see some police cars on the way. There are also several officers hanging around this area, so it would probably be best to leave soon."

Todo frowns. "We need to get the police off our tracks or they'll pose a problem when the curses attack Shibuya. Could we use a distraction? Fushiguro, maybe?"

Fushiguro shakes his head. "When Gojo-sensei arrives, both of us need to be ready. Someone else needs to go. Inumaki, could you continue telling the officers to leave?"

So that's how they got around the police officers: Inumaki must have used his cursed technique on them earlier. A good solution, but only temporary.

"Bonito flakes." Inumaki frowns. Yuki doesn't have the faintest clue what that could mean.

"Inumaki's right," Okkotsu says. "The police would just keep coming in waves. Yuki, could you create another earthquake, perhaps? To make Shibuya appear more unstable?"

"You know it," she assures. "I'll sort out another escape route with Mechamaru. And if I can't meet up with you again, I'll just head to Shinjuku. Kapeesh?"

Todo gives a thumbs up and Yuta nods. "Stay safe," Choso says, as she's about to leave. 

She falters at his comment, and then smirks. Over the past two days, she and Choso had built up a surprising camaraderie. But despite his sweet concern, Yuki will be fine. "Don't you worry about it~. Just focus on your parts of the mission, all of you. Let's try to keep Tokyo from falling apart."

With all the people rushing out of Shibuya Station, Maki is certain she and Yuuji look like the weird ones, running straight into the supposed danger. But thanks to Yuki's earthquake, the trains are empty, the conductors have left and there aren't any more scheduled stops for the next thirty minutes, meaning this is the perfect time for Maki and Yuuji to get on the tracks. It seems like I have a lot to thank Yuki for, Maki realizes, with a bite to that statement.

"I'll take the top part," Yuuji calls, heading up north on the tracks. Maki walks along the southern tracks, pausing at what seems to be several meters away from the station. This should probably be a far enough distance, right? There's no one for her to ask, so she just assumes it's fine. The main purpose of this isn't to completely get rid of all the train tracks, just to make a good portion unusable. That way, travel to Shibuya station by train would be impossible. 

A rattle runs down the tracks, briefly shaking Maki out of her thoughts. She grins. Looks like Yuuji's started. She readies her fist and plunges it straight onto the train tracks. Pain shoots through her fingers at the same time a crack spreads through the track. Not big enough. She punches harder, and the track splits in half. This becomes a pattern, in which she hits each train track as many times as it takes to shatter it, as many times it takes to ignore the pain spreading in her hands, and possibly the pain in her heart.

Clang. Thump. Clang. As she mindlessly continues the demolition process, she reflects on her conversation with Yuki. The sorcerer offered Maki a book detailing the specifics of the soul, but she admitted that Heavenly Restrictions like Maki's were incredibly rare, to the point where she had only seen one person with the same restriction before. And said person turned Yuki's research offer down. But even with this lack of information, Yuki proposed a solution that made Maki's insides churn. It could work. It could give Maki a massive power-up, without involving the death of her sister. But…

Maki’s fist clangs against the train tracks. But…Mai would have to give up her cursed energy.

Clang. Thump. Clang.

Maki isn’t sure if she wants to take that away from Mai. She’s more than aware of Mai’s distaste for the jujutsu sorcerer profession, but at the same time, Mai said it herself: in the Zen'in Clan, without cursed energy, you’re useless. Wouldn’t taking Mai’s cursed energy be like robbing Mai of her purpose? And who knows how badly the Zen’in clan would treat Mai if they found out? Maki only managed to escape the Zen’ins through rebellion, but Mai seems content in her suffering. Is Maki’s ambition really enough to warrant adding to Mai’s misery?

Clang. Thump.

Maki sighs. Why is it that her efforts to prove a point always end up hurting Mai? When she decided to leave the Zen’in clan and even now, with this important decision looming over her head. Why do the concepts of strength and love always lie on opposite ends?

Thump? Maki blinks, noticing Yuuji glancing at her with a concerned expression. Ah, in the midst of her thinking, she must have forgotten her work on the tracks. She waves Yuuji off and resumes crushing the tracks. Together, the two form a melody of ‘clangs’ and ‘thumps’ that act as their form of communication. If Maki’s mind is still caught up in her thoughts, Yuuji’s “thump” brings her attention back to reality. And if Yuuji takes a bit too long to crush a track, Maki’s “clang” snaps him out of his daze. The two don’t talk, but this wordless communication fills the gap between them.

More than once, Maki catches herself observing Yuuji, wondering what sort of atrocities he witnessed in his timeline. Pondering the meaning of his spiel about sacrifice.

“You always have to sacrifice something important to become someone important,” he had said. “To become the strongest...well. You have to sacrifice something equally significant.”

Maybe, back then, he understood her more than she expected. Maybe that’s why he tried to push everyone away at the start — the best types of sacrifice are the ones that don’t hurt others. Perhaps, in his timeline, he struggled with a similar dilemma she faces now. And by pushing everyone away, the only person available to suffer was himself. 

Maki doesn’t know if she agrees with this mindset, but now she can understand his previous actions clearer than ever.

Finally, the two finish their job on the train tracks. It took an unexpectedly long time, even with both their strengths, which makes Maki a bit worried about their next job in Shinjuku. Yuki still needs to bomb Shinjuku, and its only a good portion of time after the bombing for the station to be empty enough for their work to occur. Hopefully everything will go according to plan…

“This Halloween, twin earthquakes hi—“ “Three earthquakes of equal magnitude went o—“ “Police officials received reports of mysterious ‘bomb’ threat posters up to 12 hours before—“

Megumi switches off the TV, tossing the remote to Todo. It's around 6PM, but all day the news channels have been publicizing their bomb attempts, and the drone overviews of the targeted areas show barely any humans in Shibuya. Shinjuku, on the other hand, still has a decent amount of people evacuating since Tsukumo had just visited the area. But within thirty minutes, the area will probably be empty enough for Maki and Itadori to resume their train-track breaking activities. 

In the meantime, Todo and Megumi are waiting in an abandoned hotel room Gojo stumbled upon. Gojo is on the phone with someone, and if Megumi pays attention, he can distantly hear snippets of the conversation.

"She's where?" Gojo says, surprised.

An indecipherable response follows. "With Ui Ui?" he repeats, frowning. "Why...?" Gojo sighs, running a hand through his hair. "You know what? Nevermind. Thanks for the info. I'll get back to you soon."

Another response, and then Gojo ends the call and plops himself on the seat next to Megumi. "What was that about?" Megumi asks. "It sounded important."

Gojo waves him off. "Don't worry about it, Megumi. Anyway, how's the plan going?"

"Mostly on track," Todo answers. "Yuki just called Phase two complete, though Maki and Itadori haven't started their task yet. According to the others, no signs of curses yet."

Megumi's earpiece buzzes, and he hears a similar sound from Gojo and Todo's earpieces. "Uh, guys?" Mechamaru says. "Itadori and Maki think a curtain was just cast over Shinjuku station."

Immediately, Megumi's on alert. "What? It's too early -- the first curtain was supposed to be set up at 7!"

"Well, Itadori and Maki are saying they can't enter," Mechamaru says. "If that's not a curtain, I don't know what is. The group of curses must taken advantage of the chaos during the earthquake to sneak into Shinjuku."

Megumi frowns, making eye contact with Todo. They both know what this means. Gojo could be called in any moment now. But are they ready?

"Hmm. Yuta was going with the Team Yuuji, right?" Gojo asks. "Tell him to board a train a few minutes away from Shinjuku station. Maybe he can catch Mahito on the train before the curse transfigures any humans."

"On it," Mechamaru says, and the line goes silent.

A moment later, Gojo's phone rings again. This time, it's the higher-ups calling, no doubt asking him to investigate the earthquake incidents. Gojo looks at the caller ID and then cheerfully turns his phone off. "Now, where were we," he resumes, as though nothing happened. "You two remember the plan from here onwards, right?"

Todo and Megumi nod. Gojo grins. "Alright. They'll probably call us over in three...two..."

Megumi's earpiece buzzes again. "Ijichi just confirmed the curtain was set up to block all sorcerers but Gojo Satoru," Mechamaru relays. "Now's your cue."

Gojo stands up, flexing his limbs as Todo and Megumi get ready. Megumi can feel his heart pounding with anxiety in his chest, but he forces the feeling down. He can't afford to screw up now. For Tsumiki's sake. For the sake of everyone in this mission.  "Let's head out," he says.

The three of them walk out of the hotel room, observing the rest of Shinjuku from the balcony view. Even from this far away,  Megumi can see the caved in pedestrian crossings, the crooked LED store signs, and the smoke and dust wafting in the air. Surprisingly enough, there aren't any police cars stationed outside of Shinjuku station. It seems the police learned their lesson from Shibuya, which will make part of the plan easier.

Gojo puts a hand on Megumi's shoulder and teleports the three of them to the roof of a building near Shinjuku station. They climb down the stairs and approach the barrier cast over the station. Megumi touches the barrier and feels a zap go through his fingers. Yup, Ijichi's information must be correct. Now this next part will make or break their plan for Shinjuku.

Megumi takes a deep breath, steadying himself. Then, he grabs Todo and the two step into Gojo's shadow, melting into the pitch-black darkness on the ground. It's only thanks to the several days of practice that Megumi doesn't collapse from the burden of carrying Todo's weight. There's no oxygen in the shadow, so Megumi and Todo will just have to hold their breaths for the meanwhile until Gojo leads them to a place where they can hop shadows. If they can even enter the barrier at all.

Gojo takes one step into the barrier...and then another step. And the shadow has successfully passed through the barrier. Just as they had planned, the barrier separating other jujutsu sorcerers only recognized the presence of Gojo Satoru, and not the presence of the sorcerers in his shadow. Megumi nearly breathes out in relief, before remembering that would waste his oxygen. The riskiest part of their plan is over. Now for the other dangerous parts.

Gojo enters through the main entrance, passing by a few empty department stores. At least the station seems vacant, Megumi reflects. While brainstorming the plan for today, he did account for the chance that the group of curses would switch locations. He just never thought the curses would put up the curtain early, of all things. Aren't the curses relying on the presence of civilians for their plan to trap Gojo? Have they already adapted to these changes so fast?

Megumi frowns. Something's off about this. And when he looks at Todo, he knows Todo has reached a similar conclusion.

Yuki's earthquake must have accidentally hit the fuse box, because the lights in the station are really twitchy, leaving the station in darkness more times than not. Megumi is thankful for this; after all, it'll make moving around through shadows much easier. But this advantage doesn't take away from the station's eerie atmosphere, with the only sound in this station coming from Gojo's footsteps. More than once, Megumi finds himself questioning whether this is the right place. Then his common sense kicks in and tells him it has to be.

To distract himself, he repeats their mission in his head: swap the Prison Realm out, stash it in his shadow. Swap and stash. Todo and him had practiced this for days. The mission is supposed to be quick and easy. Swap and stash. Quick and easy.

"Hello?" Gojo calls, as he walks down the stairs. "It's not very polite to hide from your enemies! I've waited eagerly for this, y'know?" 

He continues egging them on. "Hiding like this...it's pretty cowardly! I thought even curses had some level of self-respect, but I guess I was wrong."

His voice echoes throughout the station.

And then, the station speakers crackle to life. "You have reached Shinjuku station!" A computerized voice says. Gojo begins running in the direction of the sound. "The train is running late today, and we are awfully sorry for the inconvenience caused. But everything will be right on track, you'll...chr...chr...see..." The noise dies out, and another sound overtakes it.

Screaming.

Gojo runs towards the source of the noise: the train tracks. Just before he arrives at the scene, he ducks behind a pillar, so his shadow overlaps with the pillars. Megumi and Todo hop on to the pillar's shadow, receiving a moments worth of oxygen before plunging back into the darkness. 

A foreign, distorted voice takes over the speakers. "You've been very smart, Gojo. That bomb trick? Made me wish I thought of it...tell me, whose idea was it? Okkotsu? Todo?" 

Along with the darkness, Megumi can feel an enormous wave of cursed energy. What exactly is on the tracks?

"No response?" The voice pouts. "Well, regardless, we had a back-up plan. Since the quantity of people were reduced..."

Finally, Megumi catches sight of the tracks. The sight is enough to make his heart sink in his chest. His eyes widen. No. 

"...we just had to up the quality, you see?"

On the sides of the tracks, several hostages are bound in ropes, standing with what must be hundreds, maybe even thousands of curses breathing down their necks. And among the hostages is the unconscious Tsumiki, along with Ieri, Mai, Nitta, and many others Megumi can't identify. 

Todo gasps, looking at a hostage with pigtails. Then, he looks at the curses standing behind the hostage. Megumi follows his line of sight and nearly gapes. Hanami and Jogo are among the hundreds of curses standing behind the hostages.

How the hell is Hanami alive? Megumi gives Todo an accusatory glance, but Todo shrugs, equally as confused. 

Gojo sees all of this and takes it in stride. "Hostages, huh? And I thought you couldn't get any more pathetic."

The ceiling shakes as branches grow around the station, creating a dome that blocks off any possible exits. Luckily, Megumi and Todo are included in the dome. Gojo smirks. "Don't worry, I won't run. Bring it on."

One of the hostages, a blond woman with big eyes, is pushed onto the train tracks, and hundreds of curses pounce after her. A second hostage is pushed into the fray.

Megumi gulps, another dilemma having dawned on him. Wait, where is the Prison Realm?

The speakers emit static noise. "We'll see how long you last, Gojo Satoru."

Chapter Text

"Next stop: Shinjuku Station!" The train conductor announces. "The ETA is 10 minutes. Shinjuku Station is known as the busiest station in the world, with an estimated three million passengers per day--"

Chisuke Shi gulps, squeezing the hand of her grandchild. Her grandson, Kiyoshi, bounces with energy, ignorant to Shi's growing anxiety. The two had boarded the train around two hours ago, but halfway through the trip, she received a phone call from her family warning her not to go to Shinjuku or Shibuya. Apparently those areas were bombed! Several passengers on the train asked the train conductor if it was still alright for the train to head its course, but the conductor assured them the ride was still safe. "If anything," he had said, "the area should be more than safe now! With all the disaster relief services present, I'm sure we'll be able to get off board safely."

Privately, Shi thinks the conductor looked a bit too nervous as he was speaking, but she doesn't dare voice this opinion. No need to make Kiyoshi antsy. Besides, she could be overthinking this whole issue. Who knows -- maybe this trip will end peacefully and she and her grandson will get home safely. This is one of the rare occasions when the two could hang out, given the overprotective nature of Kiyoshi's mother. And the less said about Kiyoshi's dad, the better. Shi smiles as she gazes at Kiyoshi's unbridled excitement to return home. They had bought a lot of figurines he could decorate his room with. Kiyoshi is going through a manga phase, so Shi let him pick out a few volumes of his favorite manga while they were at Kyoto. The boy was practically over the moon. Even now, he kept sneaking glances at the bag containing the manga volumes. Considering Kiyoshi's fear of enclosed spaces, fantasizing about the manga is probably the only thing keeping him from a nervous meltdown.

Shi chuckles. Kiyoshi gives her a wide-eyed, confused look, but she waves him off. He blinks owlishly and then smiles, breaking eye-contact to look around the room. Then, his gaze rests on the sliding door separating their train compartment from the next, labelled in block yellow letters '03'. He tugs on her sleeve and points at the door. "What's that, baasan?" 

Shi glances at the door, not really understanding him at first. All she sees are passengers sitting in their seats. Some begin to get up and--Oh! Shi bites down a gasp and puts a hand over Kiyoshi's eyes. Someone just collided with the compartment door. The resulting 'bang' grabs the attention of the passengers next to Shi. The person's body slides down, leaving a trail of blood in the see-through door.

Oh no. Shi stands up, tugging Kiyoshi to a section of the compartment away from the sliding door. Her heart rate quickens as she pushes past other passengers fighting to leave the compartment. She doesn't know what happened beyond that door, but she's not about to find out. Her fist joins the hundreds of others banging the door of '05', begging for someone from the other side of the door to let them in.

"Baasan?" Kiyoshi calls nervously from behind the crowd of passengers. Shi whips her head to face him. What? When did he escape her grasp? She pushes past the crowd, trying to reach her grandson. "Baasan!" Kiyoshi calls again. "There are too many people." He squirms, shifting his feet uncomfortably. Shi curses internally. Damn it, this must be his claustrophobia acting up. She's almost out of the crowd, almost ready to grab on to him and run so they can--

The compartment door of '03' slides open. 

No one enters, but Shi can feel a much denser atmosphere now, so thick it physically paralyzes her. Even having her breath come out is a struggle. Her hands shake with fear, and that extends to  her whole body once she sees a pair of bloody footsteps on the floor of their compartment. Just past the door of '03'.

A breath. And then, she hears a low rasping voice. "....Iiiiitadorii....Yuuu-uji?"

Shi is frozen. She can't will herself to move, not even a single step. Her heart clammers in her chest. For a moment, she blinks and sees a human -- or something with a vague resemblance -- but the image vanishes when she blinks again. 

Shit. This is terrifying.

"....Iiiiitaddoriii Yuuuuji...?" the voice sing-songs. "Are...youuuu....heereee?"

No one dares to speak. 

And then. "Are you a villain, mister?" Kiyoshi asks. 

Shi gasps, suddenly brought back to reality. In all the terror, she forgot about her grandson. She pushes over the remaining people, shoving them into the direction of the '03' door as she picks up Kiyoshi. She and the other passengers resume hitting the door of compartment '05'. "Open up!" she screams. "Open!" 

The passengers on the other side of the door stare at them with wide eyes, but they don't make any motion to help them. Shi wants to yell and curse at them. Who are they-- to be keeping the door shut while she and her grandson are in danger!? She and her grandson could be killed here! Do these people have no compassion!?

The squelching noises from behind force her to look back. Her mouth falls open, and the people next to her begin to scream. The passengers she shoved on to the floor have somehow been transformed into blue, purple, and beige brutish hunks of flesh, with deformed limbs loosely attached and offset eyes near-popping out of their sockets. They close in like zombies, drool hanging from their lips as they sluggishly step forward. 

At that point, it becomes a free-for-all, where all of the passengers begin pushing each other towards the crowd of deformed humans. Shi pushes some people too, making sure to shelter Kiyoshi between her and the '05' door. A few try to shove her away from the door, but she hits them with her bag. Kiyoshi's manga volumes slip out, landing in the bloody pile of humans in the center of the train compartment. Shi winces. 

Finally, all the fighting dies down until it's just Shi and Kiyoshi in the train, surrounded by the group of deformed humans. Shi trembles. Damn it. She thought those monsters would be satisfied after eating and killing so many passengers -- but if anything, they look hungrier than ever. There's a bigger crowd too -- whatever transfigured those humans into monsters must have continued their work on the side. 

She doesn't have anymore people to sacrifice. How will she and Kiyoshi escape from the train? Or will they even be able to?

Shi bangs the '05' door one last time, out of anger more than anything, and then turns around to face the crowd, keeping Kiyoshi behind her legs. Something flickers in her sight and she blinks. Then, there's a blue-haired man standing in front of her.

She inhales deeply, resisting the urge to scream. Her legs are shaking, and her feet almost give in before she grabs onto the train handle.

The blue-haired man laughs, sending a shiver down Shi's spine. Kiyoshi clings to Shi's legs, and she can almost feel his tears on her skin. "You humans...are so alike!" The monster wheezes. "Morals this, morals that...but look at you! You all were busy backstabbing each other out of fear!"

The monster continues laughing. Since Shi is backed up against the '05' door, she catches the exact moment when the door opens an inch. Moments later, she feels Kiyoshi's arms pried away from her legs and dragged in behind the door, before the door quietly closes.

Holy shit, did that just happen? Shi gulps, forcefully keeping the relief out of her expression. Internally, she's thanking every deity she can rattle off her head. Kiyoshi is safe, thank God!

Shi glances at the leering monster in front of her, and then kneels on the floor, sinking her knees into a puddle of warm blood as she bows. "Please..." she whispers. "Please spare me."

"What, are you scared?" The monster teases. "How predictable."

Shi nods. The monster pauses, as though deliberating her request. 

And then he places his hand on her face, and everything in her seems to misalign and combust and distort and explode into nothing. 

October 31st, 2018. 18:08.

Nobara sighs as she fiddles with her nails. It's been a few minutes since Gojo entered Shinjuku station. To say she's nervous is an understatement. She wishes Mechamaru could tell her what's going on inside of the station, but Mechamaru is currently busy directing Yuuji and his squad.

Nobara replays the plan in her head, as if to cool her nerves. Gojo, Fushiguro, and Todo secure the prison realm. Yuuji, Inumaki, Maki, and Ijichi handle the curse users protecting the curtain talismans. Yuta was supposed to go with them, but Gojo told him to go after Mahito on the subway. Maki subbed in for him. Mechamaru and Panda are at a hidden location, with Mechamaru keeping surveillance as Panda protects him. The rest of them -- Nanami, Choso, Yuki, and Nobara -- are stationed at various points around the outer curtain, monitoring the area and exorcising nearby curses. Once the curtain goes down, they'll wait for a signal from Gojo before entering.

So far, Nobara's just been waiting around. If she were with Maki, this would be a golden opportunity to start conversation with her, but unfortunately, she was put in the most awkward match up ever. She sneaks a glance at Choso and then looks away, gulping. Seriously, this is so awkward it's killing her. She hasn't had much of a chance to talk to the half-curse ever since he came with Yuuji, but now the two are forced to interact with each other.

Nobara doesn't know what to say. How exactly do you talk to the guy who's brothers you killed? Yuuji helped her too, but maybe Choso let it go because the two are brothers. Nobara doesn't have that kind of special bond with Choso though...and she hasn't exactly apologized either...

Nobara scowls. But why does she have to apologize in the first place? It's not like she wanted to kill Choso's brothers -- they attacked first! Their exorcism was purely for self-defense. Surely Choso understands that, right?

She glances at Choso again. He meets her gaze with a questioning look. She shakes her head and grimaces. Right??

"Did you want to ask me something?" Choso asks. Nobara startles. Whoops, she was caught.

"Ah, no," she mumbles. "I was just...thinking about Yuuji and the others. Those idiots better be safe."

Choso shrugs. "From what Yuuji's told us about the curse users involved, he should be able to handle their level. And he's not alone, the rice-ball guy is with him too."

"Inumaki," Nobara corrects. She sighs, putting her hands in her pockets. The air is weirdly cold for October weather. "I get it, I guess. I just wish I was out there doing something to help. It's nice that we're out of danger, but we're not helping much right now." She hates how useless her role in this seems.

Choso huffs, his exhale coming out as a misty puff of air. "I can relate to that. I wish I could've gone with Yuuji to protect him, but I think he would only resent that more. Maybe it's the same with you."

Yuuji, resenting something? And, 'the same with you'? Nobara's eyebrows furrow, adding to the tumultuous swishing of anxiety in her gut. Ever since Yuuji ran away, she had this vague sense that there was some secret she wasn't in on. A secret she isn't interested in uncovering, but the recurrence of that uneasy feeling associated with it makes her agitated. 

"He doesn't want us to get hurt," she says, thinking out loud. That must be why the two along with Nanami were delegated to non-central roles. While Nobara knows this is a dangerous situation, she can't help but feel irritated by Yuuji's lack of trust in her. She can do more than just stand around. It wounds her pride that he thinks she's this weak.

Nobara sighs and looks up at the dark sky, illuminated by LED billboard signs and car lights, wondering if it will shed light on this complex situation. "He's stupid," she decides. 

"Don't call him that," Choso says, mildly frowning. "He's only doing this because for all of us. I also don't agree with him, but I know if I was in his position, I know I would do the most to keep my brothers out of harm's way."

Nobara's mouth goes dry. Right. His brothers. She looks to the ground and bites her lip. Welp, if there's any time to apologize, it's now. "Look--about your brothers," she starts. She ignores the feeling of Choso's concentrated gaze on her face. "I'm sorry about what happened to them. It was kind of inevitable since they attacked first, but, I, uh, wish we had met in better circumstances. I don't have any siblings, but if someone killed the people I love..." like Fumi and Saori, she thinks, or like her idiot classmates, "...I wouldn't be able to forgive them. I guess I respect that you can get along with Yuuji so well despite knowing that."

Nobara exhales, feeling the weight of her anxiety disappear. Finally, she got out everything she wanted to say. She feels much lighter now, regardless of what Choso will respond with. Yesterday, she did as much shopping as her heart desired, and today, she explained herself to Choso. Now the only thing left is...

A faint chuckle breaks Nobara away from her thoughts. "I'm glad Yuuji has good friends like you," Choso says, with a small smile. "And I'm grateful to Yuuji too. I know it's too late for Kechizu and Eso, but at the very least, Yuuji saved me from a life of meaningless revenge and suffering as a curse. It was my foolish choice to align with the curses that led to the demise of Kechizu and Eso. But now that I have this chance to start over, I'm going to let go of my old life as a curse and live as a human with Yuuji as his brother."

That was unexpectedly deep of him to say. Letting go of the old, starting anew -- it sounds idealistic, but for Yuuji's sake, Nobara hopes it can be achieved. "Though we'll have to survive this first," she jokes.

Choso cracks a grin.

It's only then Nobara realizes it's quiet. Too quiet. 

She taps her earpiece. "Mechamaru?" she says. "You there?" All she hears is static noise.

"Hello?" Choso tries, tapping his earpiece. Based on his serious expression, he must have heard the same static. They try calling a few more times, but Mechamaru doesn't answer.   

Shit. Nobara's starting to get worried now. Was Mechamaru taken out? Who will act as their eyes and ears on the field now?

After another thirty seconds of calling, Nobara can't deny the urgency of the situation anymore. "I'll look for him," Choso offers. "You regroup with the others around the barrier. I'm sure they've noticed too by this point."

"Got it." Nobara nods. While she hasn't known Choso for long, she knows he's strong enough to protect himself. The two set off in opposite directions, with Choso heading to Mechamaru's hidden location while Nobara heads off in the direction where Nanami's stationed. As she's walking, she calls Nanami on her phone.

Nanami picks up on the first ring. "Hey Nanami," she greets, internally grateful for his punctuality. "Did Mechamaru also...?"

She stops, suddenly noticing a rise in cursed energy. And then-- "Hey--!"

Something hits her, and her vision fades to black.

October 31st, 2018. 18:13. 

Two people down, Gojo Satoru tallies as he picks up two women, saving them from a horde of curses. In a split-second, several thoughts pass through his head. Where will he put the hostages? The ceiling here is too low -- they could easily get snatched up by the curses again. And this damn wooden barrier is blocking him from going further.

Satoru slashes a vertical cut through the barrier using pure cursed energy. He's looking for something...anything...! His eyes lock in on an escalator. There's no guarantee there aren't curses behind the escalator, but right now, his six eyes aren't sensing anything. He teleports to the top of the escalator and drops off the two hostages, then teleports back to the train tracks just in time to see another hostage thrown into the fray. Right into a group of curses trying to tear them apart. One curse bites the hostages arm, but Satoru teleports in front of the curse and slices its head off, grabbing the hostage's arm in the process. The hostage doesn't budge -- the other curses have latched onto their limbs. He sends out another slice of cursed energy -- powerful enough to cut off all the curses, but accurate enough not to hurt the hostage. Three people.

Judging by the added screaming, two other hostages have been thrown into the ring. And the hole in the branch barrier has just patched itself up. Shit. He can't purple his way out of this without potentially destroying the escalator and the hostages there. Though maybe...

Satoru grabs the hostage with one hand and speeds forward, slashing through a straight line of curses with his other hand. He picks up another hostage and places him on his back, with the hostage clinging to his neck. Satoru continues speeding forward and reaches the last hostage, wrapping his arm around her. Four, five, six. Now...he has to make this fast!

Not even half a second after he picks up the third hostage, he teleports above the curses and sets one of the hostages on the ceiling rails. With his free hand, he aims Red at the train tracks filled with curses and shoots. The station shakes as a fourth of the curses get smeared onto the train tracks. Satoru does a brief scan, looking through the piles of green flesh and purple blood for any humans. No hostages were caught in the attack. Good, he specifically weakened the output so it wouldn't draw them in.

Satoru points at the dome. “You seriously thought this loser shit could hold me back?" he says bluntly as he picks up the hostage on the ceiling.

Using Blue to draw himself closer to the barrier, he increases the strength of his infinity as he approaches the done until.. Boom! His infinity collides with the barrier and makes the branches explode, creating a gaping hole in the structure. A wave of tremors shake the station, and some ceiling tiles fall out. 

He glimpses the nature curse's baffled expression and gives a cruel smirk. Try fix that, weed fucker.

He drops off the hostages and travels back to the train tracks, where several other curses have pooled into the area he crushed. They trample on the curse corpses, saliva dripping from their mouths. Disgusting.

The disaster curses share a look. The nature curse launches forward at Satoru, while the volcano-head runs to the hostages, fire in his palms. Time seems to slow down as Satoru processes the attacks. He looks up and sees Weed head suspended in the air, arms lifted as though to crush Satoru. He looks across and sees volcano-head's raised fiery hand, paused in his assault against the hostages.

Ah. Satoru's confident smirk settles into a cold scowl. I see it now.

If this were a group of strangers, Satoru wouldn't be putting so much effort into this. While he does dislike the loss of human life, he would have tried to make up for it by exorcising the curses who killed them. But these people are precious to his students. And the person volcano-head is about to touch is Tsumiki. For Megumi’s sake, he can’t let her die. And maybe for his own sake too.

The following actions are so fast, the movement is imperceivable to the naked and cursed eye. It's physically impossible for so much distance to be covered in the short milliseconds this occurred over.

But...this individual is Gojo Satoru. As the strongest man in jujutsu society, his very existence defies possibility. Or rather, it redefines it.

One moment, Satoru is on the train tracks. The next, he's on top of weed head, gripping one of its branch antenna. Then, he's in front of volcano head, using weed head's branch to pierce through Jogo's head. Finally, he and volcano head are on the weed head's back, the volcano head's palm touching the weed's exterior.

A moment passes. Then. "AHHHHHHHHH!" The weed screams in agony as the volcano head's fire engulfs its body. "JOGO!"

"HANAMI!" The volcano head withdraws his hand quickly, but the damage has already been done. The weed curse's back is charred black, and its second branch has burned short. The dome around the train tracks crumbles, shaking the ceiling once more.

With his knees on the weed's back, Satoru summons a powerful ball of pure cursed energy in his hands and uses it along with infinity to crush the weed to death on the tracks. The train station trembles again as several weaker curses get caught up in the attack. With this attack, he must have taken out another fourth of the curses.

Satoru looks up at the speakers above him. His hands and knees are soaked in the curse's fluids, but he honestly can't care enough now. He's too damn irritated. "Next," he spits out.

More screams as hostages are launched into the crowd of curses. Satoru's eyes widen as he sees who's among this batch -- Shoko! She should be able to defend...

Shoko waves at him frantically, and immediately, Satoru is tipped off by her panicked expression. He stares at the state of her soul. 

Fuck.

Her RCT was taken away. 

Satoru slashes through curses as he runs to reach her. Who could have—? It must’ve been Mahito. Why—? So she couldn’t heal the hostages’ injuries. These damn curses have definitely researched their opponents well.

At the same time, the speaker activates again. "Next? I guess you need more to deal with, though one of our obstacles is a bit late..."

Curses scramble to get off the tracks, still holding the hostages with them. A jingle noise reverberates through the whole station. The peaceful melody contrasts the weightiness the train carries. Satoru knows what's coming next.

The train doors slide open, and hundreds of transfigured humans pour out.

October 31st, 2018. 18:13. 

The train from the Toei Shinjuku Line station is eerily quiet, but considering the blood stains splattered on the floor of the compartment, Yuta thinks this makes sense.

He notices a curse under a subway seat and slices through the seat, killing it instantly. As he passes through the compartments, he falls into a rhythm of killing all stray transfigured curses he runs into and following the trails of blood. He’s been tracking any sign of Mahito, and judging by the growing cursed energy he’s sensing, he’s getting pretty close.

Just as he’s about to enter another compartment, he feels it: the strong aggregation of cursed energy. There are more transfigured humans here. He slips past the see-through door silently and readies his sword. Then, he blitzes through all the transfigured humans as quietly as possible. He doesn’t want to be loud enough to attract Mahito’s attention.  No, it’s better to be silent and catch the curse off guard. Especially if he’s supposed to acquire the curse’s technique.

The following two compartments proceed the same. Then, Yuta hears a faint noise. “Iiiitadorii….Yuuuuuji?” Someone rasps in a sing-song voice.

The ensuing screams from the next compartment is what tips Yuta off. He glances at the compartment number above, 13, and crouches, wielding his sword from a low angle. He looks ahead and sees a blue-haired curse with patched skin behind the door — this must be Mahito. And he’s currently transfiguring more people. 

Yuta has found his target.

He passes through the transparent door quietly, hiding behind the chaotic movement of the transfigured humans. He shuffles around between the legs of the transfigured humans until he can see a clear line between him and Mahito. He switches his grip on his sword. Just when he’s about to attack…

Mahito pauses, staring at a convex mirror in front of the curse. That same convex mirror gives him a perfect view of all the chaos his transfigured humans have caused, but it also exposes Yuta’s hiding spot. 

“…You’re not Yuuji, but you’re similar, aren’t you,” Mahito says, making eye contact with Yuta in the mirror. 

Yuta lunges forward as the curse splits into two.

Chapter Text

October 31st, 2018. 18:18

In a quick motion, Yuta cuts off the second clone’s hands and head, but the hands regenerate and the head reattaches itself in an instant. This must be the real body then, since this clone can still use his cursed technique. Yuta backs away, trying to put space between him and the Mahito's hands, and then outputs a controlled beam of positive energy. Mahito shrieks as the beam tears a hole through his side, blasting his arm off. Perfect, now Rika can eat the arm...

Mahito starts running away from Yuta, clumsily touching any stray passengers with his free hand. Yuta catches up to him and aims for Mahito's head. Just as the sword is about to make contact, Mahito shrinks in size. The rest of his body is regenerating slowly, Yuta notices, which means the arm from earlier isn't feasible for use, irritatingly enough. He continues trying to cut Mahito down with his sword, but Mahito keeps evading his grasp by changing his body proportions. He tosses transfigured humans between him and Yuta as though to further their distance, but Yuta cuts them down easily. If only this curse would stop trying to escape.

Yuta blasts another beam of positive energy at Mahito's legs, making him trip forward onto the ground. Only the curse's upper half is intact, and though his arms flail on the compartment floor, he's not in any position to move. This should be a good enough size for Rika to eat. Yuta slashes through Mahito's throat as he summons Rika. He throws the body to Rika and watches with pleasure as she snacks on it. That’s one task done. Now he has to deal with the transfigured humans.

Yuta’s about to turn back to the previous compartments when somehow, behind the cacophony of screams and hissing and screeching, he hears a a faint buzzing sound. 

He looks above, squinting at a buzzing fleshly thing hovering in the air ahead of him, only dimly illuminated by the train's flickering light. What could it...? Oh. Yuta sheaths his sword and relaxes. It's just a mosquito. Nothing to worry about.

But on second thought, it is strange for a mosquito to be in a train, considering the lack of ventilation and open windows. Yuta places his hand over his sword, and stares at its movement suspiciously. He might be wasting precious time here, but it's absolutely vital he confirms the exorcism of Mahito. He doesn't have a good feeling about this. 

The seemingly innocent mosquito flutters through the air, weaving its way around people as it travels to the next compartment. And those same people turn into transfigured curses a moment later. 

Yuta clenches his jaw as he rushes forward, breaking down the compartment door. So it was Mahito. Crap. 

“Rika, deal with the transfigured curses!” he orders. “I’ll handle Mahito.” If Yuta can even find him at this rate. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Of all the things Mahito transfigured into, he just had to pick the most difficult form to pin down. And Yuta needs to acquire a new piece of his body too, so he can’t just blindly shoot positive cursed energy through each compartment.

The ETA on this train is about…Yuta does some quick mental math…four minutes? Rika’s currently dealing with the transfigured humans Yuta left behind, but it’ll be of no use if Mahito keeps transfiguring humans ahead of them. Yuta needs to handle Mahito before this train stops.

October 31st, 2018. 18:12

From the top of Shinjuku Sumitomo, the city of Shinjuku looks smaller than ever. Just yesterday, Jiko Hozen was part of the hundreds of humans walking around Shinjuku. Now, as the vessel for Zen'in Toji's physique, he'll easily dominate over them all. His veins thump with a vicious sort of excitation, though he doubts anyone could notice given his stoic expression. That's exactly how grandma raised him: cool and collected, never letting a hint of emotion slip through. Emotions, his grandma always said, were the easiest way to capture victims -- just act friendly, fake a little sympathy and they wouldn't notice the knife in the back of their neck until its too late. Grandma said she'd be damned if she let any of her grandchildren fall for the same ploys she used.

Hozen spares a glance at the woman. Her eyes are closed and her hands are placed together in a prayer, beads dripping from her fingers like suspended blood. With her small back hunched over, she looks defenseless and innocent, but Hozen knows exactly how deadly she can be. He's assisted in her assassinations before -- not because he's interested in her work, but more because he'd probably become the target of her next assassination if he didn't.

Grandma Ogami shows no mercy to anyone, not even her grandchildren. The flimsy bonds connecting their family are just chains binding the two parties into a contractual relationship where they would protect each other out of a need to further one another's goals. There are no idealistic feelings like love or selflessness involved: just pure business. And perhaps, some fear on Hozen's side; if he steps out of line, he might become like the many dead grandchildren Grandma Ogami uses for her seances. It was evident when he was officially adopted that she saw him as a tool at best and a source of amusement at worst. 

For Grandma Ogami, today is an opportunity for her to reclaim the free life she had experienced before the birth of Gojo Satoru. Hozen doesn't have a dream as audacious as that. On whatever missions he's sent on, his main goal is to survive. If he has to grovel, get beaten up, or be spit upon, he'll do it. This mission, Hozen even considers himself lucky, he's just stuck with bodyguard duty again. And if he happens to get stronger in the process...

His mouth quirks up. That wouldn't be so bad either. 

"Smiling, are we?" Grandma asks, her eyes still closed and a smirk playing on her lips.

Hozen's face reverts to an impassive expression. "No, baasan," he says. She chuckles softly, and he gets the sense she didn't buy it.

"I wonder if the sorcerers will notice us..." Awasaka Jiro says as he stands behind the ledge of the building. He turns around and walks to Grandma Ogami, twirling his mustache. "This is the most obvious place for the curtain's source, right?"

"Probably." There's another equally notable building nearby, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, but the security was too thick after the bombing incident to get through so they had to settle for this place. These problems could've been avoided if they had just stuck to Shibuya, but the city was basically empty now. 

"And if they do notice..." Hozen trails off. The three of them know how precarious this arrangement is. There were barely any humans in this building, so unlike what they had planned, there are no floors of transfigured humans to keep jujutsu sorcerers from reaching them quickly. Until Zen'in Toji's summoning is complete, the three are practically sitting ducks.

"...we'll fight them off," Jiro completes. He sports a bloodthirsty grin. "It's been a while since I had good competition."

Before Hozen has a chance to respond, he feels a massive updraft of wind blow him back. He and Jiro turn around in time to see a massive owl-like creature hovering in the air. A few people are sitting on its back, and one of them holds a megaphone. 

"Quick, child," Grandma mutters, "the fragment." This early? He takes the bone fragment out of his pocket and swallows it whole, internally grimacing at its texture. Grandma doesn't look ready yet. Maybe she wants him to be prepared?

Hozen hears a loud hissing sound from the megaphone as it turns on. Then, someone lifts it to their mouth. "STOP MOVING!" 

He can only stare in frozen awe as four jujutsu sorcerers dismount the massive owl and land on the roof. He spots a pink-haired student -- that must be Sukuna's vessel -- but he can't recognize any of the other students. An oddly familiar female student walks up to Jiro and starts inspecting him. Jiro sneers at her, venom shining in his eyes. "You kids have no respect for your elders," he spits. "Why don't you fight me like a man, huh? Don't use some cowardly technique! Take me on!"

The girl grabs his fist and peels it open, revealing two pins. She smirks and plucks the pins from his hand. "Found two." 

Heavenly...Restriction...?

Hozen frowns. Huh? What was that sound?

"I have the other!" a timid voice exclaims. It belongs to an older man with gaunt cheeks and middle-parted hair. He looks too old to be a student. Must...be a manager....easy to kill. "I'll get started on overriding the curtain."

What? Hozen scowls. Shit. They're compromised and now he's hearing voices in his head. Thankfully, no one has noticed Grandma Ogami's muttering yet, but it's only a matter of time. He needs to protect her somehow -- there's no telling what will happen to him if she gets interrupted mid-ritual.

"Inumaki, how long will your cursed speech last?" The girl asks, walking up to a white-haired kid with a megaphone.

The kid shrugs and holds up three fingers. "Nori," he says. Hozen squints. Does that mean three minutes or three hours? 

The girl nods. "So we're good to go when Ijichi's done? I've got a feeling we should head back to Satoru."

Satoru....Gojo Satoru! Hozen feels an irrational bout of anger. Jiro gives him a weird look. Hozen almost wants to do the same. There's a strange raging feeling in his chest, a sudden need to break free from all the irritating attachments holding him back.  Gojo Satoru, his Grandma, this cursed technique...all of this makes him angry. Uncharacteristically so.

Sukuna's vessel frowns. "I don't know, guys," he says. "The Mario-looking guy is fine, but the other two are dangerous. They left a semi-grade one sorcerer on death's door and he would've died if not for Shoko. I don't think we should underestimate them."

The three students eye Hozen carefully. Hozen ignores them, preoccupied with the sense Grandma Ogami is nearly done with the ritual. Sukuna's vessel's eyes widen. "Hey--! What's the grandma doing?"

Grandma Ogami begins mumbling faster. "Stop talking," the white-haired kid commands, only to cough up blood as Grandma keeps chanting. Almost there...

"This must be related to her cursed technique," the girl surmises. "Yo, mohawk guy, make her stop talking."

Too late.

A wave of cursed energy engulfs Grandma, and finally, she opens her misty eyes. "Zen'in Toji," she calls.

Immediately, the students are on guard. "Zen'in?" someone repeats. Hozen can't really tell. All he can feel is the twisting and turning of his own flesh as he morphs into someone else. Someone physically stronger, faster, and more durable than any sorcerer. A sleazy smirk forms on his lips as he's about to rejoice until--

His vision turns black, and the misty vestige of Zen'in Toji appears before his eyes. Hey, Toji says, snarling. Get the hell out of my body. 

??? ??st, ????. ??:??

Objective: Kill Gojo Satoru.

Who is he? This body called itself Jiko Hozen, but the name doesn't fit. That man was attached to his family, like a subservient dog. Despite not remembering much, he knows he could never be like that.

"How is it, my grandchild?" 

No, he has to think farther back. What does his soul say? Who is he?

"Stop moving!"

Zen'in Toji is what his soul chants. Alright, that's a start. He doesn't know where he is, or how he was summoned. The only thing he knows is...

Objective: Kill Gojo Satoru.

"What happened to that guy?"

He looks around, taking in his surroundings. A Zen'in. Three unknowns. Two people, seemingly frozen in action, next to him. No Gojo Satoru here. That's alright. He has a sense he knows where to find him. 

He glances at the woman next to him. Grandma Ogami. This woman's technique could be annoying...Toji supposes he will begin his slaughter here. He grabs her face and throws her into a wall, listening for the crunching of bones. Once he hears the wonderful sound, he sighs. Haaah, nothing better than a good vent.  

Everyone witnesses in awe as the man with the unconquerable soul takes one step forward, and then blitzes ahead into his future. 

October 31st, 2018. 18:11

"Hey Nanami," Nobara greets on her phone. "Did Mechamaru also...?"

She stops, suddenly noticing a rise in cursed energy. Someone else must be here. She hears footsteps stop behind her, and then a low swish sound. 

"Hey--!" she yells. Instinctively, she raises her hammer beside her neck, blocking the knife from cutting through. The pressure from the knife makes her hammer hit her neck, and her vision turns black for a moment. 

She backs away as she blinks spots out of her eyes. What the heck? Her eyes settle on her attacker: a blond-haired man holding a sword with a hand-shaped hilt. Wasn't this guy at the Kyoto Goodwill Event?

"Kugisaki, are you there?" Nanami asks. 

"Yeah," Nobara says, waving her hammer threateningly at the blond curse user. The man looks childishly disappointed. "Someone's attacking me. Come to the South exit as soon as possible."

She hangs up her phone and puts it in her pocket. No use in damaging an expensive product, especially over small fry like this guy.

No, Nobara, she reminds herself, remember what Maki said during practice. Don't be overconfident. Analyze. She surveys her opponent carefully. Weird markings under his eyes, a childish demeanor, and a strange sword that literally holds his hand. Maybe a mid-range fighter? 

The man pouts. "Aww, I was hoping you'd get hit by the attack! Maybe this will go better...?"

He lunges forward with his sword aimed at her stomach. Nobara dodges left of the lunge and launches a retaliating blow with her hammer on his shoulder, knocking him off-balance. Normally, her hits wouldn't be so strong, but the new hammer she got from Juzo Kumiya's workshop has special properties that increases the density of the hammer in an exponential correlation to the amount of cursed energy infused. In the past few days, she's practiced using it with a technique similar to Yuuji's Divergent Fist: she swings the hammer normally and at the last second, just before the hammer is about to hit, she infuses it with some cursed energy. After the attack has landed, she removes the cursed energy so the hammer doesn't become difficult for her to carry. It took a while to get the hang of, but this genius trick is how Nobara's decided to make up for her lack of physical strength.

Her opponent pulls back, but he isn't holding his sword anymore. Where--? The answer hits her in a second, literally. The hilt of the sword punches her chin and she winces, feeling her knees wobble. That attack hurt... but it wasn't nearly as bad as sparring with Maki. Nobara lets a few nails out of her pouch and levitates them behind her. Alright, let's think.

The sword must be sentient somehow. And it keeps hitting its targets precisely too! With such a specialized, powerful sword, this guy must be similar to Nobara in terms of physical stats for him to rely on it so much. If she can somehow get rid of the weapon, she could probably defeat him. Though she still has no clue about his cursed technique...

"Got surprised by that hit, eh?" the blond teases, with a weirdly sadistic grin on his face. This guy's weird, Nobara decides. "It was a gift from my friend Juzo~ But you already know that, don't you?"  

Nobara grins brashly as she hits a nail in his direction. "Nope!" she lies cheerfully. The blond dodges the nail, but he's right where Nobara wants him to be. She hits another nail and it lands right in his palm, pinning his hand and the sword to a pole. He shrieks at the pain. Nobara rolls her eyes. What a weakling. Has he never taken a nail to the arm before?

She readies another nail and applies her new hammer technique to it, making the nail soar through the air with enough speed to pierce the sword. Not enough to shatter it though. She prepares another nail and hits it with the same technique. The nail hits the nail lodged in the sword, and the combined effect splinters the sword metal into two. 

The blond glances at the sword with wide eyes and then laughs nervously as he picks at the nail on his hand. "Wow, you definitely got stronger!" he says with a shaky smile. He tears the nail out of his palm. "But this is a world where you can't live just by being strong."

"Oh really?" Nanami asks, standing behind the blond man. The man startles, instinctively kicking Nanami. But thanks to Nanami's physical prowess, it was as if the curse user was hitting solid rock. "Tell me, then. What else do you need to live?" 

Nanami hits the curse user with his blade, and the curse user is flung backward into a window, bruises and bleeding appearing all over his body. It's hard to tell from this far, but Nobara thinks she sees one of the marks on his cheek turn white. Is it related to his cursed technique?

"Tell me," Nanami says with a level-headed tone, grabbing him by the neck.

"I-I dunno," the curse user blubbers, blood dripping from his nose. "I was kidding, okay!" 

Nanami punches him in the gut and the curse user goes flying backwards, breaking the glass behind him. Nobara's eyebrows raise at the sight. So this is what it means to be a first-grade sorcerer. That kind of power is awe-inspiring. But at the same time...she looks at her new hammer...maybe it's not too far out of reach?

She and Nanami approach the curse user. "Did you attack Mechamaru and Panda?" he asks, looking the curse user dead in the eye. He grabs the curse user by the ponytail. 

The curse user shakes his head frantically. "I don't know who those are!" he cries. A second mark on his cheek has turned white, Nobara notices. It's not like he's getting stronger with each mark, so what exactly does it symbolize?

Nanami holds up his fist and the curse user shudders. "No, please!" he yells. "I don't know who you're talking about! I just wanted to prey on the weak, damnit!"

"The weak, huh?" Nanami glances at Nobara and then looks back at the curse user. He raises his blade and swings it at the curse.

"Ack!" The curse user braces for an attack, but he gets dropped on the floor. His ponytail is missing. Nanami tosses the blond hair to Nobara and she catches it, instantly understanding his intentions. She pulls out her wooden doll and places the hairs over it. Oh ho, and she got a generous amount too! This is gonna be fun.

She drives a nail through the doll. The curse user's screams follow shortly after.

October 31st, 2018. 18:15

Woosh! A beam of blood pierces through a curse's abdomen, ripping its insides out until the curse tumbles over. Yuki pauses her attack on the curse as she looks up at the assailant. "Choso?" she asks, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Mechamaru," Choso responds, walking next to her. "He hasn't responded on the intercoms for a while. You?"

"Same," she says. They walk past the exorcised curse -- just one of many Yuki's found lying around Shinjuku station. "He probably got attacked by a curse. How many curses have you found so far?"

"That was my third one."

Yuki grins. "Fifth for me," she boasts. "I think whoever lured these curses here has a hatred for North exits, haha."

Choso shrugs, but he's smiling faintly. His smile drops when a curse stumbles in front of them, and his fists unfurl into palms placed together. He shoots a piercing blood beam, and Yuki follows with a punch. The curse explodes, and the battle is over in seconds. Hm. Yuki frowns.

"These curses seem too weak to take out Mechamaru," Choso points out, unintentionally voicing Yuki's thoughts. "And how would the curses find where Mechamaru and Panda are stationed?"

"Good point," Yuki says. She resists the urge to shiver. "It must be someone else, then -- a curse user, or an intelligent curse. Who knows, maybe Mechamaru reverted back to the group of curses?"

Yuki only realizes her blunder too late. Whoops, wasn't Choso part of that villainous group too?

Choso winces. "I don't think he'd try to go back. Ge-Noritoshi Kamo would've killed Mechamaru if he tried. And... Mechamaru seemed set in starting over. I don't know him that well, but I don't think he'd want to ruin all the progress made so far."

Yuki examines him carefully. "Sure," she says, though she isn't entirely convinced. Despite being half-curse, Choso has surprisingly innocent expectations from people. 

Yuki glances at the buildings around her. The turning point should be around...now! The two turn down an alley and climb up the stairs leading to a block of apartments. Mechamaru, or rather, Kokichi Muta should be in one of these apartments. 

Just before she's about to speak, there's a loud clang as someone hits the roof of the building. Another person seems to be running on air, and despite him moving so fast, Yuki can instantly recognize who this man is: Fushiguro Toji.

Her eyebrows furrow, and the researcher in her jumps to life. What? How is that man alive? Where is he going?

The person on the roof jumps onto another building, chasing after Toji with another woman following closely behind. Choso gasps. "Yuuji! What is he doing?" 

Itadori shoots a beam of blood at Toji, but the man dodges it with unearthly speed. The woman, which must be Maki now that Yuki can see her clearly, launches at Toji. Toji grabs her and throws her into a nearby building, and she soars through two walls before stopping on the third. Blood trickles down from her head, but she still resumes her pursuit of Toji.

Since Itadori and Maki are together, the three curtains must have been lifted already. Though Toji is an unexpected variable, it seems like things are mostly going to plan. But who knows, maybe his presence would shake up the balance somehow? Yuki is so eager to find out, but she has to reminder herself she has a job to be doing now: checking up on Kokichi and Panda. If she gets her task done fast enough, perhaps she could ask Toji some questions about his seeming resurrection.

She glances at Choso, and it's only at that point she notices how worried he looks. His jaw is clenched and his anxious eyes are focused on Itadori with disturbing concentration. Yuki can practically see his forehead wrinkle with creases of stress.

She bites back a smile. This guy is so easy to read. It's obvious he wants to be with his brother. "You can go," she says. 

He startles out of his gaze and looks at her with wide eyes. "Huh?" 

Yuki gestures to Itadori's retreating figure. "You want to go after him right?" she guesses. "Whatever's holding Kokichi and Panda up can't be that strong. And besides..." She flexes her arm and winks. "I'm a special-grade sorcerer. I'm pretty sure I can handle whatever's behind that door."

Choso looks at her uneasily. "Are you sure?" he asks. "I'm supposed to be patrolling this area -- I don't have to go with Yuuji--"

"--yeah, but you want to, right?" Yuki interrupts. She gives an easygoing smile. "Shoo, spend time with your brother. Let's call this a favor you'll have to repay in the future, got it?"

Choso opens his mouth, and then shakes his head. "Okay. Thank you, Yuki. You don't know how much this means to me," he says seriously. 

She shrugs. "I could guess." He offers a weak smile and then jumps down the stairs, running in the direction Itadori was going after. 

Yuki sighs. As Todo has told her in the past, she's just too compassionate for this world. But it was cute to see Choso run after his brother like that. She'd rather not deal with him fretting over his brother the whole of their mission anyway.

She walks down the row of apartment doors, and once Yuki reaches the apartment Team Mechamaru was meant to be staying in, she knows the person who immobilized them must have been the ice curse user from Itadori's notebook. Sure, the doors leading up to the apartment are all ajar, with strange ice marks coating the interior, but there's also the massive block of ice sticking out of Team Mechamaru's apartment that tips her off.

"Ice, huh?" Yuki mutters to herself. She applies some mass to her fist and punches the protruding block, shattering it into several fragments of ice. "As if this could hold me back." 

With the block of ice minced into pieces, Yuki can finally see Panda and Kokichi inside, gasping for air. They must have been encased in that ice. She winces at Kokichi's red skin and shaken expression. Damn, it was good she came this early. He could've caught hypothermia. 

She looks around the apartment. Now where is the ice curse user? What was her name? Ureaka? Uranus?

"Hey Uraume~" she calls as she inspects each corner of the apartment. "No need to hide, y'know? I was getting pretty tired of the hot autumn days anyway~"

She steps into the bedroom, and is nearly bulldozed by a block of ice. She dodges the brute attack and shatters the ice with her punch. The block of ice clears away, revealing a white-haired woman in white and black robes. The woman scowls and retaliates with more ice. 

Yuki grins sardonically. Well, hopefully she won't have to eat her words.

October 31st, 2018. 18:15

The speaker activates again. "Next? I guess you need more to deal with, though one of our obstacles is a bit late..."

Curses scramble to get off the tracks, still holding the hostages with them. A jingle noise reverberates through the whole station. The peaceful melody contrasts the weightiness the train carries. The train doors slide open, and hundreds of transfigured humans pour out.

"Will this suffice?" the voice asks cheekily. Punching you might, Gojo Satoru thinks as he picks up Shoko, Tsumiki, and a girl with pigtails. He drops them off by the escalator. Seven, eight, that's nine hostages safe, 21 more to go. How is he going to lure the speaker out? And more importantly, how is he going to deal with the transfigured curses?

Satoru bites his lip. There's no time for him to think. He could proceed with a short domain expansion, but there's a risk it would give the hostages brain damage even with the reduced time. He wants to avoid this option if possible. But is there anything else he can do?

A curse opens its mouth, rows upon rows of teeth gleaming as it tries to eat two of the hostages. Satoru teleports in front of the curse and breaks its tooth off. He infuses the tooth with cursed energy and drives it through the curse's skull. The curse's blood splashes on the hostages. He winces as he grabs the two -- twins, based on their facial shape -- and teleports them. Ten, eleven. Wait, the twins looked weirdly familiar. Weren't those girls with Suguru? 

Satoru huffs while cutting through a line of transfigured humans with cursed energy. It seems not even Suguru's allies were spared. He could probably let those guys die, if worst comes to worst. He rescues a hostage from a curse with a bamboo hat, then two other hostages from a humanoid curse with horns. The curse grabs onto Satoru's arm. Both of his arms are full, so he instinctively swings his leg up and emits a ray of cursed energy from his foot, blasting the curse's head into pieces.

His eyes widen. Using his feet to shoot cursed energy...that could work. He transports the hostages to the hiding spot. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen. Okay, now he has a better grasp on the situation. His current strategy is to get all the hostages away from the train tracks and then use his domain expansion. There are 16 more hostages to save, and he can only take five at a time, maximum. He needs to make 3 trips. With the state of the train station, it'll take about a minute or two before someone eventually ends up getting eaten by the curses. 

Three trips in a minute is doable, but it's the rescuing part that will be difficult. He races forward, using Blue to propel him straight through several curses. His six eyes tell him there's a hostage behind this next curse. Fifteen. He picks up the injured hostage and moves on. Sixteen...this one's missing an arm...seventeen...eighteen...no leg on this one...He puts the last hostage on his back, wrapping their arms around his neck. Nineteen. He's carrying two hostages on each arm so he physically cannot use any hand signs now. Shooting pure cursed energy from his feet, he propels himself into the air and transports the five hostages. When he teleports back, there are no curses in the area he took off in, just purple fluid and mangled curse flesh on the tracks. Just as he expected. 

How much time did that take? His cursed eyes tell him it must have been less than 25 seconds. Perfect. He repeats the process two more times, panting a bit by the time he's reached the 29th hostage. He drops the hostages off and returns to the train tracks. Alright, it's been 75 seconds. There's one more hostage left...

"Over here!" the volcano head snarls, holding a fiery palm beneath the last hostage's chin.

Satoru scowls. Right, this fucker is still alive. Just great. This curse is capable of reasoning, right? Satoru points at the hostage. "This game is getting annoying," he drawls. "Hand over the hostage."

The curse's grin widens, as does his flame. "I don't think I will."

Satoru throws his hands up. Welp, its the curse's loss. He fires a mini-hollow purple at the volcano curse. Boom! The attack leaves a hole in the left side of the curse as well as several curses behind it, making the train station shake. Satoru walks up to the volcano curse and retrieves the last hostage from his arm, pulling a face at the volcano curse's dismayed expression. With his free hand, he grabs the head of the volcano curse and pulls on it, ripping the head from the curse's body. 

"You don't think you will?" Satoru asks mockingly. He reinforces his legs with cursed energy and kicks the volcano curse's head into the torsos of several transfigured humans. "Yeah right." 

He's about to teleport to the escalator when he notices a portion of the volcano curse's body not affected by the curse. He pats the curse's pockets and pulls out the unharmed items. His eyes widen. Wait, these are Sukuna's fingers! And ten of them! He puts them in his pocket and drops off the last hostage. That was an amazing find. Now, to deal with the rest of this mess.

Satoru teleports to the center of the train platform, keeping a far distance between him and where Team Megumi is stationed. There's about a third of the curses left, plus around three hundred transfigured humans. Overall, not a lot to deal with, but it's only a matter of time before they leave the train platform and head for the escalator. He twists his index and middle finger together. "Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void." 

Three milliseconds is the time span he chose. There aren't non-sorcerers nearby, and most of the remaining curses are first grade or special grade, so its safe for him to edge the bounds a bit. And three milliseconds after he cast the domain expansion, he closes it and blitzes forward, tearing limbs and heads off of every transfigured human and weak curse he encounters. 

120 seconds later, all 300 of the transfigured humans and all of the grade one curses have been exorcised. Satoru breathes harshly, feeling the strain now as he tosses an arm aside. Now 1/5 of all the curses are left, and all of them are special grade. Just freaking fantastic.

Though actually, maybe there's a way he can get around this.

He pants heavily, wiping an imaginary bead of sweat from his head. Is this how tired people act? He hasn't felt tired in a decade, so he wouldn't really know. He stays still for a moment, just staring at the special grade curses ahead as he regains his breath. 

Then he hears clapping from behind him. "Amazing, Satoru!" someone says. "Truly incredible! We didn't even need the second and third obstacles."

Satoru turns around slowly, though he already knows in his heart who's speaking. That voice...that tone...he could never forget the sound of his one and only best friend. The man he killed with his own hands just a year ago. 

His heart beats faster as his six eyes try to process the being in front of him. His heart wants this man to be the best friend from his youth, the only person in the world who could understand him. The memories of his youth are like a dam bursting through the cracks in his mental barricade, desperately trying to overwhelm his mind. And yet...

October 11, 2018. ~3AM

"You know you can tell me everything, Yuuji," Satoru tries, ignoring the anxious thoughts arising in his head. He must be jumping to conclusions. He has to be. "I'm there to protect you, right?"

Yuuji keeps his eyes on the ground, but his shaking fists and trembling chin betray his overwhelming emotions. "Yuuji," Satoru calls, but by now he already knows the answer. For the first time in a while, Satoru feels a chilling sense of dread, a sensation he'd almost forgotten since the death of Geto Suguru. 

Earlier, Yuuji asked Satoru whether they were in the afterlife. Why would Yuuji ask an alive person if he was in the afterlife? No, it had to mean Yuuji thought Satoru was...

Crap. Satoru refuses to believe this. His eyes implore Yuuji for an answer, but  Yuuji continues staring at the ground, ignoring the thick tension hanging in the air. Finally, he speaks. "It's...complicated..."

Satoru stares at him, wanting so bad to just shake the answers out of his student. But he knows he cant force this kind of confession. He leans his back against the wall and waits patiently for Yuuji to recollect his thoughts. 

A minute later, Yuuji sighs. "There was this incident that happened in my future...a really bad one. A group of curses and curse users attacked us and you got sealed into an object... the Prison Realm."

Satoru's eyebrows raise. Damn, he can't imagine how bad that must've played out. But it also sounds very unrealistic. "How did I even get sealed in the first place?" he questions. "It's not like me to mess up so bad."

Yuuji shrugs. "They tried to tire you out, I think. And there was this curse user -- Kenjaku -- who played a big role too. His cursed technique allows him to switch bodies, and during the incident he possessed the body of...ah, what was his name? It might've been..."

October 31st, 2018. 18:19

"Geto Suguru," Gojo declares, glaring at the dark-haired man in buddhist robes. He grabs the man by his throat and lifts him over the train tracks. "My six eyes tell me you are him...but my soul knows otherwise! Just who the hell are you?!"

The man's mouth forms a sinister smile and he says something, but Megumi doesn't catch it. "Now!" he mouths to Todo. He and Todo jump out of the shadow behind a pillar and Todo claps, swapping the prison realm with Maki's wire cursed tool. Megumi pockets the prison realm in his shadow, and the two release a deep breath. 

Damn, that was so stressful. And with the limited oxygen...Megumi's head spins as he inhales fresh air for the first time in minutes. Okay, Phase 2 of the plan is done. Everything should get wrapped up soon, right?

There's a shattering sound as someone breaks through the glass dome ceiling over the stairs. Moments later, two other figures follow in hot pursuit. Megumi's vision is so blurry, he can't completely see who crashed in. The first intruder leaps forward in Gojo's direction, and Megumi shouts a weak warning to his teacher. 

His shout catches the attention of the intruder, and for the first time, the two make eye contact. Time slows down as Megumi blearily gazes into the grey pupils of the intruder, while the intruder gazes into his bewildered green eyes. 

The intruder changes his direction. It's because of Megumi's dizziness that he realizes a moment later, the intruder is charging at him.

Chapter Text

October 21, 2018. Past 12PM.

"..." Muta Kokichi looks at the ground, fighting every temptation he has to glance at Miwa's face. He knows she would be distraught by the news. She would probably hate him too. If this were a situation that could be boiled down to gains and losses, there would be absolutely no benefits to telling her. And yet, the burning sensation in his chest compelled him to -- the one that says she would feel even more betrayed hearing about this from another source. To sweet Miwa, it would be like belittling their friendship forged over the past few years. 

"I don't get it," Miwa finally says. Her hushed voice is a small dagger, somehow piercing through Kokichi's fortified heart. Don't look at her face, he reminds himself. You'll feel the guilt even stronger. "All of this time...everything was for the curses?"

Kokichi shakes his head. "No. Not all of it -- I joined recently. Just before the Goodwill attack. I didn't intend to hurt you all, I just..." He sighs, realizing how cheap this excuse sounds. "I made a mistake."

"A mistake," Miwa repeats. Her sigh is soulless, like someone took the wind out of her sails. "Betraying Kyoto and Jujutsu Tech, passing all of our information over, that was all a mistake."

This is the first time he's ever heard her sound so emotionless. And the way she laid out the facts...she was brutal but honest. The quality he loved about her has now become an accomplice to his misery. "Yes," Kokichi says bluntly. "But you have to understand -- I never wanted for you to be hurt, I even made a condition telling them not to attack Kyoto students!"

"But you were okay if they hurt the Tokyo students," Miwa interrupts coldly. Kokichi grimaces, unable to argue with that logic. He didn't know anyone from Tokyo Tech, so they weren't necessarily important people he would go the mile to save. She sighs again. "Mechamaru, I know that you wanted to get your body back, but I'm not comfortable with the fact you were willing to endanger so many innocent people. Working with curses is just...wrong on so many levels."

She moves to turn away, but Kokichi grabs her arm.  "Miwa--look--Miwa, listen to me. They went against the contract and if I hadn't been retrieved by Todo then I was going to fight them!" 

Miwa's breath hitches. "You were going to fight them?" she says, turning to look at him. Kokichi glimpses her wide, frightened eyes and winces. "The same group with the special grade nature curse? My goodness Mechamaru, what if you died?!" 

"I--" Kokichi closes his mouth. He takes a breath. "I thought I could get revenge on behalf of Kyoto. I thought that way, I could redeem myself in your eyes and become worthy to protect you." 

"There's no protecting you can do from the grave!" Miwa grits, eyes shining with heartbroken fury. She shakes her head. "I-I need space, Mechamaru. Deep down I know you can be a good guy, but selling everyone -- me, Momo, our friends, the Tokyo students, selling us all out? For your own good? I never thought you'd be the type to do that."

She tugs her hand loose from Kokichi's grip and walks away, covering her face with her hands. If Kokichi looks close enough, he can see tears dripping from her fingers. Damnit. He looks away from the heartchoking sight. He never wanted this to happen. He wants to comfort her so badly, even though it was his own actions that hurt her. If he could just wipe her tears and get her to smile again, could this soul crushing guilt pass away? "Mi--!"

October 31st, 2018. 18:19

Muta Kokichi stares at the flickering yellow light bulb above him. I had some sort of dream, he thinks. And a moment later: Why is it so cold?

He's shivering to his bone, trying to shake off the prickling pins and needles effect on his muscles. Where is he? His eyes dart between the ajar door in front of him and the ice shards laying at his feet, his brain sluggishly trying to process what's happening. It's like someone froze him or something...

Kokichi gasps and looks up at the groaning Panda next to him. His memories have returned now. There's an androgynous-looking curse user with an ice technique! How long was Kokichi out for? According to his internal clock, it must have been over ten minutes. He shudders as he glances at his bright red palms. He could've seriously died if he stayed in that ice any longer. And even now, he's still at risk of passing out if he doesn't get warm fast.

Summoning the last embers of his energy, he wills his Mechamaru suit to come closer and activates it. The dull thrum of the machine as it heats up comforts Kokichi's trembling, and he lets out a sigh of relief as warm gas permeates the frosty air. The chattering of his teeth slows to a still. After a few seconds, he can start to feel the pain in his fingers, but feeling the pain is better than the numbing sensation from before. 

Crash! Kokichi startles at the sound. Who -- oh, it must be Tsukumo and the curse user. He vaguely remembers her entering the apartment. Dragging himself to the entrance of the bedroom, he takes a moment to catch his breath and then peeks into the room. The curse user sends a wave of ice that has Kokichi scrambling away, but Tsukumo responds with an ice-shattering punch that pushes the curse user back a little. The curse user must have created a foothold of ice to keep them from breaking through the walls. 

This curse user must be a long-range fighter. If Tsukumo can just get closer to the user, she could easily overpower her. It's just the ice in between them interfering. But if somehow, they could weaken the curse user's power...

Kokichi frowns. Wait, what is he thinking? His role is surveillance, he's not supposed to be fighting. And he's injured too! He should be thinking of ways to get out of this dangerous situation. Yuki's a special grade sorcerer, she will probably be fine on her own against this unidentified sorcerer. 

Kokichi prepares himself to move away from the door when he stills, momentarily frozen by an image. He should be moving. He should be trying to save himself. It's the right thing to do. And yet, his mind keeps conjuring the image of Miwa covering her face, tears slipping through her fingers. That selfish Kokichi, the one who prioritized his own wellbeing over others but was still too weak to protect the ones he cared for -- that Kokichi is the one who made Miwa cry.

Maybe its the cold messing with his senses, but just the thought of Miwa crying is enough to make him want to cry too, though his tears might freeze into sharp icicles cutting his cheeks at this point.

I want to change, he realizes bitterly as he pants into the cold air. The same old selfish me who disappoints his teacher and classmates and loved one…I hate him. I don’t want to do that anymore — I have a new body, so why can’t I have a new mind too?

There’s one thing he’s been wishing for his whole life: to change. Physically, and now, mentally. He’s so tired of being bogged down by the guilt of his own actions. If only he could be different, if he could change—

For Kokichi to truly turn away from his old self, he has to get rid of his past mindset and pursue one completely foreign to him. That illogical yet genuine kindness Miwa thinks he’s capable of. He chokes a sob as he remembers her crying face. What would Miwa want him to do?

For some reason, his thoughts float to an equally compassionate boy. Right, he fits too. What would Itadori Yuuji do? 

And suddenly, the idea hits Kokichi. This fight is taking place in an apartment. If he can just find the remote…He spots it from behind Panda across the living room. 

“Panda!” Kokichi whispers. Panda’s ear twitches, one of the few signs the cursed corpse is still alive. He must have almost entered hibernation because of the cold temperatures. “Pass the remote!”

Panda stretches to get the object laying above him and, upon grabbing it, throws it to Kokichi. The remote hits Kokichi’s hands and clatters to the ground — he winces, his hands are still a bit stiff — but the scuffling between Tsukumo and the curse user easily overshadow the sound. 

Kokichi grins as he presses the up button on the remote. The best way to combat ice? Easy, just hike up the temperature. 

He stops the remote at 40*C and turns on the fan, basking in the sudden rush of hot air. The ice user’s eyebrows raise as their attempts at making ice melt into thin air. Tsukumo takes advantage of their distraction to land a decisive blow to the ice user’s head, punting them through several walls. 

Tsukumo looks around and catches sight of Kokichi, with the remote still in his hand. He waves the remote and she grins, sending a wink his way. “Thanks,” she mouths, and then heads to the curse user.

Kokichi drags himself back to the living room, where Panda is becoming less sluggish. He places the warm parts of his Mechamaru suit on Panda’s fur to heat him up faster. Why the cursed corpse wants to befriend Kokichi, he doesn’t know, but he doesn’t want to let people down anymore. 

He picks up a new earpiece from his machine equipment and places it in his ear, turning it on. Then he puts on a visor connected to his drones, which have fortunately stayed in air while he was incapacitated. He replays all the footage gathered so far.

He winces. Damn, it looks like things have gone haywire for Team Itadori. Luckily for them…

Kokichi taps his earpiece. “Hello, this is Mechamaru reporting. Sorry for the intermission. What’s the status of the situation?”

October 31st, 2018. 18:19

Megumi gapes at the intruder charging at him and hastily summons a swarm of rabbits to conceal the direction he's running in. What the heck? Who is this guy? Why is he targeting Megumi of all people?

Some pain prickles his head and he instinctively looks behind him in time to see a hole form in his rabbit defense. He dives to the left as the intruder breaks through the barrier, piercing the spot Megumi was standing just a moment ago. Megumi gulps and covers his movement with a mob of more rabbit shikigami. Megumi can't sense any cursed energy in this guy. This station is fairly compact so there aren't many places to hide, almost forcing Megumi into fighting close quarters. And there's a limit to how long he can hide behind the rabbit barricade.

Megumi looks behind him and curses, immediately darting away from an oncoming hit from the intruder. That was close! The intruder catches up to his speed in an instant and kicks Megumi, sending him flying through the smile on an advertisement board on the wall. 

Think of what Gojo said, he reminds himself as he ducks out the way of several flying signs the intruder is throwing. He sends a flock of rabbit shikigami to occupy the intruder while he runs to less populated areas of the station. I have to visualize a future me who can surpass my limits. How can I get a victory?

He runs up a stairwell and ducks into a nearby store on the next floor, hiding behind tables as he thinks of strategies. This floor is dimly lit and the store windows are tinted dark, so its easier for Megumi to see activity in the hallway than for someone to see Megumi in the store. As for shikigami, Nue is out of the question since it's probably still with Inumaki. The station is too crowded for his elephant shikigami. All that's left are his divine dogs and his toad shikigami. Though maybe...he glances at his fists, and then the intruder who followed him upstairs...could I be a bit selfish here?  His blood thumps with a feeling of exhilarating greed unfamiliar to him. His hands clasp together, mirroring his thoughts. I have enough cursed energy to try at least, he reasons. But is it worth risking this fight on the slight chance I'll succeed? 

But Gojo Satoru puts an end to Megumi's contemplation when he sends his technique Hollow Purple through the floor, wrecking everything in its immediate line of sight with a loud whoosh. "Did that hit you, Toji?" Gojo yells, teasing.

Megumi gets up from his hiding spot and nearly falls into a hallway-wide ditch left by Gojo's purple. "Gojo-sensei?" he asks incredulously while standing by the store's door. "You came?" 

Gojo grins and teleports over to Megumi, ruffling his hair. "Of course I would! I can't let you handle that piece of shit alone -- that would make me a terrible mentor! We don't want more complaints from Kugisaki, do we?"

Megumi bites down the weird sense of disappointment at 'Toji's' disappearance and emits a sarcastic sigh. He doesn't know how Gojo has the ability to joke in such serious situations. "Are you even sure he's dead?" he asks with a rude tone.

Gojo shrugs. "He has no cursed energy so I kind of just guessed. There's a 50% chance he was caught in the attack."

"And the other 50%?" Megumi asks. But Gojo looks away from him for a moment, staring at a store far back in the hall with a disturbing amount of concentration. "Gojo-sensei?" Megumi tries.

Toji emerges from the same store Gojo was looking at and darts between stores in the hall, working his way up to Gojo and Megumi's store. Like a wild animal, Toji throws out tables, clothing racks, and billboards to camouflage his movement. The billowing dust, the light gusts of wind produced as he travels between stores and even the flickering of the lights seem to work in Toji's favor. 

Megumi's mouth goes dry. "Gojo-sensei," he starts. Gojo turns to look at him, and Megumi tries not to feel intimidated by the attention. It's the first time he's asked for this kind of thing. "If possible, could you just supervise the fight?"

Gojo's eyebrows part and he makes an 'o'. "You want to fight that guy?" he asks, surprised. 

Megumi nods. This exhilarating, reckless, pounding sensation in his bones urging him to fight cannot stay quiet any longer. It's the same fearless feeling he felt when facing the Finger-Bearer curse, and because of it, he managed to perform an incomplete Domain Expansion. "I don't want to miss out on this chance," Megumi says.

And it's at this moment, Megumi realizes just how much he's really changed. Before, he would consider fights as a means to exorcise curses and nothing else, but now...he's strangely looking forward to this one. Just how much will his current skills be challenged? How much closer will he come to surpassing his limits? At the 11th hour, after stressing over this incident for weeks and then watching helplessly as his sister almost died several times, all of his morals, worries, and restrictions have been swallowed up by the insatiable desire to push himself further. 

Gojo gives him a serious glance, and then nods, a fond huff emerging from his mouth. "I'll step in if it seems like he'll kill you." He pats Megumi's back. "Surprise me, Fushiguro Megumi. Let's see what you're capable of."

Megumi nods and wipes a bead of sweat from his hands. His eyes dart all over the hallway. Where is Toji? The dark lighting makes it hard to tell, but Megumi strains his eyes to catch every and any sight of movement capable of producing shadows. He catches a flicker of movement in his peripheral and turns away just in time to avoid getting clobbered by a coat rack. Toji lunges forward with the coat rack as his weapon, twisting and turning it like one would a baton. Megumi runs from Toji's stabbing attempts with the coat rack, using his shadows to travel between stores and deliberately lead Toji to an area with more space. 

Finally, Megumi finds a store with a spacious interior. He sprints into the store and scatters his rabbit shikigami across the floor. Then, he summons his toad shikigami and directs it to the back of the store. It's absolutely crucial Megumi gets this timing right. Toji stands at the entrance of the store and then suddenly surges forward. Megumi waits for the prickling feeling associated with the death of his shikigami -- Toji must have stepped on his rabbits -- and gets pulled back by his toad's tongue as Toji lunges forward. There's a cavity of darkness in the area where Megumi once stood and Toji falls into it knee deep. 

This should slow Toji enough for Megumi to get going. Megumi raises his clenched hands and grins. "Domain Expansion!" he chants. The murky sea of darkness emerges at his feet, swishing with the flap and sway and croak of his shikigami from below the surface.

For the past few weeks, Megumi has been trying to perfect his domain expansion and fit it to the traditional mold set by the Zen'in clan. Trying to make it fuse with a barrier, increasing the amount of shikigami accessible...all of these efforts bore minimal fruit. But now, Megumi hardly cares. He's going to throw every bit of his imagination into this void and paint his interpretation of his technique on this canvas to his desire's wish.

The multitude of rabbits spring forth, kicking and punching at Toji's face as the tongues of multiple toads hold Toji down. More, Megumi thinks. I want this to be more powerful. Toji grabs the toads by their tongues and rips them from his ankles. He swings them around like a chain and bashes them into the rabbits, slaughtering a majority of them. He sprints forward to Megumi.

More! Megumi thinks. Here I can let my imagination roam wild, so reveal to me what my heart truly wants!

In the distance between Toji and Megumi, a giant serpent rises from the sea bed and connects with the Nues circling about the sky and the rabbit multitude on the surface of the lake. The individual shikigami lose shape and fuse together, forming multiple hybrid snake-owl creatures that alternate between swooping down to send electrical shocks through Toji and swimming through currents to achieve the same effect.

But Megumi isn't satisfied yet. He knows he's capable of producing more. And as though responding to his thoughts, two shadowy figures materialize from the lagoon of darkness, mirroring Megumi's height and appearance. Together, the three of them land several blows on Toji, manifesting the powers of the shikigami to use as cursed techniques. Megumi places his palms together, imitating the stance he's seen Itadori and Choso use, and a stream of water gushes from his fingertips. A clone of his punches Toji, and a jolt of electricity runs down the intruder's arm. His other clone bears claws and speed similar to that of Megumi's Divine Dogs, dashing across the domain to match Toji's speed. 

"Haha!" Megumi laughs loud and raucously, feeling a massive weight released from his back. This shoddy domain expansion consumes a ton of cursed energy, but damn if it wasn't invigorating to witness his dreams actualized! Toji, that monster, is somehow still standing from all the damage Megumi's domain has done, but Megumi doesn't even feel upset about this. If he kills this man, Tsumiki might be upset, but right now...

All I'm feeling right now...is the pleasantness of this world. 

Toji leaps at Megumi while the domain expansion crumbles away, revealing a wrecked store and a clapping Gojo Satoru. "Did you have fun?" Gojo teases when he teleports in between the two, a smirk on his face. He delivers a quick CE-infused hit to Toji's neck, incapacitating him. 

Megumi huffs as he stretches his fingers, the events playing over in his mind. He can't get this dazed smile off his face. That was an amazing experience. "What did you think of it?" Megumi asks, and then immediately feels embarrassed. What is he — a child? He doesn't care about Gojo's opinion that much.

Gojo makes a 'hmm' sound, though its evident on his face he's just dragging this out to annoy Megumi. “There were some things you could’ve fixed,” Gojo concedes while patting Megumi’s head. “But you did good. Much better than I expected, really. I’m proud of you.”

Megumi scans Gojo’s expression for any hint of a joke or lie, when he can’t find any, he looks away.

Maybe he’s been a bit harsh on Gojo lately. In Itadori’s timeline, Gojo was sealed for weeks. Megumi knows he could survive without Gojo, but his presence can sometimes help in moments like now. “Thank you,” Megumi mutters.

“What was that?” Gojo asks, faux-politely.

Megumi rolls his eyes, knowing both of them heard what he said. “Let’s head back,” he says. “The others need our help.”

October 31st, 2018. 18:19

From the train tracks, Kenjaku dusts his hands off and grins. That was a close one, he thinks as he observes Gojo run after Zen'in Toji. He would've been done for if not for Toji! He hums a tune as he walks back onto the train platform. Still, he can use this chaos to slip away from the station, since his plan seems completely foiled. It's a shame this attack didn't work, but he can always try again after a hundred years, or whenever Gojo dies. That should give him enough time to collect more curses for the Culling Games. 

He's about to take a step forward, but leans back at the last second, dodging a Slicing Exorcism beam. He instinctively sends a weak curse at the source -- a pink-haired sorcerer. Itadori Yuuji. Kenjaku's grin widens as Yuuji ducks under the curse and rushes forward, throwing a flurry of punches and kicks that he easily dodges.

"Yuuji!" he greets as he weaves around another beam of blood. "I'm so glad we ran into each other!" 

Yuuji scowls and throws a punch. "Tell me, Yuuji," Kenjaku says, catching Yuuji's fist. He releases cursed spirits to bind Yuuji's feet to their position. "What exactly happened to you? I've met the reincarnated, I've taken over countless human bodies, but I've never seen a soul quite like yours. And you seem to have upped your arsenal too! I'm so intrigued--"

A sharp pain darts through his hand, making Kenjaku let go of Yuuji's fist quickly. He gazes at the three holes in his hand, then the red blades protruding from Yuuji's fist. This must be an application of Blood Manipulation. "Quit the yapping," Yuuji grits as he slashes away at Kenjaku's face with his fist blades. 

Kenjaku pouts while backing away from Yuuji's fists. "Hey, you shouldn't use that kind of language in front of your mother," he teases. "I carried you in my womb for nine months and this is how you repay me?"

He ducks under a particularly feisty Piercing Blood beam, but his eyes are still on Yuuji, keeping careful watch for any hints of confusion or shock. Yuuji doesn't appear surprised by the taunting. If anything, he looks disgusted. This only adds to Kenjaku's growing curiosity about him -- he somehow knows of their twisted familial relationship, on top of having information about Kenjaku's plan for Shibuya. He has a chimera for a soul and mastery over numerous cursed techniques despite only a few months into the jujutsu world. And somehow, he's a step ahead of Kenjaku. The enigmatic mystery Itadori Yuuji is enshrouded in triggers Kenjaku's bottomless, voracious appetite for knowledge. He licks his lips and grins a toothy, primal smile. He hasn't been this tantalized in decades. 

Yuuji frowns, having picked up on the change in Kenjaku's mood. Yuuji fires another Piercing Blood beam and closes in the distance between them, cursed spirits flailing at his feet. He aims a kick at Kenjaku's face. Kenjaku blocks it with his arm, but the cursed spirits still attached to Yuuji's feet slap him in the face, coating his face with purple mucus. 

"What are you?" Kenjaku muses again, unperturbed. "There must have been some aspect of switching bodies..." Similar to reincarnation, but that requires a soul to completely suppress the other. That's clearly not the case here. "Somehow, you must have--"

He cuts himself off to avoid a barrage of kicks and punches from Yuuji. He sighs as he blocks a punch. Can't his creation give him some breathing room to talk? "--reincarnated into your own body. Your new cursed techniques and knowledge of our group meeting location points to--"

Kenjaku notices the orbs of blood hovering in the air around him and rolls his eyes, waving a group of curses to cover him. The curses coat him as the blood orbs detonate, shaking the ground under his feet and crumbling parts of the platform. "--to you having outside knowledge you must have acquired." It's not possible to grow this quickly in just a few months, so there's only one possible option. 

"Regression," he realizes, a satiated smile growing on his face. Yuuji scowls, but his tensed shoulders betray his unease.

But how did Yuuji travel to the past? Is it a cursed technique, or was it a curse that somehow sent him back? In Kenjaku's thousand years of living, he's never even heard of such a cursed technique: most time-related techniques tended to increase the user's speed through small shortcuts (like Projection Sorcery) or slow down time to increase the user's perception of reality (similar to Gojo Satoru's Limitless). Traveling in time...if Kenjaku could get his hands on that kind of technique, he could put his plan to merge Tengen and the entire of Japan even earlier -- he could try again after World War II, the height of disconcert in Japan. Or maybe further back in time -- he could even try enlisting Sukuna during the Heian Era! 

"Fascinating!" Kenjaku exclaims. He looks up in time to see Yuuji's palms press together. A single bead of blood hovers between Kenjaku's face and Yuuji's hands. Kenjaku has a second to perform the same old dodge to the high-velocity beam of blood.

But stepping away from Yuuji's beam puts him in the crossfire of another Piercing Blood beam. He feels its rushing presence just before it hits his head, and twists his head so sharply that only the top of his skull comes off. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid drips down his face as he blearily looks up at the assailant. It's Choso, his disappointment of a creation. He feels a flash of irritation shoot through him. Why is he showing up now of all times...

"Noritoshi Kamo!" Choso shouts. Kenjaku screws the top of his skull back into place. "Step away from my little brother!"

Kenjaku raises his hands, a calm smile settling on his face. "Calm down Choso. Right now, the only one in danger is you. You betrayed Mahito's group. More importantly, you've outlived your usefulness. You and your brothers were failures...you aren't worthy to hold my interest." Yuuji on the other hand... His gaze lingers on the enigma's soul.

Choso scoffs. "Interest? I'd say I'm pretty interested in killing you right now." 

"Then I suppose we have an agreement," Kenjaku says.

Choso aims a Piercing Blood shot at Kenjaku while Yuuji kicks his neck. Kenjaku ducks under the kick, but Choso closes in with a downward punch that hits Kenjaku's arms. From there onward, Choso and Yuuji simultaneously attack Kenjaku from opposite sides, barely giving him a moment to breath between their relentless shoving and punching.

Kenjaku coughs some blood and frowns. For some reason, Yuuji's punches are uniquely painful -- shaking Kenjaku's inner being every time they land. It's as if the punches are targeting the very divide between his soul and the remnants of Geto Suguru's, as thin as the line is. Fascinating! Is this another cursed technique at play, or has Yuuji's understanding of the soul accumulated to the degree he can weaponize it?

Kenjaku slips out of an attack from Choso and summons a wave of mid-level curses to smash him into the shell of a train.  "Choso!" Yuuji yells, panicked. Choso shakes his head and gets up from the debris, giving a thumbs up gesture. 

While swerving away from two blood beams, Kenjaku sighs. These blood manipulation users keep using the same redundant Piercing Blood technique -- potentially deadly, but only if you can't dodge it first. "Exactly why are you fighting me?" he asks. "You two are clearly outmatched."

Wings of blood thrash on Choso's back as he blitzes forward, fist aimed for Kenjaku's head. "Like hell I would let you go after calling my brothers failures," Choso spits. Choso's odd attachment to his death painting brothers is laughable, but there's something about his wings... Kenjaku glances at the blood wings and remembers why it looks so familiar -- they are modeled after Kechizu's cursed technique. 

"A cheap imitation, huh?" Kenjaku mutters to himself while fending Choso's fist away with his arm. He backs away from Choso and Yuuji, willing nearby curses to occupy the distance between them. The two close the distance in a second, easily exorcising the curses. This must be what Kenjaku gets for using all the good curses on Gojo. 

Four streaks of blood shoot forward, probably another variation of the Piercing Blood beam, Kenjaku wagers. But those beams form orbs of blood that appear all around him, even more numerous than the previous detonation attempt. Shit, this time he doesn't have curses to protect himself with. Kenjaku uses his Antigravity technique to force them down, but in all the chaos he failed to account for one factor.

Time slows as he looks down to meet Yuuji's eyes. He notices the red blade in Yuuji's hand and tries to move away, but he's far too slow. Yuuji's blood blade pierces Kenjaku's chest, just narrowly missing his lungs, and then blade explodes in his body. Pain shoots through Kenjaku's chest and he inhales sharply. Yuuji backs away in record time while Kenjaku scowls. How did Yuuji know he would use his Antigravity technique? He's never displayed that technique to anyone before! As for the damage to his chest -- his RCT can fix that up, but it'll take some CE that his other cursed techniques could benefit from. 

A soothing jingle plays through the train station, growing louder by the second. Kenjaku nearly laughs. Wonderful, Kenjaku's last obstacle for Gojo, the second train, will finally arrive. Maybe all hope isn't lost yet. 

"You asked why we're fighting you," Yuuji says, wiping blood away from his mouth. "We're stalling."

Stalling for who?

The train screeches to a stop and the doors slide open. A few transfigured humans trickle out, very underwhelming considering the amount Kenjaku predicted. What happened to Mahito? 

A mosquito with a comically large nose darts out of the train station, transforming wonkily into bigger more human-like proportions that resemble Mahito. Chasing the curse is a student who's presence instinctively sends chills down Kenjaku's right arm. Kenjaku raises an eyebrow. This must be the effect of Yuuji's soul punches reawakening the embers of Geto's soul.

"He's the one you should be worried about," Yuuji says. Yuta glances at Yuuji and Kenjaku, and then switches targets. Yuuji runs after Mahito while Yuta swings his katana down on Kenjaku's face. 

Kenjaku smiles. Maybe now is the time to bring out the miniature-Uzumaki.

Chapter Text

??? ??st, ????. ??:??

"The others need our help," someone might have said, but with the incessant ringing noise in Toji's head, he can't really tell. Damn, he thinks as he holds back a groan. That attempt at a domain expansion really messed him up. The shikigami involved in this domain were unrelated to the sure-hit effect he's usually immune to, so they gave him a bit more trouble than he expected. But more than that, the person he was fighting...just who is he?

Another wave of pain thrashes his skull, enhancing his head-splitting ache. "You...go ahead..." Toji can vaguely hear someone else say. "...stay behind." There's a shuffling noise, and then the sound of footsteps as someone takes off. The person left behind exhales. 

"So, Toji," Gojo Satoru starts, crouching down in front of him. Screw it, Gojo sounds like he already knows Toji is awake. Toji opens his eyes, mentally preparing himself for combat. "Mind telling me why the hell you were beating up your son?" 

Toji's eyes narrow. "My son?" he repeats. His headache grows louder. He shakes his head as he gets up. There's a weapon clasped around Gojo's waist -- Toji could snag it off of him. "I don't have a son. I don't even have a wife."

Stretching out of his crouched position, Gojo sighs. "You really don't remember, do you? That kid you just fought was Megumi. Fushiguro Megumi."

Gojo stares at him as though waiting for a bell to ring. At first, Toji just feels confusion. Megumi...doesn't the name mean blessings? 

Suddenly, it's as if he's drowning in a waterfall of memories, overwhelming even his raging headache. Those years with the Zen'in clan -- Megumi, the name means blessings -- The Time Vessel Association -- I'm the one who gave him the name -- Hina Fushiguro --the assassination with the Star Plasma Vessel -- Gojo Satoru's death and--

Toji's breathing hitches as he gapes at Gojo. And my own death. His last words float across his memory. "Do as you please," Toji had said, because he knew he couldn't support Megumi any further. How could Toji, someone thought to have brought misfortune unto his clan, have known how to raise the precious blessing Hina gave him? And with Megumi's potential, there was no doubt in Toji's mind that Megumi would be treated well in the Zen'in clan.

"Fushiguro, huh?" Toji says, huffing a wry, bitter smile. Hearing that family name attached to Megumi instead of the Zen'in's gives him a strange sense of joy. "Good for him."

Toji feels the reins of irrationality begin to re-anchor themselves around his limbs, binding him to the will of carnage. What is he doing? His goal is to kill Gojo Satoru. Toji lunges forward, trying to snatch the cursed tool off Gojo. Gojo side-steps him and grins tauntingly. 

Gojo dangles the Inverted Spear of Heaven. "Looking for this?" he asks, faux-innocently. Kill Gojo Satoru! Toji leaps at him, desperation flooding his veins as he stretches to take the weapon. Gojo dodges the attack, backing into a nearby store. 

"You're still trying to kill me?" Gojo says, and yawns. "Come on, we already know how that plays out~"

No! Toji chases him into the store with an almost dogged, ravenous concentration. He needs the weapon, he needs a weapon.  Kill Gojo Satoru! Fast! Gojo keeps evading Toji's attacks, using furniture to counteract some of Toji's hits. Toji exhales frustratedly. 

Then, he catches a glimpse of something -- his panting, bloody reflection on a mirror. Ah, maybe...He flicks the mirror with his finger, splitting it into two. He takes one of the shards and twists it over in his palm, looking at the dimensions of the tool. There's no time for him to properly tell, but this will probably work.

Toji turns around to face Gojo, noticing his half amused and half bewildered expression. Toji gets a strange satisfaction out of that. Last time, Gojo said Toji lost when he didn't cut off Gojo's head. Maybe now...

Gojo's eyes widen. He must have caught on. "Toji -- wait -- you're not seriously doing that are you?"

"Make sure he lives," Toji says, barely tampering down the primal instinct roaring in him, telling him to keep fighting. Fushiguro Toji refuses to bend to the will of an outsider like a mindless puppet. He will determine how he lives, and in this situation, how he dies.

And Gojo Satoru...That man has to keep my blessing alive. Toji grips the mirror shard and puts it behind his neck. In one swing, he cuts forward, severing the tethers that bind him.  

October 31st, 2018. 18:19

Todo takes a moment to survey the train platform, looking for the moment he can insert himself into the field. Fushiguro is running away from the intruder man, but Gojo seems to have noticed so there's no point in Todo following Fushiguro too. Yuuji is fighting Kenjaku alone...that's not good. Is this Todo's cue to join in? He squints and catches a spiky-haired man running through a crowd of transfigured humans. Nevermind, Choso is on his way. The two can stall Kenjaku until Yuta arrives, which should be in about...three minutes? If Todo's mental calculations are correct. Yuuji and Choso will be able to hold out for that long. Hopefully Yuuji doesn't go all out -- he needs to limit himself or else he might increase his soul's synchronization rate too rapidly.

Todo glances around the station and sighs when his eyes land on the group of trembling hostages. He'll have to assist in the evacuation efforts then. The scent of blood in the air thickens as Todo approaches the hostages by the escalator. Some of the hostages were injured by the curses. Several hostages are seated on the floor, being tended to by the medic from Tokyo Tech, Ieri Shoko. She presses a white cloth to the elbow of a hostage, wrapping the strip around the upper limb carefully. Fastening a tourniquet on the arm, she pats the patient's back and moves on to her next seated casualty. 

"You, get over here," she says, pointing to another amputee. She notices Todo and waves him over, then starts her work on the next patient. 

"Isn't this inefficient?" Todo asks, frowning as he gets closer. He steps around a pile of plastic bags filled with detached limbs. "Your RCT could stop the blood loss much faster."

Ieri grimaces. "One of the curses took it away, so inefficient methods are all we have until Okkotsu arrives." She rolls a bandage around the hostage's shin and tightens it with a makeshift tourniquet. She must have run out of proper tourniquets to use. The first aid kit at her feet looks near-depleted.

"We need to evacuate the hostages," Todo decides. "Right now, they're just another burden Gojo has to accommodate for."

"Makes sense," Ieri agrees, sending off a hostage. She moves over to an unconscious patient, and upon looking the injury, she curses and lifts a rag to her head. "Motherf--when did he lose consciousness?"

A blond hostage next to the unconscious man trembles. "A-about a minute ago. Is-is he going to be okay?" the blonde murmurs shakily. Todo glances at the unconscious man's leg, with a hole in his shin probably caused by some sort of curse tentacle piercing through him and pulling out.

Ieri inhales deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Todo," she starts. 

"Yes?" 

"Do you have a cig on you?" she asks. Todo gives her an incredulous look and she shakes her head. "Nevermind, 'course you wouldn't. Utahime's too much of a goody-two-shoes. Just -- take the hostages at the top of the escalator. I've triaged everyone already."

Todo nods, assuming his role immediately. He memorized the the layout of the station when he and Fushiguro were walking in with Gojo. The only remaining problem is the issue of leaving Ieri undefended, since curses and transfigured humans could easily target her. 

Just like the transfigured human sluggishly running at them now. Todo raises his hands, ready to swap the transfigured human with a cursed tool, but it turns out he doesn't need to. A blade pierces the transfigured human's neck and decapitates it. The transfigured human collapses, revealing an irritated Maki behind it. Maki kicks the corpse aside and joins Todo by Ieri's side. Since Maki's here, Todo can probably assume Ijichi managed to set up the counter-curtain blocking the entry of cursed spirits and additional non-sorcerers. 

"What's the situation?" she grunts, wiping a trail of blood from her head. Todo catches her up on the hostage situation, and her expression sours. "Well that's shit. I'll stay behind and protect Shoko, then. Do you know where you're taking the hostages?"

"The North exit." That should be where Yuki is stationed, and it's the closest distance from the train station compared to the other exits. Todo taps his earpiece. "Muta, is the North exit safe to go for?"

"...no one is there," Muta responds. "That was Tsukumo's station, right? She's with us now. Try the South exit instead, that's where Nanami and Kugisaki are. Let me try to get you on the line with them now."

After a few seconds of silence, a loud voice blares through Todo's ear. "Woah Mechamaru, you sure are useful!" Kugisaki declares. "And why exactly are you leaving Shinjuku Station? Don't tell me Gojo-sensei already mopped the floor with everyone."

Todo glances at the chaotic scenery just a few meters away from him. "Far from it," he replies. "There was a hostage situation -- Kenjaku's group somehow kidnapped several individuals close to us." Todo frowns when he spots Mai among the group of mildly injured hostages. "We're evacuating some of them."

Kugisaki coughs. "Hostages?" Nanami repeats, equally appalled. 

"Wait, don't tell me -- is there a woman with dyed hair and big eyes in the hostage group?" Kugisaki asks, with an uneasy tone. "Heavy make-up, sort of promiscuous clothes? Or maybe another girl with bangs and a high ponytail?"

Out of this crowd, Todo can only see one woman who fits the description: the blonde sitting next to Ieri's current patient. "There's someone who matches the former," Todo says hesitantly. 

Kugisaki groans. "They have my mom!?" She spews a list of swear words and hits something, maybe a curse she and Nanami are fighting based on the scuffling noises. "Shit, I'll get there in a moment. Can you hold on for a few minutes?"

"It's not like we're in a hurry or anything," Maki says dryly as she takes down another transfigured human. "Really. But if Todo's going to be evacuating the hostages, I could use some backup here."

Then it's settled. "I'll get started with some of the hostages," Todo decides, motioning for the group of standing hostages to follow him. Fushiguro's unconscious sister is high on the priority list of evacuees, so Todo picks up her comatose body and carries her like a sack of flour. "Kugisaki, grab a first aid kit on the way here, will you? Ieri-sensei's running out." Kugisaki gives a muffled affirmation.

As Todo climbs up the escalator, he reflects on his plan for their escape route. He's noticed that ever since Hanami's barrier was destroyed, some of the more powerful-looking curses were slowly trickling out of the station. Where they were heading to, Todo doesn't know, but he has to account for the possibility he might run into them. Thankfully, most of the special grade curses have been occupied by fighting themselves, but there's no telling when one of the curses would target them. How will Todo get this group out of the station safely? 

He has to be rational. What would Takada-chan tell him in this situation? He ponders this while leading the group through a shadowy, desolate hallway. A tap on his shoulder brings his attention to the person behind him, and for a moment, he's awe-struck. With hair the color of ravens put in pigtails and amber eyes as warm as wood, the girl standing behind him is clearly his radiant one true love, the beautiful Takada-chan.

His heart beats faster in her presence, but instead of being joyous, he feels a sense of an overwhelming sense of pity. This poor girl was caught up in this situation because of him. He can't pretend to ignore the anxious shaking in her shoulders. Thankfully, she doesn't seem to have any injuries or scars. "Um, excuse me," Takada-chan says, forcing a casual grin. "What is all of this? A-are you with the creepy spirits that were attacking us?"

"No. I..." Todo sighs. I'm just a fan, is what he wants to say. A fan who is sad to see his favorite idol so scared. "I'm here to rescue you all."

Takada-chan gives him a wary look, as though not fully trusting his answer, but she withdraws from him. Todo grimaces. To think she would somehow get involved as collateral...was this all because of the information Mechamaru gathered when he was betraying them? But how did Kenjaku's group manage to kidnap so many people on short notice -- especially someone as high-profile as Takada-chan? 

"Do you remember what happened to you?" Todo asks. There must be some important clue he's missing.

Takada-chan winces weakly. "To be honest, I don't really understand it myself," she admits. "One moment, I was with my manager, and then the next? I was waking up in a van with a bunch of people. My manager wasn't in the van either," she gasps,  "-- oh no, do you think these kidnappers killed her!?" 

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Todo reminds her. He makes a shushing gesture to the group of hostages as he turns around a corner. All this chattering makes it difficult for him to listen for sounds of a cursed spirit up ahead. Normally he would rely on his ability to sense cursed energy, but for some reason, ever since he's left the train platform he's felt cursed energy thinly spread throughout the building. It's enough to make the hairs of his arm raise. He doesn't want to tick off whatever's hiding in the vents. If he listens closely, he can sometimes even hear a faint trumpeting sound, but it’s probably from Fushiguro’s shikigami.

His thoughts drift back to Takada-chan, and he heaves another small yet bitter sigh. Takada-chan got lucky she didn't get injured back at the train station, or else her career would've been over. Even a scar would be difficult to explain to her fans. If she got hurt, her anguish and the possible end of her stardom would be Todo's fault. Logically, he knows it would be the fault of the curse user group who kidnapped Takada-chan, but as someone with such a strong attachment to her, he can't help but feel responsible on her behalf.

He can understand Yuuji's initial frustration on a much deeper level now.

In the same way Takada-chan was unintentionally put in harm's danger because of Todo's love for her, Yuuji is afraid that his mere presence will draw his loved ones into dangerous situations, which is why he tried to isolate himself from them. Todo had previously dismissed it as an irrational fear, but wasn't this very fear unfolding right before his eyes?

Todo shakes his head. No, this isn't the time to get caught up in moral dilemmas. Whether it was right or wrong for Todo to force Yuuji into accepting help from others, Todo knows he doesn't regret the decision. There's no way he could just let his brother suffer alone. No use dwelling on events outside of his control, so it's better to focus on what he can accomplish: getting Takada-chan and the rest of this group out of this dangerous station. Speaking of danger...

Todo holds up his hand, indicating for the group to stop moving. There's a dull skittering sound up coming from up ahead, almost like the scritching of multiple insects. Todo gently opens the glass door of a store and gestures rapidly for people to go inside. The skittering noise is becoming louder by the second, and Todo can even feel the floor begin to tremble. The hostages rush inside the store, ducking behind pieces of furniture. Once the last hostage goes in, Todo carefully closes the door behind him and crouches behind a table. Despite Todo not saying anything, even the hostages have caught on that now it is absolutely crucial for them to remain silent. 

An outpour of cockroaches crawl across the ceiling of the hallway, the walls pulsing with the muted rustling of their feet echoing through the otherwise quiet hallway. A wave of disdain washes over Todo as he gazes at the roaches, but he remains mute. A few hostages look green in the face. Hopefully they can hold it in until after this curse passes.

And then suddenly, an insectoid face with multiple eyes and several twitching antennae hops off the ceiling, and with the face, a black enrobed body that seems to blend in with the darkness of the hallway. The pupils in the curse's multiple eyes flit and jerk mechanically around the dark hallway while the curse scuttles forward, heading to the end of the hallway. Instinctively, Todo's hands twitch, feeling the cursed presence as if it’s an itch under his skin, as if the insects are writhing under his veins. Todo can't find it in him to speak, but he so desperately wishes this curse can move on with its strolling. He's fighting the urge to either use his cursed technique or straight up flee. The curse is almost near the end...it just needs to keep going--!

Clang!

Todo freezes, and his eyes dart to the source of the noise: a phone dropped by one of the hostages. Todo can barely believe he heard the sound, but the horrified face of the culprit ensures him it wasn't a hallucination. Takada-chan tugs sharply on Todo's shirt at the sound, biting her lips out of dread. Todo would try to comfort her if not for the fact he can't even find it in him to breath. Shit. The ground seems to shake along with the beat of his heart. 

When he returns to looking through the window, he finds his eyes staring at the multiple orbs of the cockroach curse.

"

.

.

...I̷͙̲̺̬͖̎͗̏̉̈̕͠r̸͇̻̈́͆͂̈͊ő̴͇̜͈̥̰̗̮͇́͋͗̕n̶̡̝̣̳̄̃͊͘?̶͚̯̜̟̜̐͊̏͂̋̚͜

" it creaks.

October 31st, 2018. 18:23

The ground breaks under Maki's feet as she pushes up against the giant skeletal fist threatening to plummet her into the pavement. Her muscles strain trying to keep up with the massive weight, and she can slowly feel herself sinking under the pressure.  Internally biting down a swear word, she looks at the person beneath her. Mai's dazed yet resigned face stares back at her. Maki bites her lip and looks up again, focusing all her might on shoving this hand away. She ignores the throbbing, empty feeling in her stomach.

How did she get here?

Just a minute earlier, she had been fighting off a group of transfigured humans. In the periphery of her vision, she noticed a curse had grabbed onto Mai's leg and was tugging her in the direction of the train tracks. She chased after the curse, but by the time she caught up to Mai, the two had stumbled into the territory of a curse. A special-grade curse, by the looks of it, Maki thinks, irritated. 

She drops one of her arms and immediately winces, feeling her knees buckle under the brute strength of the curse. She just needs to endure this, just for a moment. Using her free hand, she obtains a weapon from her satchel -- the dragon-bone blade from Juzo's workshop -- and points it at the curse's fist. A beam of cursed energy shoots forth, ripping a hole through the bones of the curse's hand. Grabbing onto Mai's uniform, Maki backs away from the curse before it has time to recover. 

Now that she's farther away, she can see the curse in its entirety, and the sight is enough to send a shiver down her spine. The curse is a 10 meter tall skeleton made of human bones, with its colossal skull illuminated by an ominous purple glow in its eye sockets. Each movement is accompanied by the groaning of what sounds like dozens of hungry voices coming from the curse's ribs. The station is too cramped for the full body of the curse, so its torso is on the ceiling while the hands and legs are the floor.

A large bone slams against the spot where Maki is standing, but Maki dodges it at the last minute while still holding Mai. This curse...she remembers it from the lecture on special grade curses at Tokyo Tech. Its name is Gashadokuro, and it represents the vengeful desire of people who died from warfare or starvation. That explains the horrible hunger pangs she and, judging by her groans, Maki are experiencing now. 

Maki ducks out the way of a high-speed bone projectile. That was close--! But she notices too late that the bone has splintered into pieces, with one of the offshoots aiming right at her face. Mai tugs Maki down sharply as the projectile whistles above Maki's head. Maki's heart is in her throat at the close call, but she shakes off the anxious feeling and gives her sister a grateful nod. Mai grimaces, a wearied look in her eyes as though wondering the futility of it all. Those eyes silently judge Maki, questioning her action .

Maki's breath hitches. For a moment, panic floods her veins. Does Mai know about--? No, that's not possible. But if she did, how would she-- ah, maybe the assholes from the Zen'in clan told her? And besides, even if Mai does know, Maki won't be resorting to that option. Maki and Mai will survive this Halloween and experience many more to come, without any sort of personal sacrifice involved. That's the promise that Maki has made to herself. She will become stronger without having to hurt her sister, jujutsu be damned.

The two dodge another oncoming attack from the Gashadokuro curse, though Mai lags behind Maki a bit. That won't do, especially with how fast this curse's projectiles are. Maki scoops Mai up into a princess carry and puts Mai on her back. How can she fight back against this curse? The damage she did to the curse's fingers has already healed through some sort of bone regeneration factor, and the hunger effect is starting to slow her down, with the pain gnawing away at her limbs and stomach. Maki needs to end this quickly before the curse performs a domain expansion, but how?

As she blasts a cursed energy beam from her dragon-bone sword at the curse's head, Mai finally speaks. "Maki," she calls, a fatigued tone in her voice. Maki wants to think the fatigue is from the curse's hunger effect.

"Yeah?" Maki responds. She jumps over a projectile aimed at her feet and runs away from the stomping legs and arms of the curse. The curse's blindspot seems to be the back of the curse's body, which is where Maki is sprinting to. The curse's head can't rotate far enough to see everything there. 

Mai frowns. "Why...?"

But any sense of Maki's confidence is put down when a bone projectile crashes into the spot she was about to occupy. Maki jumps away. What the heck? she thinks. My movement was out of the curse's field of vision, so how did...?

She looks up and notices several floating bone fingers, poised in her direction. She clenches her jaw. Nevermind, the curse must be using the bones as its eyes on the field. The barrage of bone fingers is let loose, with the first one attacking the gravel she stands on and the second building off the first. Maki jumps on top of each bone fragment as one would a ladder, and leaps off the final bone before it explodes. But as she's mid-air, something strikes her body. It isn't a physical attack, but instead, an overwhelming pang of hunger that threatens to make her lose grip on her weapon and Mai. Her breath is shallow, and her heart feels as though it was being squeezed.

She hits the ground with a thud, form so undignified that her weapon flies out of her hand and Mai rolls out of her grasp. Maki gasps for air as she gets up, trying to regain her strength. This damn curse--! 

Then, it's like she sees everything in slow-motion: the floating bones hovering above Mai in a cage-like formation, and the raised foot about to crush her Dragon-bone weapon. Who will she choose to save? If she gets her weapon, she can figure out a way to defeat the curse, but she would be abandoning Mai. If she goes to Mai, she'll be trapped in the bone cage with her, and her weapon would be crushed. The logical answer is obvious, and yet...

When Maki sees Mai's dejected eyes, she can't help but sprint forward, rushing into the bone cage at the last second. The bones fall into place around them, forming a ceiling that lowers rapidly by the second. Maki crouches and pushes up against the ceiling, if only to prevent it from lowering any further. Mai gapes at her. "You-- why are you here!?" Mai says in a harsh whisper. Maki gets the sense it was supposed to be a yell, but her throat was so parched it could only come out as a parched whisper.

Still, Maki frowns, taken aback. "Shouldn't you be more thankful?" she snaps. "I just lost my weapon to rescue you!"

Maki scowls weakly. "Well I didn't ask for you to do that!" she retorts, and groans. "You should've just let me die Maki. You should've just stayed away from this damn hole I've fallen into, you had no problem doing it the first time."

Maki stares at her sister, stunned. Then, she huffs a hollow, bitter laugh. Wow, this is rich. "You seriously think I would give up on you like that? You're my twin sister, Mai, I can't just leave you to die--"

"You're going to have to anyway," Mai interrupts, in a small voice. Maki freezes, blood turning ice-cold. Mai continues. "I'm your twin sister, and I'm your crutch. No matter how much you struggle, how hard you try to become stronger, I'll just hold you back."

Breathing is becoming more difficult, Maki finds herself noticing. "You're wrong, Mai! I can still--" 

Mai exhales frustratedly. "Will you SHUT IT Maki!?"

Her yell echoes through the bone-cage, quieting Maki. Mai shakes her head slowly, and then speaks. "Earlier...when I was thrown into that crowd of curses, I thought I was going to die. " She huffs, a bitter laugh almost identical to Maki's previous one. "The mouths of those curses could rip me apart, or their claws would tear me to pieces. And you know what I thought, Maki? I was scared at first, but then I thought...at least, if I die, Maki will get stronger."

Maki stares at Mai with wide eyes. Mai looks at the ground and chokes a sob. "I've called you useless all this time, but if I'm the reason for your uselessness, what does that make me? Even worse. So if I'm gone, at least there's one good thing that can come out of it."

Mai looks up and meets Maki's stunned eyes with her own rueful expression. Maki splutters, alarm bells blaring in her mind. No. This can't be happening. "Mai, you don't have to die for me -- we can still get out of this together!" 

But Mai's eyes already look like she has died. Rather, like she has killed her will to live.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Mai mumbles, shaking her head. She sighs and pats her ankle. "I'm injured. I'm physically weaker than you. I already used up my bullet for the day. There's nothing useful I can contribute, so why even bother fighting for me? Just let me go, Maki."

Tears prickle the edges of Maki's eyes, and she bites down hard on her lips. Mai continues. "I won't blame you, this time. Get out of this cage. Destroy this curse, along with everything that's been holding us back."

A moment of silence passes as the sisters gaze at each other. When Maki looks at Mai, all she sees is Mai's resigned expression. She's ready, Maki realizes with a startle. The realization makes goosebumps rise on her skin. She's willing to die for me, right now. Am I willing to let her?

“To become the strongest...well. You have to sacrifice something equally significant.”

Another moment passes. Maki's determined expression solidifies. 

"No, Mai," she declares abruptly. Mai looks even more disappointed by her statement. "If I have to become stronger, I'll do it with you. And if I'm going to destroy everything holding us back, I'll do it with you. I won't let you go. Not again."

Mai's eyebrows furrow in confusion, while Maki nods to herself. As a time-traveler, Itadori is trying to prevent the tragedies of the future from occurring again. As long as Mai isn't on the brink of death, Maki will make sure her tragic fate isn’t repeated.

"I have an idea for a binding vow," Maki says. "I need you to say the following..."

Less than a minute later, Maki feels an overwhelming, exhilarating thrill of power that's enough to mask her dire hunger. She begins counting the seconds as she pushes up on the bone ceiling. 120 seconds. The whole structure shatters into pieces. The image of the intruder from earlier enters her mind, specifically the way he walked on the air. Could Maki do that too?

She smirks and takes one step, then blitzes forward. A laugh threatens to break out from her throat. Haha, this feeling is amazing~! She's never moved this fast before. A skeletal hand comes to crush her, but Maki leaps above it, running on the arm of the curse. She takes out another weapon from her satchel: Playful Cloud. Tossing the 3-section staff into the air, she jumps above another bone fragment missile and uses the staff to hit the shoulder of the curse. Immediately, the arm structure comes crashing down. She runs across the back of the curse while swinging Playful Cloud around. Her weapon makes contact with the neck and spine of the Gashadokoru curse and it trembles, lowering closer to the ground. The vertebrae must be a weak spot. 98 seconds

Three projectile bones shoot at her from above. Maki grins. Before, she could hardly read the attacks, but now it's as if her perception of time itself has improved. She can easily visualize the line of attack these projectiles are following, so she turns out of the way of the projectiles at the last minute, making the bones hit the back of the curse.

The Gashadokoru curse tries to shake Maki off, but she holds still. She's intentionally trying to aggravate the curse. Use it now, she thinks. Activate your Domain Expansion!

The wailing voices from inside the Gashadokoru's chest reach an all-time high and it thrashes about, finally throwing Maki off its back. When she lands, she doesn't find herself on the train station platform; the terrain has changed to that of a graveyard at night, with a red moon in the sky adding to the ominous feel. Mai got trapped in the domain expansion too, but this doesn't worry Maki. After all, the sure-hit effect won't work on either of them. 67 seconds.  

Maki has to make this quick. Skeletons rise from the grave and run at Maki, but she cuts through them like one would butter. Her hunger pangs are even greater now -- probably a side-effect of the domain expansion -- but she's able to ignore it given how urgent this situation is. The massive Gashadokoru skeleton stands in her path, with its bones illuminated by the red moon its figure partially blocks. Maki darts up and between the limbs of the Gashadokoru while hitting its pressure points with Playful Cloud. When she reaches the top of the skeletal curse, she brings down her staff hard. The skull cracks into two halves as the skeleton falls backwards. 10 seconds.

The domain expansion fades away as Maki deals her last few hits. One attack crushes the curse's neck, the next targets its ribcage, and her final attack smashes its ankles. Once the ten seconds are up, Maki heaves a deep sigh and walks away from the curse's remains while wiping sweat off her head. That was...amazing, Maki thinks, still a bit dazed from her powerup. The amount of strength she possessed, how absolutely free she felt--!

She shakes her head. Nevermind, now is the true gamble. Maki heads in Mai's direction, but suddenly, Mai's eyebrows raise in shock. 

Maki hears the rustling of the Gashadokoru's bones a moment later. She looks up and sees a massive skeletal hand raised above her, ready to pummel her into the ground. 

BANG! A bullet pushes the hand back into the reforming skeletal body and all together, it explodes into fine dust. Mai pants heavily while keeping her gun raised, still keeping a careful eye on the Gashadokoru's remains. 

Maki runs up to Mai and smiles, offering her a high five. Mai falters at Maki, and then offers her own incredulous smile. "I can't believe that worked," Mai mutters. 

Maki shrugs, too happy to question it. When they were stuck in the bone cage, Maki thought of the perfect binding vow: one that made Mai seal off all her cursed energy for 2 minutes, in exchange for a 140% increase in her cursed energy levels for the next 2 minutes. This way, when Maki gets a power-up, Mai will inevitably receive one too. It's fair since both of them are sacrificing something in order to be strong.

When Mai is strong, I am weak. And when Mai is weak, I am strong. Maki's smile grows even wider at the thought, and she begins to look for Itadori in the chaos of the train station. She wants to tell Itadori about this, and let him know that it's alright to share the burden, that he doesn't have to take it all alone when everyone can just become strong together! He doesn't have to shoulder this burden alone--

A cold chill fills Maki as she stares at the scene unfolding in front of her in quiet horror. Her smile drops immediately. 

Shit. She's too late.

October 31st, 2018. 18:24

Mahito waves at Itadori's chasing figure from above, standing on top of a flying transfigured human. "Iitadorii Yuuuuuji?” he calls, teasing. "How's it feel from down there?"

He narrowly dodges a high-speed beam of blood from Itadori and throws a condensed disk at the sorcerer. The disk expands into a fully-grown monster, thrashing about as soon as it touches ground. Itadori dodges the transfigured monster before the attack lands.  

So he dodged that, huh? Mahito takes out two condensed transfigured human and merges them together with his Soul Multiplicity technique. A Piercing Blood beam hits his wrists up, knocking the fused orbs out of his hands before he can throw them at Itadori. The souls in the fused orbs repel each other, making them expand into one massive monster above Mahito's head. Mahito flies out of the way using his surfboard.

"I've been looking forward to this, y'know?" Mahito squawks, dodging another Piercing Blood beam. Itadori is rapidly getting closer to Mahito, so he throws a bunch of transfigured curses in the way. "Ever since fighting you, I made a huge discovery!"

"Did you discover how annoying you are?" Itadori retorts. For some reason, Itadori isn't as angry about the transfigured humans as Mahito expected him to be. It's a bit disappointing, but this also increases Mahito's interest in Itadori. What will make him angry?

And more importantly, what will bring Itadori to his knees out of fear?

Itadori quickly works through exorcising the crowd of transfigured humans, killing each of them with a swift kick and punch. Mahito sends several of his polymorphic soul isomers army to toy with Itadori for a bit. Mahito puts his hand on his chest and begins the process of his own transformation.

"Yuuji, our fight taught me how to fear," Mahito starts. Itadori has finished exorcising the group of transfigured humans and is now attacking the polymorphic soul isomers.  "And I realized how central that emotion is to humanity -- all human actions, all of the most disgusting sides to humanity were all motivated by fear! You cling to these worthless ideals of kindness and justice, but in the face of fear, all your bravado fades away! And out of that emotion, you humans hurt and abuse each other, leading to this built-up hatred I represent!"

Mahito thinks of the grandmother he saw on the train station. She, like countless other humans he had seen, was willing to sacrifice random people in order to survive. In the face of their terror, he was able to see the true character of mankind: self-preservation. He cackles. "Humanity is the source of its own greatest curse!"

Mahito steps off the transfigured surfboard as his figure begins to morph. "So what did I do? I took inspiration from one of the most feared and hated sorcerers of all time -- the Dishonoured One himself!" 

Mahito's body grows until he's just a few inches below the ceiling. His figure widens until it has the dimensions of a solid block, and with a whoosh, two additional arms sprout from his upper abdomen. A spiky tail protrudes from his back, Mahito’s own personal touch on the design.

Itadori leaps forward with a curse-energy infused punch, which Mahito blocks with one of his arms. If this was his weak body, he would've been overpowered, but his new body grants him impressive durability able to withstand a multitude of Itadori's punches.

"How do they say it here? Boo, did I scare you?" Mahito asks, smirking.

Itadori shoots a Piercing Blood beam at Mahito's face. Mahito just barely dodges it, and the next thing he's aware of is a resounding hit to his abdomen, shaking his entire body. Mahito winces. No way, did he--?

"This doesn’t even compare to the real deal," Itadori snarks, and hits another black-flash on Mahito's abdomen. His lower arms block the total effect of the black flash, but it still hurts like hell. Mahito gulps. Can this guy perform black flashes at will?

Mahito forces a grin on his face, if only to hold back the bile. "I expected you wouldn't be afraid," he says. His tail slams on the ground, propelling both of them into the air. Then, his tail connects with Itadori's torso and the spikes drive deep into Itadori's abdomen, hitting him several meters away.

”You’re different,” Mahito tells to the smoking pile of rubble where Itadori lays. “The one you are afraid of...is yourself! I can sense it in your soul!” 

The unique thing about Itadori Yuuji is that, rather than fearing strong opponents or death, he fear the potential harm his own actions might cause to the people he cares about. And what better way for Mahito to torment Itadori than to prove his fears correct?

Orbs of blood surround Mahito on all sides, catching him off-guard. Crap! He uses his tails to wack the orbs out of sight, but some detonate on his tail. Mahito glances at his tail, now half-burnt off and stinging. That’s one appendage that needs to be healed.

Itadori rises from the rubble with his fist clenched. Mahito grins. Perfect, he’s here to witness this.  “Watch closely, Yuuji,” Mahito says. “This is my last pony trick.” Mahito uses his four arms to touch four different parts of his body, and then transfigures himself into four people. Specifically, four copies of Itadori Yuuji.

”Pretty cool, right?” one of his clones says. "It would be a shame if any of your friends got hurt." With that said, all of the clones smirk and then take off in different directions. Mahito grins as he runs left of Itadori. He's incorporated several tricks into his last 'treat' to Itadori -- one clone has a higher concentration of cursed energy, one looks physically stronger, one did the majority of the speaking, and the last clone, where Mahito's soul resides is a perfect copy of Itadori's face. Which one will Itadori mistakenly chase after? The question thrills Mahito's curious mind.

But a few seconds later, a different thrill kicks in when Itadori lands a punch right where Mahito was standing. Mahito laughs nervously while continuing to run away, though internally, he's unsettled. How did Itadori find the right clone almost instantly?

Mahito shakes his head. Nevermind, this is fine. A small portion of his flesh turns into a minuscule fly containing his soul, abandoning his clone body. The fly flutters over the train platform and then fuses with another Itadori clone.

Mahito smirks. No matter what, he will become the terrifying fear that brings Itadori to his knees. Ooh, and he's already spotted an interesting target...

October 31st, 2018. 18:25

“Kugisaki,” Shoko greets. Nobara nods at her while walking down the escalator onto the train ground floor. Her heart hasn't stopped racing from the close call at the station entrance. On the way she was nearly caught by an elephant-looking curse. Luckily she was able to avoid fighting it by creating a distraction on the other side of the floor, but it was a terrifying experience.

“Hey Shoko,” Nobara responds. She avoids stepping over someone’s leg as she gets closer to Shoko. There are a few patients with bandages wrapped around their limbs. Nobara sets a new First Aid kit on the floor next to Shoko. “Here’s your supplies. Is there anything I can help with?”

When Nobara looks around, she can’t see Maki anywhere in sight. Did Maki get caught up in a curse’s attack? 

Shoko gestures to the space in front of the makeshift clinic she set up. “Just keep us safe from any curses. Maki went after her sister so you’re the only one left to fend them off until Maki gets back.”

A bead of sweat drops on Nobara’s face. That’s quite the pressure. Hopefully Maki doesn’t get injured by the curse, she thinks as she assumes her position in front of the improv clinic. As for the reason Nobara even came…

Nobara glances through the crowd of hostages and scowls when she sees the blond woman she’s been looking for. The woman, adorned in cat ears and a cat leotard, appears to be chatting to another hostage. Hopefully she isn't giving anyone a hard time. The woman notices Nobara’s gaze and stiffens, immediately turning her head away to cover her eye.

It's too late, though, because Nobara already saw her mom's full face. The woman's left eye is closed shut with a scar going down her eyelid. Nobara’s eyebrows raise at the sight, along with mixed feelings of pity and humor. Her mother takes so much pride in her appearance, so how ironic is it that she got a facial scar from this event? Under better circumstances, Nobara might have laughed, but now she feels a foreboding sense of anxiety. None of their plans seem to be going right…

Nobara sighs and readies her tools for combat. There’s no use dwelling on these anxious feelings. The best she can do is use them as fuel to power her fight against transfigured humans.

Before she even hits a transfigured human, she catches some movement in the peripheral of her vision. Two girls dressed in school uniforms appear to be fiddling with some sort of tool. Nobara squints at the object as she approaches the pair. It seems kind of familiar, but why?

Nobara’s eyes widen when she gets a proper look at the purple object. One of the girls notices her and swears. Nobara could do the same — after all, what the heck is Sukuna’s finger doing in their hands? "Hand that over," she demands.

The girl with light brown hair shakes her head vigorously. Nobara begins trying to wrestle it out of the girl's hand. The dark brown-haired girl next to her pulls on Nobara's arm in an attempt to tear Nobara away from Sukuna's finger. "No! This is our only bargain tool to free Master Getou!" she cries.

Nobara frowns, but she continues pulling on the finger until it inevitably comes loose from the girl's grip. Getou...isn't that the guy Kenjaku is possessing? She twists the finger around in her palm and then pockets it in her uniform.

From what Yuuji has told her... "That guy is too far gone," she tells the girls bluntly. "You're lucky you got away from him alive at all; don't try to screw up your chances of surviving now."

The girl with light brown hair shoots a scathing glower at Nobara, while the girl with dark brown hair flinches.  "Y-you're wrong!" the dark-haired girl says. "If Sukuna were here, he would be able to free our Master!"

If their goal is to awaken Sukuna, these must have been the people who fed Yuuji the eleven fingers in his timeline. This is what they were willing to endanger Yuuji's body for. Nobara rolls her eyes. "What makes you think he'd even want to?" she says, with a sneer in her voice. "That monster would appreciate the company of whatever sicko took over Getou's body -- it's not like he has a heart."

The dark-haired girl trembles at her words. Nobara sighs, already mentally done with this conversation. In the corner of her vision, she sees a transfigured human drawing near to one of the hostages. It takes a single nail to exorcise the entity, but its fluids splash all over the hostage, prompting a disgusted recoil. She grimaces at the mess as she walks up to the hostage. It's gross, but at least the hostage is still breathing.

The weight of Sukuna's finger in her pocket is a heavy reminder of all the damage this single finger could cause. She scans the train platform for any sight of her teacher, but she doesn't see him. She'll have to give the finger to Gojo when he gets here. Ah, but Fushiguro just came down the stairwell on the opposite side of the train station. Maybe she can get him to store the finger in his shadows?

Nobara waves her hand in the air, trying to get Fushiguro's attention. He notices her and starts heading in her direction until he's stopped in his tracks by a curse ambush. She grimaces. Welp, looks like he'll be busy for some time. A few familiar faces pop up on the battlefield; she can see Okkotsu and Choso fighting Kenjaku, and she can catch glimpses of Maki attacking some sort of skeleton curse. So far no one seems to be getting overwhelmed, which is great, but Nobara still feels inexplicably nervous. Where is Yuuji?

Then, he appears in her line of sight, and she exhales a relief-filled breath. There's some blood on his arms, but other than that he seems completely uninjured. Did he finish fighting Mahito already? That was fast! Todo did mention that Yuuji completely dominated Mahito in a previous fight, so maybe the same thing happened here.

Yuuji jogs up to Nobara, waving at her happily. Nobara's offers her own wave, frowning. Her eyebrows narrow. She doesn't know how to describe it, but something's off about him. Yuuji begins sprinting in the last few meters between them, with movement faster than Nobara's eyes can detect. She raises her hammer cautiously.

"NO! KUGISAKI!" someone screams from the left of her. Her eyes dart in that direction and she sees another Itadori Yuuji. What? But when she looks at the Yuuji in front of her, Yuuji's skin melts off like a layer, unveiling the grotesque face of a curse with patchmarks all over. 

Her heart stops. She looks at the outstretched hand in front of her face and thinks:

I'm going to die.

Time seems to slow down as she stares death in the face. Someone had once said that in a human's final moments, the brain replays important memories in an attempt to recall a solution for the situation. That must be what's happening now: a tidal flood of memories have been unleashed over her conscious, starting from her childhood and progressing to her teenage years. The memories of Saori and Fumi are tinged bittersweet, while the recollections of her memories at Tokyo Tech bring about a sense of nostalgia.

Yesterday, she did as much shopping as her heart desired, and today, she made peace with Choso. She even managed to meet her mom for the first time in years, despite how unpleasant the situation was. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep her promise to Fumi and Saori, but overall...

It wasn't so bad--!

Her train of thought is cut off abruptly by the utterance of a single word. At this sound, all rampaging sounds from the curses and transfigured humans go quiet in apprehension. The hand in front of her face hovers in air for a split second.

Then it drops to the ground.

Nobara looks to her left and sees Yuuji's raised hand pointed in her direction. His index and middle fingers are flexed while the rest of his fingers are down. Dismantle, Yuuji had called it. The name of Sukuna's cursed technique. 

She looks at the cut off hand on the ground and swallows. There is a deafening silence smothering the entire train station, with even Kenjaku forced quiet. All of them just witnessed the revival of a cursed technique used by the most malevolent jujutsu sorcerer in all of history. Just what kind of chaos will result after? Everything in the train station examines Itadori Yuuji with trepidation.

Nobara belatedly backs away, putting distance between her and Mahito. Mahito doesn't even attempt chasing after her, frozen still in terror. Shit, Nobara thinks. This whole situation has gone to shit. Yuuji already said his soul is on the edge, so his use of Sukuna's cursed technique could be the very trigger that pushes him off the deep end. 

For the first time in weeks, a mouth in Yuuji's cheek opens. No snarky phrases or taunts come out. Instead, the mouth bursts into laughter. Pure, vindictive, malicious laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" the mouth wheezes. The oppressive, filthy sound echoes throughout the station, making Nobara's knees go weak. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Nobara feels for Sukuna's finger in her pocket. She scans the station and accidentally makes eye contact with Okkotsu, who, with a grim expression on his face, fastens his grip on his katana.

"HAHAHAHA!"

Chapter Text

October 31st, 2018. 18:23

"

.

.

...I̷͙̲̺̬͖̎͗̏̉̈̕͠r̸͇̻̈́͆͂̈͊ő̴͇̜͈̥̰̗̮͇́͋͗̕n̶̡̝̣̳̄̃͊͘?̶͚̯̜̟̜̐͊̏͂̋̚͜

the cockroach curse croaks. 

Todo's face stiffens and his whole body goes still with trepidation. Ah crap... are we done for? he thinks, feeling fear creep into his mind. The floor beneath him shakes along with the trembling of the hostages. Subconsciously, Todo's hand grabs his locket. I can't let Takada-chan die -- or anyone else in this group. Shit, what do I do?

He stares at the curse's eyes a little longer, and then blinks out of his fear-induced daze when he realizes something. The curse's gigantic eyes are looking in the direction of his store, but the creature isn't close enough to actually see him and the hostages hiding in it. This group is uninjured so there's no source of blood or "iron" to guide the cockroach curse's senses. The curse's antennae twitch in their general direction, but the curse seems confused about where exactly the source of the noise is. The shaking of the ground seems to be covering up their presence -- a fact Todo is extremely grateful for. Alright...he can work with this. 

The glint of an empty ramen bowl catches Todo's eye. Gently, he picks up the bowl and crawls closer to the entrance of the store, silently hushing the hostages around him. The cockroach curse is still standing in the middle of the hallway, antenna twitching curiously as its eyeballs dart across the hall. If Todo concentrates, he can hear the skittering of the roaches on the ceiling growing louder; they must be approaching the store. If you want some iron...

Todo bites his thumb and smears the blood on the interior of the bowl. Then, he throws the bowl farther down the hall, soaring above the head of the cockroach curse and landing into the store opposite to them.

...I'll give it to you. 

The moment the ceramic bowl shatters against the ground, it garners the attention of all the cockroaches, including the cursed spirit. The curse leaps after the direction of the bowl, with the cockroaches following in hot pursuit. 

"I̷͙̲̺̬͖̎͗̏̉̈̕͠r̸͇̻̈́͆͂̈͊ő̴͇̜͈̥̰̗̮͇́͋͗̕n̶̡̝̣̳̄̃͊͘!" 

it rasps.

Now's the time to make their escape. Todo rises from the floor and beckons the hostages out of the store. "Go!" he whispers, when he gets wary looks from some hesitant people. "Hurry!" This distraction will only hold for a minute at most. Once the last person leaves, Todo catches up to the front of the group. Pieces of the ceiling crash onto the floor as Todo's group make their escape from the hallway. He can hear a rumbling noise from the opposite end of the hallway, gradually getting louder even though his group is running away. Could it be the cockroach curse?

Todo risks a look behind and immediately winces. The cockroach curse caught on to the trick; now its giant body scurries around the hallway as it chases after them with its mouth opened wide. The curse's teeth glimmer under the dim lighting, prompting a scream from the slower people at the back of the group. A hostage from the back -- a man with platinum blond hair -- slips and falls flat on the ground. A tidal wave of cockroaches overtake him, but Todo swaps him out with stray ceiling debris. The man shivers in his tattered clothes, bitten to pieces by the roaches. Todo grimaces; the curse itself is a threat, but the swarm of cockroaches are dangerous too, chasing them practically at their heels. At this point, his group might as well be leading the curse to Nanami. He needs to find a way to shake this curse off, fast. 

The hostage group rounds a corner as they near closer to the South exit. The booming noise drowns out the skittering sound of the cockroach's movement, affirming Todo's theory that the sound isn't coming from that curse. There must be another curse following them from the floor above, and its movement must be the reason why the ceiling and floor quake so violently,. An idea dawns in Todo's head. If he can just distract the cockroach curse for a moment...

A Bath and Bodyworks shop comes into view, and suddenly, Todo knows exactly what to do. Gesturing for the rest of the group to continue running, Todo ducks into the store and grabs an armful of perfume bottles. While leaving, he flips over the perfume table directly into the path of the cockroach swarm. It doesn't do much to hinder their movement, but he wasn't counting on that in the first place. He throws perfume bottles behind him, leaving a trail of splashed liquids to coat the swarm in. There are two other perfume bottles left in his stash, one of which he swaps with a lighter from a nearby convenience store. With a fwoosh, a flame engulfs the lighter. Todo tosses the activated lighter onto the puddle of perfume behind him, lighting the entire trail and a large portion of the cockroaches on fire. This should give him enough time to increase the distance between them. 

The cockroach curse stares ominously at Todo behind the flames, and it begins to unsheath some sort of weapon from its body. Todo's eyes narrow at the movement, and once he's caught up to the back of the hostage group, he tosses the final perfume bottle.

Then, he claps his hand. In place of the perfume bottle, an enormous creature with an elephant head and four arms flies straight into the cockroach curse, dampening the fire with its sheer mass. Todo's eyebrows raise. So that's what the curse on the floor above looks like! It oddly resembles a figure from Hinduism: the remover of obstacles, Ganesha. There isn't enough time for Todo to ponder this any longer, however, because the two curses have begun clashing in a manner almost reminiscent of kaiju movies. "Like Gozilla and King Kong...!" He hears someone in the group mumble. The ground caves in beneath the curses as they slash and tear at each other. 

From then on, the journey to South exit becomes significantly easier. After running down another hallway, Todo finds the exit and ushers everyone out the station. Nanami acknowledges Todo with a nod and he gestures for the hostages to gather around him. 

Todo heaves a sigh. That's one hostage group taken care of. His face relaxes when he sees Takada-chan standing among the rescued people, not even a single scratch blemishing her face. The realization she got out unharmed is enough to calm Todo's heart. But then, he notices something unusual. There's an unfamiliar-looking brown haired woman standing close to Takada-chan. The more Todo tries to look at her, the fuzzier her face becomes. It’s only when her fingers rise, nails lengthening into claws poised to tear into Takada-chan’s face, that Todo realizes: this woman isn't a hostage. 

"Takada!" Todo yells as a warning. Takada-chan's eyes open wide and her hands rise to cover her face, but she's too slow in getting away.

Nanami's blade intercepts the curse's sharp nails, and with a sharp clap, the curse teleports in front of Todo. The curse's claw-like nails rebound against Todo's firm hands. Judging by the amount of cursed energy, this must be a first-grade curse who happened to escape the train platform. Todo could exorcise it, but there's a much quicker solution available now. He kicks the curse and it flies ahead of him, crashing into a lamppost several meters away. The curse scowls as it gets up, and its arm elongates in another attack aimed at Todo. However, the arms stop just a few meters short, hitting some sort of invisible object.

That invisible object is the counter-curtain Ijichi set up, blocking off the entry of all curses. The curse's arms bang against the barrier to no avail, but its face is expressionless. Not just expressionless -- all evidence of facial features have been completely wiped off, leaving a blank hunk of flesh adorned by brown hair.  Some hostages startle at the faceless curse's banging. Todo's eyebrows crease as he searches for Takada-chan. When he finds her, he feels a sense of panic for the first time. 

Takada-chan offers a weak smile while cradling her bleeding wrist. Todo's eyebrows furrow in sorrow as he crouches down next to her. "You're hurt," he says mournfully.

Takada-chan waves him off. "It's all good, this small cut isn't enough to take me down! I'm still kawaii, see~!" She winks and makes a peace sign with her uninjured hand. Even in dangerous times, she's still trying to cheer Todo up. Todo sighs, feeling a flash of guilt. If he had just noticed the curse faster...

He shakes his head. Nevermind, this is no time to be obsessing over who to blame. If this conflict gets wrapped up quickly and Shoko gets her cursed technique back, Takada-chan's wrist could still heal without a scar forming. Todo needs to dedicate the all of his efforts into ensuring this incident concludes swiftly. 

Invigorated by this thought, Todo stands up. "You're going back in there?" Takada-chan asks, so surprised her smile slips off her face.

"I have to evacuate the other hostages," he explains. It was difficult to travel out of the station as a group, but it should be easy for Todo to travel to the train platform on his own. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

She nods. "Alright, good luck! I'll be waiting for you." 

Todo walks back into Shinjuku station while mentally replaying those words. In other circumstances, those well-wishes would be enough to uplift his mood for a month. Now, it's just barely enough to soothe his guilt. He shakes off the feeling as he enters the station. Anyway, there's no telling what state the train platform will be at when he gets back, but surely the situation will have improved by now, right?

October 31st, 2018. 18:22. Before the Incident.

Yuta glances at Yuuji and Kenjaku, and then switches targets, swinging his katana down on Kenjaku's face. He and Yuuji already agreed beforehand that if their paths crossed, Yuuji would go for Mahito and Yuta would fight Kenjaku. Yuuji has an upper hand since he's immune to the soul damage Mahito can inflict, and more importantly, Yuta has a personal reason for targeting Kenjaku: he doesn't want sensei to kill his best friend again. Gojo-sensei has done too much for him already—this time, Yuta will carry the burden. Since he’s the outsider, Yuta will be the one who gets his hands dirty.

The ground beneath Kenjaku caves in a bit as Kenjaku blocks the attack with his raised arm. “So this is your back-up?” he says, looking at Choso with an unimpressed face. "Better this than listening to your drivel about your brothers, I suppose." Suddenly, a strong crushing force forces Yuta to plummet onto the tracks. This must be Kenjaku's Antigravity System technique. Choso, who managed to avoid getting caught in the technique's radius, sends a shuriken-shaped slicing exorcism that knocks Kenjaku into a train.  

"You're despicable," Choso snarls, palms pressing together to make a convergence orb. "You experimented on my mother and abandoned my brothers for 150 years! Now you're trying to ruin this family again-- and for what? What do you get out of all this chaos?"

A serene smile forms on Kenjaku's face. "What I get..."

The six seconds should be over...now! Yuta darts forward and swings his katana at Kenjaku's neck as Choso's blood solidifies around Kenjaku's hands and ankles, anchoring him to his place. Yuta's katana is about to cut through Kenjaku when a curse grabs onto his neck and pulls him back.

"Entertainment," Kenjaku decides. In a flash, Yuta cuts down the curse holding him back, but in that time Kenjaku managed to break free of the chains on his hands. Kenjaku dusts his hands off and motions for a wave of curses to fill the gap, then ducks a Piercing Blood beam. "It would be fascinating to see the product of millions of people merged with Tengen. What could it possibly look like? After my thousands of years living on this wretched earth, I want to observe something that has never been seen before." 

A beam of positive cursed energy from Yuta's fingertips burns through all the curses in front of him. Yuta vaguely knows of Choso's family history as a cursed womb, but just witnessing this interaction solidifies Yuta's opinion on this man. Kenjaku truly is...

"You're sickening," Yuta spits as he lunges at Kenjaku and tries to slash at his chest. Yuta can't even begin to understand how Kenjaku could trample on the lives of others just for this convoluted whim of his. How could he shamelessly hurt others and call his own offspring ‘failures’?

Kenjaku shrugs and grabs the tip of Yuta's katana with his hands. Time seems to slow as he looks at Yuta with a cool gaze on his face. "That's rude. It's my 'pure love'," he quotes back at Yuta. And suddenly, Yuta becomes aware of the small, fleshy orb hovering in the space between them. 

Oh shit.

Yuta drops to the ground, letting go of his katana in an attempt to avoid the mini Uzumaki. With a thundering boom, the orb detonates in an explosion of cursed energy that Yuta narrowly dodges.  This guy is much more dangerous than the Getou I fought last year, Yuta thinks as he dodges another miniature Uzumaki orb. RCT, Cursed Spirit Manipulation, Antigravity System and an open domain? This is definitely shaping up to be a tough fight. We might need an additional player in this fight...

As Yuta gets up, he twists his ring. Rika partially manifested earlier on the trains to deal with transfigured humans, but now Yuta might need her at full power. Come, Rika, all of you.  he beckons. Let's show this man what true love looks like.

Rika roars as she bursts out of the train in all of her furious, monstrous glory. "Hoho!" Kenjaku laughs while staring at the sight. "This might be interesting!" 

The massive shikigami unzips her ribcage to reveal a multitude of weapons. "Yuta, which one do you want?" Rika croaks. Yuta ignores Kenjaku's taunts and picks out a tool from Rika's arsenal. 

“Thanks Rika,” he says while testing out the mace he picked. The mace has a spiky ball attached through a silver chain onto a wooden pole; perfect for heavy, blunt damage. He imbues cursed energy into the tool and slams it onto the ground.

Thud! The tracks collapse and Kenjaku summons a mountain of curses to support his footing. Rika pushes him off the mountain and thrashes him into the ground. She drops to the floors, and Kenjaku gets up, looking vaguely ticked. He sics several leech-like curses onto Rika. 

Yuta stayed out of the 2-3 meter range of Kenjaku’s technique, so he’s still free to move as he pleases. He leaps at Kenjaku, mace in hand, and swings the mace onto Kenjaku’s face. Kenjaku makes a motion as if about to move, but two hands appear from his sides and pin the curse user to his place. Yuta smashes the spiked ball into Kenjaku’s palm, which he raised to cover his face. The train platform quakes. 

Kenjaku looks at his hole-infested hand and grimaces. Parts of his face that his hand didnt cover are bleeding heavily too. Perfect, Yita analyzes, this should force Kenjaku to switch cursed techniques. 

Stemming from Choso’s arms are elongated stretches of blood that connect to his hands, currently pinning Kenjaku at his sides. “My brothers and I are disappointments, huh?” Choso grits. “Taste this failure, Noritoshi.”

His hands drag Kenjaku across the metal hull of the train and punt him into the tracks. Yuta follows with another mace attack. It doesn’t connect — a swarm of curses sweeps him over like a tidal flood, crashing him into a pillar. The curses pull and bite away at his skin. 

“Yuta!” Rika cries, coming to his aid instantly. She grabs Yuta and shakes the curses off of him. He pats her panicked fist gentle to reassure her and retrieves his fallen katana. Then, using her fist as leverage, he jumps off and swings once more at Kenjaku, aiming for his neck. The pressure from the hit pushes Kenjaku back, but a majority of the damage gets absorbed by a layer of curses that aggregated around Kenjaku’s neck at the last minute. 

The curses explode into beams of purple fluids and thick smoke that block Yuta’s vision of Kenjaku. He sees something swirl in the mist, contorting to form an orb. 

He’s too slow to dodge the detonating miniature Uzumaki. The explosion blasts right  into his face, searing off his eyebrows and scorching his skin. Sharp pains shoot through his face, but Yuta ignores it. He’s learned to push through much worse pain.

Kenjaku wipes blood away from his nose using his newly healed hand and then shakes his head. “Ah, this has gone on for too long,” he says seriously. His smile has vanished and a grimace takes its place. “It’s obvious all you have are physical attacks.”

Yuta frowns, feeling uneasy at Kenjaku’s change in tone. Choso acts on it, launching himself at Kenjaku with two blood daggers in hands. Kenjaku twists around Choso’s attack and maneuvers his way out of the kicks and punches Choso throws at him. He summons a wave of upper-grade curses to push Choso away, and then looks at Yuta.

He sighs. Yuta grips his katana, feeling his heart sink. He's unsure if he can win in a domain battle against this guy. “No, this won’t do. Domain Expa—“

The sharp yet subtle sound of a slice interrupts Kenjaku’s chanting, along with the wildly fluctuating levels of cursed energy coming from the left of the train plaza. This sound stops Yuta in his tracks, even slowing Rika in her motion to crush Kenjaku. The curses, the transfigured humans, the sorcerers — they all fall quiet at the sight beheld: a single hand on the floor, chopped off by some invisible force.

Why are they quiet? Because of what Yuuji just chanted moments before: “Dismantle.”

A hushed silence falls over the train station as Yuta’s brain kicks into overdrive. This timing would appear fortunate, but if anything, it could quickly progress into the worst case scenario. According to what Yuuji said at the strategy meeting, every time he used a technique from his future, his body experiences an unrelated event from the future and changes —in a way transforming Yuuji’s current body into the body he had in his future. Todo dubbed it the ‘synchronization rate’.

Yuta winces, gripping his katana anxiously. He doesn’t need to be an expert in soul-gazing to know that this curse technique use caused some sort of big shift in the synchronization rate. And judging by the way Sukuna’s mouthpiece is laughing so malevolently, this shift can only mean one thing: Yuuji’s body will experience the event where Sukuna takes over. 

Yuta is reminded of the promise he made to Yuuji. 

“Yuta!” Yuuji had called so gently, so kindly, only to task Yuta with the heaviest burden only he could carry.  “If that happens during Shibuya…”

A fiercely angry yet strangely embittered expression paints Yuuji’s face as he turns around, eyes almost frantically seeking Yuta. He makes eye contact with Yuta and nods, as though permitting Yuta to go through with his request. Do it, his eyes plead.

“please…”

By accident, Yuta meets Kugisaki’s frightened eyes and notices the finger lying in her hands. To the katana or resonance, Yuuji will fall. He looks away and bites down the guilt that threatens to choke him. 

“…don’t hesitate to put an end to me.”

In this entire arena, Yuta is the only one who is capable of truly fulfilling Yuuji’s request — after all, it would be cruel for the others who have known Yuuji longer to perform this role. It would be even worse for Sukuna to take over and massacre everyone. Kugisaki has already made her decision, pocketing the finger and driving her nails into Mahito's chopped hand. Now Yuta must make his.

Yuta raises his katana, and in this moment, Yuuji’s face relaxes in such relief that it physically hurts Yuta to see. He pushes through that pain and finds the strength to move forward. 

“Don’t!” Fushiguro yells at Yuta from afar. Fushiguro’s nose is bloody, his hair is all over the place and his forehead gleans with large beads of sweat — but its in his eyes that the desperation lies. Fushiguro runs up to Yuta. “Don’t do it!” He gasps for air in between words and shakily hands Yuta a cube. “Use…this!”

The Prison Realm. Immediately, Yuta understands what to do. Yuta tucks the Prison Realm under his arm. “And the back gate?” he questions. 

“Here too!” Fushiguro says and fishes the back gate out of his shadow. “We don’t have much time before…” He gestures to Yuuji, referring to Sukuna’s takeover.

Yuta nods and sprints ahead, planting the Prison Realm right behind Yuuji. As he whispers the activation phrase, the amount of cursed energy in the air rises dramatically along with a strong atmosphere of hostility and a deafening laughter. Then, Yuuji turns around, and Yuta knows that this isn’t Yuuji moving anymore. The tattoos that suddenly appear all of Yuuji’s body make it obvious, yes, but the big tip-off is the uncharacteristically bloodthirsty, sinister grin on his face. The prison realm splits open in this moment, covering Yuta as it divides into four boxes, connected together by a mass of flesh in the middle containing a giant bleeding eye in the middle. Yuta takes advantage of this distraction to flee the area. 

“HAHAHA! Thank you, Mahito. You were the perfect agonist,” Sukuna says. His red eyes lock onto Yuta, and he raises his index and middle finger to form the dismantle hand-sign. Yuta can't tell if Sukuna's pointing at the prison realm or him, but he runs away faster regardless. "Disma--" 

When Yuta looks back at Sukuna, he’s shocked into silence at the sight. The hand Sukuna raised to hurt Yuta…that hand is now pointed at Sukuna’s throat. Sukuna frowns. “What…?” He drops the hand sign. “Don’t tell me--“

The hand grabs Sukuna’s neck and starts choking him. Sukuna barks a sharp, irritated laugh. “You damn….brat!” He wheezes. “You think this will hold me back!?” 

“No, but I can,” Gojo-sensei says, popping up from behind Sukuna. His blue eyes flicker under this dark lighting as though the frost of winter storms are trapped in his glare. His smile is like a sharp, piercing blade. “So the ten seconds I beat you up weren’t enough, eh? Let’s have a rematch, huh--“

Sukuna doesn’t let him finish talking, using his free hand to send a dismantle in Gojo's direction. With movement faster than Yuta can see, Gojo dodges the dismantle and stops Sukuna as he tries to leave the Prison Realm radius.

October 31st, 2018. 18:28

Kenjaku's eyebrows raise as he watches the ongoing fight between Sukuna and Gojo. He never thought he would witness such an interesting fight this early on in his plan! Gojo dominates the fight with hand-to-hand combat, continuously stopping Sukuna in his attempts to flee the area. Sukuna uses domain amplification to negate Gojo's limitless, and then lands several cuts on Gojo with his dismantle and cleave techniques. He can't use a domain expansion because his other hand is still choking his neck, thanks to Yuuji's influence.

Kenjaku marvels at the sight while hiding behind his upper-grade curses. This is the first time he's ever seen a vessel defy its host so violently. Yuuji must have an immense amount of willpower to be able to retain some physical control over his body, which is just fascinating! The implication that Yuuji somehow built tolerance to Sukuna's takeover through his past experience is so intriguing to Kenjaku, even if its not necessarily applicable to future scenarios.

Kenjaku briefly contemplates if he should be helping out Sukuna in this instance, but decides he's content just watching the events unfold. There's no reason for him to purposefully attract Gojo's attention. Besides, an interesting dilemma has come up that neither Sukuna or Gojo seem to have noticed yet: they both were in the four meter radius of the Prison Realm when it opened. The Prison Realm can only contain one occupant at a time so either one will get sucked in if they fail to pull away from the fight first. This is an intriguing test of time and willpower -- one that Kenjaku is eager to see the results of. 

"Gojo!" another student yells. Kenjaku recognizes the face: this is the proclaimed 'best friend' of his son, Todo Aoi. Unfortunately, he seems to have caught on to the issue. "I need to swap you out of the range!" 

“Not yet!" Gojo responds. He parries Sukuna's attacks with a weapon in his hand. "If we leave him alone, he’ll get out!” 

So Gojo's fighting until the last second, huh. Based on Getou's memories, this risk-taking nature of his has been part of him for a long time. Sukuna seems to be banking on the same idea. The two zip around the boundary of the four meter radius in a manner similar to chess pieces in a game of 'mirror chess'; when Sukuna nearly goes out of bands, Gojo appears in lightning-fast speed to prevent him from going any further. To the mildly trained eye, this fight seems to unfold in a realm beyond perception, a chaotic struggle too immense to fully grasp. However, as a being who's lived through the thousand year tug-of-war between feuding giants and the capricious alliances and betrayals in this world of curses, as a being who has practically lived through all life has to offer -- he can track the fight with almost obscene ease. He's even a bit disappointed. Perhaps he would find this more enthusing if Gojo and Sukuna fought when Sukuna was at his full power. For now, Kenjaku will just appreciate the unadulterated view he can get.

It's funny how fickle the Prison Realm's opening conditions are. The activation is easy enough, but the condition of a minute passing by in the subject's mind is so mercurial: for one person, a short blip in time could be enough for them to relive a whole year of memories, while for another, several minutes could pass by in the mind as several seconds in a fast-paced environment. Without a doubt, the latter scenario is unfolding right before Kenjaku's eyes. But even that has a limit, Kenjaku can sense that Gojo and Sukuna are reaching the end of their 'minute'. If Kenjaku had to guess, he'd estimate around seven seconds are left. 

Six. Sukuna rips his hand from his neck and sends out another dismantle. Kenjaku frowns. No, there's something fundamentally different about this dismantle, though he can't tell what. Gojo picks up on this too, because instead of normally fighting through the dismantles, he actually teleports away from the targeted area. Five. Rows upon rows of pillars behind where Gojo was previously standing split horizontally and then crash to the ground, bringing the whole ceiling down with a deep, reverberating boom. Kenjaku stares at the damage done, impressed. Despite the power gap between Gojo and Sukuna, Gojo could have been seriously injured or even incapacitated by that if he hadn't dodged in time. Just what technique did Sukuna use? 

Four. Gojo uses a weakened version of Blue to bring Sukuna closer to the Prison Realm. The two exchange a series of punches and kicks in the final few seconds. Three. Gojo starts getting ready to back away. In the periphery of his vision, Kenjaku sees Todo raise his hands. Sukuna lunges at Gojo, not willing to be left behind. Two. Sukuna grabs onto the end of the spear Gojo holds on to. Todo's hands come down in a loud, resounding clap. One. Gojo lets go of the spear and gets switched out with the corpse of a transfigured human. Sukuna's hands jerk away from the spear in what appears to be an uncontrolled movement, and his feet remain firmly planted on the ground against his will.

Zero. Several long, red masses of flesh sprout from Sukuna's arms, back, and torso and bind him to multiple floating red cubes in the air. Sukuna's face twists into an expression of pure loathing, with a venomous scowl to match his seething glare. "Gate close!" Yuta yells. The levitating cubes close in on Sukuna to form one small cube that floats in the air and then plummets to the ground, leaving a crater in its wake. 

With the deeply malevolent energy gone, it’s as if the entire train station breathes out a sigh of relief. Transfigured humans and curses begin moving around again, forming a familiar cacophony of croaks and screeches. The jujutsu sorcerers resume their business of exorcising the curses and protecting the hostage group. 

Kenjaku sighs. Welp, now he has to retreat. He kind of wishes Sukuna stayed around for longer — having Sukuna as an ally would be useful for his future plans. If only Sukuna and Gojo could fight for just a little longer…

The glint in a pile of rubble catches Kenjaku’s attention. He squints as he looks at the object from far away: the spear Gojo was using earlier. Wait a minute…Kenjaku’s eyes widen. Isn’t that the Inverted Spear of Heaven? As in the cursed tool that went missing over a decade ago? When planning for this event, Kenjaku assumed that the weapon was destroyed by Gojo Satoru, but to think its still active today—!

With a quick gesture, Kenjaku compels a first-grade snake curse to slither into the rubble, sneaking past the feet of the student guarding the Prison Realm box. The snake comes back with the Inverted Spear of Heaven in its mouth, dropping the weapon into Kenjaku’s hands. 

Kenjaku takes a moment to survey the train station. Kugisaki, and Todo appear to be occupied with Mahito. Zen’in, Gojo, and Yuta are taking on the first- and special-grade curses roaming the station. Fushiguro is keeping watch of the Prison Realm. Kenjaku nudges the first-grade snake curse into Fushiguro’s direction once more, and this time, the curse attacks him. He sends another high-grade curse after Fushiguro just to be sure.

While the curse has Fushiguro’s attention, Kenjaku sneaks across the battlefield while hiding behind curses, clutching the Inverted Spear of Heaven in his hand. He’s about to make it to the Prison Realm when—

A beam of blood hits his wrist, knocking the cursed tool out of his hands. “Noritoshi!” Choso yells, effectively blowing Kenjaku’s cover. “What are you doing!?”

Kenjaku scowls as he scrambles to retrieve the weapon. Choso lunges at him, blood daggers in hand, and cuts a gash down Kenjaku’s side.

“You again?”  Kenjaku groans, irritated. The wound hurts, but it will heal up in a moment. He has the cursed tool back, at least. Half-heartedly, he flicks a small swarm of insect-like curses in Choso’s way as he speaks. "Why do you cling to Yuuji so dearly -- don't you know you're a curse? You won't be accepted by this world."

Blood spurts from where the curses have infested around Choso, which is enough of a signal for Kenjaku to keep moving. Then, the curses Kenjaku sent go quiet at once, encased in a large slab of crystallized blood stemming from Choso’s fingertips. “It...doesn't...matter,” Choso grits, pressing his fingers around the hilt of the slab. "This time...so I can protect my brother..." Moments later, Kenjaku has to duck under the crystallized blood slab, which Choso is swinging like a makeshift greatsword. "I'll live as a human!" he roars. 

If Kenjaku wasn't dodging the sword, he would have laughed at the ridiculous idea. Choso, one of his handcrafted Death Paintings, a cursed embryo stitched together in a moment of idle genius, now stood before him choosing love. Choosing humanity. As if such things could ever outweigh design. Just how powerful is that sentimentality, he thinks, that love compelling Choso to make this foolish decision?

Another swing of the sword comes Kenjaku's way, and he dodges it while sighing. Nevermind that interesting dilemma; Choso’s finally figuring out more interesting applications to his blood manipulation. Choso slams the makeshift greatsword onto the pavement where Kenjaku once was and then triggers the explosion of the crystallized blood cells.

The explosion propels Kenjaku away from the Prison Realm, tumbling through the air until he finds his balance on a flying curse, which he uses to drop him off back in the Prison Realm’s area. Choso must have converted a significant amount of cursed energy into blood so he could crystallize the swarm of curses — meaning it is likely he’ll be too burnt out to attack now.

“No!” Choso gasps as Kenjaku lifts the Inverted Spear of Heaven over the Prison Realm. Choso grabs Kenjaku’s arm weakly and solidifies several blood blades into his arm. “Yuuji—!” Ignoring the pain, Kenjaku drives the cursed tool into the Prison Realm.

”Choso,” he starts with a grin, and pats the blood off his hands as he gets up. “What can I say? You’ve gotten your wish; now die as a human.” 

A glowing light emerges from the unfolding Prison Realm. Kenjaku can barely contain his elation. Since time works differently in the Prison Realm, Sukuna could have spent as little as a second or as long as an eternity in that box.

He’s unsure of whether Yuuji or Sukuna would come out, but surprisingly, he’s uniquely enthused in such a childlike manner. 

Who will come out? Kenjaku wonders eagerly, looking around the station for the back gate. In the periphery of his vision, he spots a tuft of pink hair.

Chapter Text

??? ??st, ????. ??:??

Rustle. Clink. The first thing Ryomen Sukuna notices is the violent rattling of bones all around him. Then the following rotten stench given off by decomposing flesh. With a harsh exhale, he glowers, sending a dismantle into the bone-strewn graveyard surrounding him. "Scale of the dragon. Recoil. Twin meteors."

The World Cutting Slash rips apart the skeletons in his way, however, the Prison Realm stays intact. After a few more attempts, Sukuna inhales the decaying fumes again and then lets out a frustrated yell. "DAMN BRAT!" he snarls. He doesn't think he's ever felt this overwhelmingly angry before. His first taste of freedom in ages, and it's swiftly accompanied by imprisonment -- just before he could wreak some havoc! He kicks aside some bones -- which don't even have meat on them, curses -- and raises his palms.

"Open. Furnace," he chants. A ball of flame hovers in the middle. As he stretches his hands out, the ball of flame elongates into a large arrow of fire poised toward one side of the Prison Realm. When released, the arrow sets aflame the entire Prison Realm, burning the surrounding skeletons to mere cinders. But to Sukuna's chagrin, he is still trapped inside the box. He sighs, taking a seat on the pile of bones under his feet as the rest of the skeletons blaze in an unquenchable inferno. The bones hiss and crackle, but Sukuna's fury stays molten.

Kenjaku will probably try to free me, he wagers. The curse user would find this scenario too interesting to not meddle in. With that in mind, Sukuna purposefully dropped the weapon the Inverted Spear of Heaven. There's no guarantee Sukuna would be able to use the weapon from inside the Prison Realm anyway, so for now, he shall bide his time. The real issue is how long he'll have to wait until this damn lid pops off. If Sukuna spends too long in this realm, the temporary hold he has over the brat's body will disappear -- possibly along with Sukuna's own presence.

Sukuna can't let that happen. If he can reach Fushiguro, will his plan with Enchain still work? While he didn't tame Mahoraga yet, he can do that after possessing Fushiguro's body. Assuming the Enchain contract is even valid anymore.

Sukuna scowls. The current state of the brat's soul makes it difficult to tell, with the regressed Itadori Yuuji's soul overwriting the version Sukuna formed the Enchain contract with. All Sukuna knows of the future is what he glimpsed from Itadori’s memories. He didn't regress with Itadori, nor does he sense any traces of his soul attached to the regressed Itadori's soul. Together with Itadori's memories, this elucidates a future where Ryomen Sukuna had perished. Somehow, Sukuna had lost.

To Itadori. To that pathetic insect of a weakling he had mocked--!

No. Those were the actions of the other timeline's Sukuna, he reminds himself. There's a distinction between the two. This time, he'll play the game perfectly. He will go on a rampage and kill everyone who could pose a threat to him. No more playing around with his food or throwing them a bone if they seem entertaining: Sukuna will mercilessly devour whatever prey he encounters. He will come out victorious in this emerging golden age of the Heian era that Kenjaku is trying to recreate. And immediately after his release, he’ll make sure to flay the brat’s loved ones alive and gorge upon their flesh as Itadori watches. Their screams will be the appetizer to his bloody, unrelenting feast. 

And yet, someone whispers. The Prison Realm, for all its rattling, is deathly quiet with only the gentle crackling of the flames illuminating the box, so he knows this voice can only come from inside. You still lost, Sukuna. 

He still lost, Sukuna thinks. Not me. As the strongest, I've never...

Sukuna barks a laugh. Nevermind that, why is he entertaining this moronic drivel? Shaking his head, he clasps his hands together and summons a domain expansion. "Malevolent Shrine." He might as well increase his cursed technique mastery while trapped here.

After what seems like forever, he burns through a quarter of his cursed energy. He won't risk anything further since there's no telling when he'll be released, and he wants to be in prime condition should he end up fighting Gojo. Then, the voice returns. 

"Sukuna," the brat calls. And suddenly, Sukuna is no longer standing on a pile of skeletons: instead, he's knee-deep in a thick layer of snow covering the ground of a forest. A frosty breeze blows through a thick huddle of poplar tree branches, the wind stinging his face as he gets up. 

"What is this?" Sukuna asks, scowling. He swats away a dragonfly that hovers too close to his face, and then frowns. Despite the wintry landscape, there is a surprising amount of life: a caterpillar squirming in a spider's web, a colony of ants crawling in the snow and even a flock of doves chirping in the air. 

Itadori Yuuji watches him carefully while leaning his back on a tree. His dark eyes contemplatively stare at Sukuna, lacking the anger Sukuna thought he would find. "My innate domain." Itadori pauses, for a moment, as though hesitating. "...Let's talk, Sukuna."

Sukuna scoffs. "For what purpose? You just want a means to distract yourself," he sneers.

A half-scowl flits across Itadori's face, but he suppresses it. "It's not like we have anything better to do. Might as well pass some time by while we're at it, right?" Itadori gets up from his reclined position and begins walking deeper into the forest. Begrudgingly, Sukuna follows the brat's trudge through the snow. It's as Itadori said; he can't continue training until his cursed energy levels rise, so there's nothing else to do in the meanwhile. At worst, he'll have to entertain the brat's yapping for a few minutes--

Or at least, that's what he expects, but as the two meander through the woods, Itadori stays surprisingly quiet. Sukuna raises an eyebrow at that. He didn't take the brat for an introspective thinker. While he dislikes the brat's voice, the lack of communication makes this journey rather dull. It takes stumbling over a tree branch for Itadori to snap out of his daze, and he scratches the back of his head bashfully. Because of the branch's movement, there's a rustling of leaves, and a herd of white rabbits patter over the snow in between the two. Sukuna has to halt so the rabbits can pass. He's tempted to just cleave them to witness the dismay on Itadori's face.

"I..." Itadori starts, after glimpsing Sukuna’s impatience. "I've spent a lot of time in this innate domain. To get away from some messed up stuff happening at the time. This snowfield was my reprieve from reality. I even made a few snowmen, though I don't think you can see that here." 

A blue butterfly flaps its wings to the breeze. Itadori stretches out his finger, and the butterfly perches itself on it. He huffs a smile while showing the butterfly to Sukuna. "For a while, I was fascinated with how these creatures were active and about during this cold weather, but I get it now. This domain isn't set in winter -- this place is on the cusp of spring. Of rebirth, renewal, hope. It's kind of uplifting." The butterfly flutters away from Itadori's hand.

"What's the point of this?" Sukuna interrupts. He didn't stay here to witness Itadori being wishy-washy. And besides... "Why care about these insects anyway? Their lives could be ended--" he catches the butterfly and crushes it in his palm "-- just like that."

An insurmountable anger crystallizes in Itadori's eyes, taking more than a second for him to force down. Sukuna relishes in the familiar hatred. Hatred, fear, awe: these have been his lifelong companions. Not whatever attempt at counseling this is. Itadori exhales into the cold air. "You just don't get it, do you?"

"If you mean the value in the lives of weaklings, then yes," Sukuna drawls. "Why do you cling so fiercely to life? Why strive for happiness when your life is as perishable as a snowflake? Suffering can only be expected for the feeble." 

Itadori huffs. "You said something similar in the past. I guess consistency is something you don’t slack on." He looks ahead and resumes walking. "Come on, I have a place to show you."

Crunch. Their red sneakers break through the pristine sheets of snow. There's a strangely ambient silence that grows with the crunching of their footsteps. The hairs on Sukuna's arms raise on end, not out of fear but trepidation. It's eerie how calm this domain is. No fire, no skeletons, no meat: it's just boring.  But the innate domain can be likened to an expression of the user's self, so it makes sense that the brat's domain is this pathetic. Sukuna can only hope this farce will wrap up shortly.

Up ahead, branches heavy with snow-coated leaves bar their path. Tentatively lifting a branch, Itadori ducks under the gap and keeps the branch raised for Sukuna to pass through. The sight that greets his eyes is one worthy of beholding: water cascades down a mountain in an ultramarine, crystal-clear waterfall that pools into a small, partially-frozen pond, fog pouring out of the collision. Itadori sits on the snowy perimeter around the pond and beckons Sukuna over.

When Sukuna sits down, he can see the brat's sunshine-like smile even closer. He grimaces and looks away, choosing to gaze into the pond's mirror-like surface. Instead of Itadori's tattooed face being reflected, he sees the face of his Heian era form. His eyebrows raise, but he grumbles. "You'd be a fool to think mere scenery would persuade me."

Itadori shakes his head. "That's not all," he says lightly. His hand drifts through the waters, rippling the pond's even surface. The ripples smoothen out to form the same mirror-like surface, but the reflection is different this time: somehow, the image of a young boy shimmers in the yellow-tainted water. What...?

The shivering pink-haired boy lifts a warm mug to his face and, with a skeptical expression, blows on it. He says something with a questioning face, but the audio isn't transmitted through the pond. Another person comes into view: an elderly man with wispy, pink hair. He bears a surprising resemblance to Sukuna's original form. The elderly man nudges the boy, gesturing for him to proceed with the action. The boy sips the warm mug. His eyes sparkle at the taste, and he raises the mug to continue drinking. The man huffs resignedly, but a smile plays on his lips. 

"That was the first time I had sweet milk tea," Itadori says. His voice breaks the silence in which they were watching the memory. “That guy next to me is my Gramps, by the way.”

The water ripples, and another yellow-tainted scene begins to play. This scene takes place on a crowded track field, with several kids lined up at the starting position. A starting pistol goes off and the kids hurriedly sprint to the finish line. From the start, there's a large gap between a pink-haired boy and the rest of the runners, and he predictably wins the race. The boy cheers as he runs up to his grandfather, who watches him with a pensive look. Tugging on the grandfather's shirt, the boy eagerly points at the finish line and the trophy in his hand. 

"Gramps!" Itadori narrates, though his voice lacks the same enthusiasm the child had, instead sounding like a soft whisper. "Look -- I won!"

The pensive look falls of his grandfather's face and he pats the boy's hair. "Bah, I knew you'd win anyway. Here..." the man puts some coins in the boy's hand. "Get some ice-cream. Don't buy the creamy stuff -- you know it'll make your tooth ache worse."

The boy grins cheekily. A moment later, he purchases a triple scoop chocolate ice cream. His grandfather face-palms.

The scene wavers in the undulation of the water, and another memory comes forth. A blue-tinged alley appears in the waters, littered with the bodies of bloodied students and a shaking, slightly older Itadori huddled in a corner.

Sukuna's eyes widen. What's this? Perhaps he'll witness something interesting after all.

The memory-Itadori seems to be speaking to someone over the phone. Then, his grandfather rushes into the alley, phone in hand and breathless. He takes a moment to catch his breath and gauges the scene. A sigh emerges, and he pinches the bridge of his nose. He dials a few numbers into his phone and after a short call, puts the phone away, opting to berate Itadori. Itadori seems to grow smaller with each scolding. 

"That was the first time I hurt someone," Itadori admits, his voice measured but tinged with regret. "A friend of mine was being picked on. I confronted the bullies, but I didn't have good control over my strength so I overdid it. No one died, but I felt sick. There was so much blood...anyway, Gramps decided to teach me some karate after this. 'Said it was better for me to concentrate my strength into that."

Sukuna's expression sours. Nevermind. How insipid.

Several memories pass by in that same pattern: the ripple of the emotion-tinted water and a narration from Itadori as the scenes play out. There are an overwhelming amount of yellow-tinged memories, but some blue ones slip through. For some reason, Sukuna finds himself quietly paying attention to the memories. It's not out of some misplaced care for the brat -- moreso out of a mild interest. The recollection depicts the growth of a boy with monstrous physical strength, and yet, despite how laughably misbegotten he was in the world, he still cared for it. He should have capitalized on that awe-spiring strength of his to establish his position in this world: his sense of self. Instead, he let himself be weighed down by the shackling, foolish ideology of supporting the weak. If only he had the hunger to claw his way to the top...

The next batch of memories are rather recent. One of them is the death of his grandfather -- good riddance, Sukuna thinks, the man gave him an eerie feeling -- and the others are happy memories with his colleagues at Jujutsu High. And then the following memories are tinged red.

Blood red. First is the transfigured human, then his mentor, then his friend...and the list goes on and on, Sukuna's grin widening with it. Yes, now this is the interesting part. Fall into despair, Itadori Yuuji, and crumble before your weak 'humanity'.

But when Sukuna glances at Itadori's face, he sees no despair, just a quiet sorrow locked behind his gaze. He must have mourned these individuals already, pity.

“Alright, I’ve had enough.” Sukuna gets up as the memories come to a stop after the final death. The pond surface returns to its crystal-clear, reflective state. “What is the meaning of all this?”

Itadori stands up. “The meaning is to show you the humanity of someone you see no value in. The life you could have lived, if the whole world hadn’t turned its back on you. If you had someone like my Gramps to guide you…maybe, you could have lived as a human.”

Hah. Sukuna could laugh at that. “Live as a human?” he repeats. “I’m quite content with how I’ve lived my life. If I want to eat, I eat. If I see an eyesore, I kill it. If it’s entertaining, I throw it a bone, and then eventually watch as it perishes. There’s nothing appealing about this ‘human’ lifestyle you preach of. Why burden yourself with these shackles?” 

“Because there is beauty in life,” Itadori responds, jaw clenched. He scowls. “Sukuna…I despised you. Curses like you and Mahito carelessly end lives without a thought, acting like the value of a life is nonexistent. In my timeline, you killed my friends and my only family. Even now, I feel this rage in my stomach begging to be satisfied. Your death in the previous timeline wasn’t enough to quell this burning anger.”

”So revenge is your desire?” Sukuna surmises.

Itadori stares at him for a moment. Then, shockingly enough, he shakes his head. “No…” he sighs. “You aren’t him. Just let me finish this, will you?” 

“Ironically enough, it was only through the deaths of my friends that I realized the value of life." Unbeknownst to Itadori, the pond water changed to reflect the memories of those deaths. "I used to think it had to with our roles in society. As long as we fulfilled our roles as cogs in the cycle of curses, maybe we would achieve a proper death — one without regrets. But recently that view of mine has been challenged. After their deaths, the bitter remorse…the cruel sensation of being robbed from was enough to make me realize I would’ve been happy even if they didn’t die completing their functions. Even my supposed end at a curse’s hands didn’t feel like a proper death. I felt cheated, somehow.”

“So I think no matter your role in society, even if all you can do is eat, shit, and sleep all day..." Images of Fushiguro and his sister rise to the surface of the pond, then Choso and Kugisaki and all the others he had lost in battle. "...the value of a life still remains. And that is to be loved and love others. You don’t need to be a cog with a function, or an overwhelming calamity. To live as a human is just enough, I think. To be.”

Sometime in the middle of Itadori’s speech, it started snowing. Snowflakes land on the pond, and the images distort into the memory of the grandson instinctively protecting his grandmother. Then various scenes of people protecting Itadori show up: Choso, Gojo, Fushiguro…the list goes on.

”There are so many important people in my life who have loved me and supported me, even willing to put themselves at risk just to be with me. I couldn’t have gotten this far if it weren’t for their love -- especially my Gramps. If he wasn't there to guide me, I could've become I really horrible person. I was lucky to have him. You weren’t. So Sukuna…”

With the cold wind tousling his hair and snowflakes brushing his fingers, Itadori stretches out his hand to Sukuna. Sukuna stares at the hand in bewilderment. “…let’s start over. Once I regain control of my body, you’ll be gone. But there are still eleven more fingers out there. If you want to live together and learn what living as a human truly is, I’ll eat the fingers.”

Itadori looks him dead in the eye. Sukuna’s eyebrows raise. The brat is serious about this. 

“I’m astounded,” Sukuna says. “Astounded that your burning desire for revenge amounted to so little. What height of cowardice is this?” Unless…

His eyes widen, and he bares his teeth in an angry grin. “Is this…pity?” he says in a low, dangerous voice. Hoho, this is definitely the angriest he’s ever felt. The indignation of this brat—!

“More like mercy.” Itadori shrugs off the cold glare from Sukuna. “I couldn’t afford this to the Sukuna of my timeline. By then, we were too far gone.” His eyes briefly linger on the previously red pond water.

“But so far, the only person you have hurt is me. I’m willing to look past that and offer you another chance.” His honey-brown eyes, shining with tenacity, gaze into Sukuna’s red eyes. “So Sukuna, will you live as a human with me?”

Sukuna looks at the hand outstretched. A moment passes. He can feel something rambunctious building up in his chest, and its only when it leaves his lips that he realizes it is laughter. Cold, incredulous laughter. Sukuna laughs at the brat’s vaguely unsettled expression, his stretched hand, and this ridiculous situation. If Uraume were here, she would be appalled by the suggestion.

Sukuna wipes a tear from his mini-eyes. “Wow, that gave me a good laugh,” he comments, smiling mirthfully. “Don’t tell me — did you honestly think I would take your demeaning offer?” He claps his hands, but the humorous mood has left and a vicious expression overtakes his face. No…how dare this insignificant, worthless brat think he could ‘guide’ Sukuna into living the right life!?

”Don’t underestimate me, Itadori Yuuji,” he growls. “I’m a curse. You claim that I’ll disappear when you regain control of your body, but all I have to do is suppress you before it happens.” 

Itadori gives a resigned sigh as Sukuna places his hands together. “Malevolent Shrine,” he chants.

Instead of a domain battle occurring, Malevolent Shrine materializes inside Itadori’s innate domain. On Sukuna’s side is the skull-adorned Buddhist shrine with a raging fire inside the house. On Itadori’s side, a howling snowstorm blows in Sukuna’s direction, snowflakes rapidly consumed by the licks of fire. Dismantles and cleaves fly through the air as Sukuna’s incinerating the forest behind Itadori. Itadori stands protected by the Simple Domain technique.

Then, Itadori clasps his hands. “Requiem of the Falling Snow,” he chants. And suddenly, Sukuna has to cast a Hollow Wicker Basket to shield himself from the numerous soul-targeting dismantles coming his way.  The dismantles cut through the shrine behind him.

Sukuna’s grin sharpens. Ah, I understand now. There is a domain battle occurring, but not on the basis of technical skill. This domain battle is a test of wills. Whoever fails to keep their domain manifested will lose control of this body. 

How convenient. Sukuna has never lost a battle, and he certainly wont now.

October 31st, 2018. 18:34

With a sharp pang, a nail shoots into the chopped hand on the straw doll. Mahito groans in agony as spikes protrude through his chest. Ouch! Yet another technique that damages the soul. He needs to get away from this girl fast. Kugisaki, is that what Yuuji called her?

Elongating his arm, Mahito swiftly grabs the chopped hand on the ground just before another nail hits it and reabsorbs the hand into his body. There, now Kugisaki won't have any ammo to use her cursed technique. He grins sardonically. Well, it's a shame Yuuji isn't here to witness Mahito kill his classmate, but Mahito's sure it will serve as the perfect welcome present when he gets released. Mahito tosses a condensed transfigured human in Kugisaki's way and she instinctively bats it away with her hammer, lodging the disc in the remnants of the ceiling. A large lump of flesh expands from the disc and its appendages smash onto the ground where the girl was standing. She jumps away from the appendages and right into the path of Mahito's hand.

Mahito's hand is about to touch her face, but she deflects it upwards with her hammer. Mahito winces, hand throbbing with pain. The hammer must be a cursed tool, for it to exert this much power. If I can just get rid of it... he stretches out his other hand in another attempt to transfigure her. And then suddenly, his surroundings change and he's standing in a completely different area. Before he can process what just happened, his position changes again. 

"So Yuuji's brother has come to finish me off?" Mahito jeers. Todo stands next to Kugisaki, hands poised for another clap. "Too bad he won't see it, he'll be locked away for eternity~"

The hand attached to Mahito's elongated arm transforms into a massive gavel, and he stretches the arm out at Todo. Todo claps, as expected, but instead of Mahito swapping places with a curse, Todo swaps with the curse next to Mahito in time to deliver a brutal upward kick. Mahito swings through the ceiling as he throws three condensed transfigured humans at Todo.

This guy is really annoying, Mahito decides. One of the condensed discs transforms into a surfboard he uses to regain his landing. Killing Kugisaki will have to wait -- I need to take care of this switching first. 

His surfboard hits a hard swerve to avoid a few high-speed nails sent in his direction. Yikes! From his surfboard, he swings his gavel down on the pavement where Todo is standing. Todo swaps out with a nearby curse each time Mahito's gavel comes close, subtly luring Mahito away from Kugisaki and the other hostages with each swap. Mahito plays along with this, a smirk on his face. This foolish human doesn't realize his actions are his own undoing.

Todo swaps with a curse in the exact spot Mahito wants him to be at. Then, the other three clones of Mahito unzip their transfigured human disguises and spin their massive, spiky arms in a circle, with the three closing in on Todo from all sides. The clones aren’t as strong as Mahito, but it will serve as a good distraction for the gorilla-like man.

Mahito flies through the air leisurely as he searches for Kugisaki, but he doesn’t need to look for long: the fast-moving nails that nearly pierce his throat give a good indication. One of the nails pins Mahito’s surfboard to the wall, so he hops off before it detonates in an explosion. His elongated arms multiply into thinner branches that dart all over the train station in an attempt to reach Kugisaki. She scowls as she runs away, dodging most of the arms and knocking away the ones that get too close. 

For a brief moment, Mahito glimpses the expression on her face. It’s enough to make him smile gleefully. There’s fear in her eyes, even if its but a sliver! How much more can I enhance the emotion? He wonders happily.

Several nails hover in the air around Kugisaki, and they shoot straight through some of Mahito’s arms as the arms close in on Kugisaki. Hm. There’s a possibility her nail attacks can deal soul damage even without the straw doll, so Mahito makes the affected arms wilt and then cuts them off immediately. Seconds later, the arms explode after a snap. Mahito grins. Phew, that was close— 

"Hairpin!" And then Kugisaki snaps again, and nails shoot through his body. The sheer pain is enough to take his breath away. Blood spews out of his mouth, likely due to the combined effects of damage on his clones and the main body. But how…? Mahito looks at the ground, where numerous nails lie. She must have scattered the nails on the ground as she was dodging the arms.

"So Yuuji isn't my only natural enemy..." Mahito murmurs, wiping blood from his mouth. His grin is sharp and bloody. "That'll make toying with you more fun!"

"Oh yeah? Play with this," Kugisaki taunts. More nails zip through the air at an impressive speed, but by now, Mahito's figured out a way to tell their target. By focusing on the direction her hammer, Mahito can predict the trajectory and dodge the nails before they get hit. He jumps over the nails and extends his limbs to form spider-like appendages that clamber across the walls. Snatching the signs on the ceiling and curses on the ground, he smashes them together and throws them at the girl in an attempt to hide his leap. 

With a snap, nails detonate the cursed cluster of signs. But Mahito isn't behind the conglomeration, he used the distraction to get behind Kugisaki. His hand nearly grazes her back when she notices it and ducks, sloppily dashing away. He tosses some condensed transfigured humans in the air. And suddenly, the discs expand into large nails and shoot at the ground, piercing through Kugisaki's arms and legs. She grunts in pain as her knees buckle in. 

"Hairpin!" Mahito mocks in a high-pitched voice, smiling as he approaches her. He sees the trembling in her limbs -- the angry thrashing of her hands just as a fly would when trapped in a jar with no oxygen. The slow dread seeping into her eyes. Mahito's seen this in countless other humans today, but seeing the facial expression in Itadori's friend brings a whole other level of glee. He laughs. "As expected, only curses are fit to dominate the world through fear~" 

But when he takes another step, he finds himself next to his fallen clones instead. Bewildered, he looks ahead and sees Todo breaking the nails off Kugisaki, right where Mahito was standing. Mahito grits his teeth, irritated. Just as I was about to have my moment--! 

His clones melt into his skin and he grows bigger, transforming into his true essence form based off the King of Curses as he sprints toward Todo. Then, something pierces into his side: a dog shikigami's claws. The shikigami swings its other arm down to cut into Mahito again, but the attack rebounds against Mahito's raised arms. Two of Mahito's upper arms grab the claws and toss the dog across the station.  Mahito turns around to get a good look at his new challenger: a dark-haired boy wielding a double-edged blade. The boy's wearing the same uniform as Yuuji and Kugisaki, Mahito notices. They must be friends. He lunges at Mahito with the blade aimed at his throat.

Mahito cracks a smile. "Gee, I didn't know I was so popular!" he exclaims loudly as he smashes the boy into a pillar with his spiked tail. The ground's rumbling is the only hint Mahito gets before he gets rammed into the wall by an elephant shikigami. The tusks only superficially pierce his body thanks to his upgraded durability.  It's still hard to breathe though, and Mahito wheezes a laugh, putting his hands on the shikigami and dissolving it at once. "Good one!"

The sorcerer gets up from the rubble and is about to make a hand sign -- probably summoning another shikigami -- when his shadow begins to glow brightly. The sorcerer's eyes widen and he sticks his hand in the shadow, hurriedly pulling the shining object and throwing it a few meters away. "Sensei!" he yells, waving down his teacher.

Mahito frowns, beginning to back away. If he's calling Gojo Satoru over, Mahito might have some trouble. He's not at a level where he can win against that person yet. He puts distance between him and the student, but the focus of his attention is on the glowing object. Mahito squints at the object, and then his eyebrows raise. Wait...is that the Prison Realm!? Instead of eyes all over the cube, there's a single, glowing eye on one side of the cube. The box unfolds as the light grows bigger, eventually becoming so bright that it blinds Mahito for a moment.

And then the light dies down, and a bloodied Itadori Yuuji stands on the remains of the box. "Itadori?" the black-haired sorcerer calls. "Are you o..."

The sorcerer's voice trails off as he sees Itadori look at the train station around him in wonder. Itadori’s hand touches his face, tracing over some newly formed scars as he pants into the cold air. Then, he seems to have noticed the sorcerer's presence, because he makes direct eye-contact with him. There's something different about his gaze, but Mahito can't exactly tell what. Regardless, it's enough to make the sorcerer relax. "Are you okay?" the sorcerer asks. "You're bleeding."

"I'm alright, Fushiguro," Itadori waves him off. His smile widens as he flexes his fingers. "I'm finally back..." Then, he shakes his head and forces down his smile. His expression becomes more serious. "What's the situation? Where's Mahito?"

"Over here, Yuuji!" Mahito yells as he elongates his feet to leap at Itadori's back, hands coated in cursed energy. He finally figured out the difference in Yuuji -- his soul has fully homogenized and there's no trace of Sukuna left, which means Yuuji is completely vulnerable Idle Transfiguration! Mahito could sing!

Gojo Satoru intercepts his attack and grabs Mahito's wrists. "Yuuji, you're back!" he greets, surprised. "How...well that's a question for another time. What do you want me to do with this guy? Should I do the honors?" He dangles Mahito in the air like a fish hung on a string. Mahito's lower arms throw punches at Gojo, but they hit Gojo's infinity. He grows wings on his back and tries to fly away, but Gojo's hold remains stubbornly in place. Mahito swallows. His escape attempts aren't working.

He's currently in the claws of the strongest sorcerer alive. Is it even possible to come out alive in this situation?

Mahito shudders. No-- why is he thinking like this? He's at the top of the food chain. He has potential greater than any other curse of this era. So why is he still feeling...

Why is am I still so...

Itadori Yuuji makes eye-contact with Mahito, and Mahito shivers under that familiar yet different soul-squeezing pressure emanating from the sorcerer. Before, his eyes seemed emotionless and frigid, but now there's a fire burning in those brown eyes. And that fire doesn't warm Mahito: it reminds him of how starkly cold he is in contrast. 

He starts hearing his heartbeat again. Badump...

"No," Itadori says, with a tone so full of finality it strikes Mahito's heart. "I have something to say to him."

Gojo drops Mahito onto the ground with a ‘thunk’. Mahito scrambles away, backing himself up against the wall as Itadori steps forward. Internally, Mahito curses his own actions. Why is he running? He has the chance to transfigure Itadori right here, right now! Just one touch is enough. But…

What if his hand gets cut off again? Last time Itadori did it, Mahito felt genuine pain shoot through his body. It felt as though part of his soul had been cleaved off. He doesn’t want to experience that agony again. 

“Mahito,” Itadori addresses, standing before the curse’s crouching figure. “You said that the fear is the real ‘truth’ to human nature — the single biggest motivator. And to some extent…you’re right. When law and order are stripped away, that fear and panic from the situation  tends to bring out the real side of humans. It can get ugly.” 

Itadori grimaces as though recalling a memory. “But…that’s not the only motivator, otherwise there would be no such thing as selflessness. If fear motivates all actions, why put yourself at risk for others when there’s no personal gain?”

Mahito shrugs. “F-for self-gratification.” That’s the reason he assumes why Itadori tries to save humans — because human society deems it a noble and upright thing to do, something to be praised. 

“Even if they die?” Itadori asks. “I’ve had people die for me and that definitely wasn’t to get gratitude or appear noble. This was a life and death situation. They chose to give their lives up in spite of the terror of death because they had something more powerful than fear motivating their actions: they had love.”

Mahito raises an eyebrow, fear forgotten in the face of that absurd statement. Love? Like the type shown in the movie Titanic? Yeah right. His disdain must be showing on his face, because Itadori’s eyes harden. 

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” Itadori says. “You were made from fear, so that’s all you’ll ever see. Love is… something ‘no curse, no cog, no function can replicate’. I just wanted you to see the face of a man who’s only alive because others triumphed over fear.” 

It's as Mahito looks into Itadori's determined eyes that he realizes: maybe there is a difference between the two. There's this wild, raging passion in Itadori's eyes that threatens to burn through Mahito’s fading cold. A mere cog shouldn't have this kind of fervor.

“Then what about you?” Mahito spits. He still doesn’t buy all of this nonsense, but he wants to prolong conversation until Geto gets here. Assuming Geto will even rescue him this time. “You fear the potential harm behind your own actions. How does your ‘love’ fix this?”

Come on Geto, any moment now…

The blaze flares in Itadori's eyes. His hand trembles for a moment as it raises. Mahito flinches, the sound of his heartbeat growing louder. Badump. Badump. Badump. 

Gojo doesn't speak. The black-haired sorcerer's eyes lock with Itadori’s, a plea shining in his eyes.

Just one nod. Just one second. And Mahito could be erased. Once again, he is at someone else’s mercy. He wants to throw up. Geto—! Where the hell is he!?

Badump. Badump. Badump.

But Itadori exhales. The tension breaks.

“Like this,” he says, and places his hand on Mahito’s chest. Ba—

Mahito’s body splits into several diced pieces. The screaming comes a moment later.

October 31st, 2018. 18:38

To Gojo Satoru’s amusement, the first thing Megumi does after Mahito gets fed to Rika is get into a bow. “Thank you, Itadori,” he says, bowing his head to Yuuji. 

Yuuji grins and waves him off. “It’s no problem—“

”But it was a problem,” Megumi interrupts. He lifts his head to look at Yuuji defiantly. “You have a bad history with Mahito. Because of my request, you couldn’t get your revenge.”

Yuuji shrugs. “Eh. I got my revenge when I saw him trembling. At least this way, he’ll never be able to hurt anyone again.” 

“And cheers to that!” Satoru says, smiling. He pats Yuuji’s head. “I’m really proud of you, Yuuji. You’ve exceeded my expectations.”

Yuuji’s eyes sparkle, and he smiles sheepishly. “Thanks sensei.”

“It’s no problem, Yuuji,” Satoru says. He’s being completely genuine. All of his students have transcended his expectations in ways better than he could’ve hoped for. He thought that if he was compromised, they would struggle to survive but they’ve been doing pretty well! 

Satoru scans the train station and scowls when he identifies a specific type of cursed energy. Well, there’s still one loose thread to tie up. 

Yuta follows his line of sight and notices Kenjaku too. “Sensei, I can go after him,” he offers. “He was pretty badly weakened by me and Rika so if we just go again…”

He trails off when Satoru shakes his head. “Nah, I’ll handle it,” he says. Yuta looks as if he’s about to protest that, so Satoru quickly adds: “This isn’t something a student should have to experience anyway. I have to finish what I started. I might need Rika though.”

Yuta’s eyebrows furrow and his mouth is pursed, but he lets Satoru go on, gesturing for Rika to go with. “Then… good luck Sensei! Though you probably don’t need it.”

Satoru smirks. His students know him well. With a quick hand sign, he teleports in front of Kenjaku, catching the man off-guard, and throws a cursed energy infused-punch to his stomach. Kenjaku gets pushed back into a train and spits out blood. He wipes his mouth with one hand and summons low level curses to fill the gap between them with his other hand. Satoru cuts through the curses easily. He could use a Hollow Purple to definitively finish off Kenjaku but…

He can’t do that to Geto Suguru’s body. That sentimentality is probably why Yuta offered to go in his stead, but this is Gojo’s cross to carry. He has to end Kenjaku in order to atone for the consequences of his failures. 

Don’t forget, Satoru, he reminds himself. This is the man who organized the events leading to the deaths of your students! 

With that anger powering him, Satoru closes the distance between him and Kenjaku quickly and the two exchange a flurry of blows through punches and kicks. Kenjaku is surprisingly good at martial arts and has the Inverted Spear of Heaven on his side, but he’s obviously worn out. Satoru has a slight edge, and he just needs a trigger to get the complete upper hand.

That trigger comes in the form of Choso solidifying blood around Kenjaku’s ankles, preventing him from dodging. Satoru snatches the Inverted Spear of Heaven from Kenjaku’s grasp and in one smooth upward motion, cuts the man's head off. He holds the dismembered head by its hair.

As expected, this act results in the release and rampage of countless cursed spirits since they were freed from Cursed Spirit Manipulation. Gojo sends a Hollow Purple through the center of the curses and then lets Rika fight the rest. 

“Thanks there, Choso,” he says as he helps the half-human get up. 

Choso nods, and frowns after seeing the beheaded Kenjaku. “What will we do with him?” he asks. “He could be faking his death by staying silent now. What’s the guarantee he wont find another body to possess?”

Those are the same questions Satoru is pondering. If only there was a way to guarantee Kenjaku wouldn’t be around anyone…like a fool-proof prison…

Satoru snaps his fingers. “Ah, I’ve got it!” His plan is pretty unorthodox, but if it works it’ll solve all of his problems. He teleports himself and Choso to the side of the station where the Prison Realm is and picks it up, then teleporting to the area where his students are.

“That was fast,” Megumi comments, eyebrows raised. He doesn’t seem appalled by the dismembered head and body Satoru’s carrying, but Satoru thinks most things barely faze the guy anyway. 

Satoru flashes a grin at him and then speaks. “Nevermind that, did any of you see Sukuna’s finger? I have ten but there should be one more somewhere here.”

“I have it,” Kugisaki says, fishing the finger out from her pocket. She hands it to Satoru. “What do you need it for?”

”Just watch and see,” Satoru replies, smiling. He places Suguru’s body a few feet away from the head, just to be safe. Loosening the wiring on the skull, he takes the top half off. Then, he stuffs the eleven fingers in all the spaces he finds — the cerebrospinal fluid encased around the brain, between blood vessels in the neck, and even in the head’s mouth. Satoru notices a slight tensing of the eyes and nose. It's subtle, but probably an indication that Kenjaku is alive.

“Hey Choso, could you do that crystallization trick from earlier?” he asks. The half-human obliges, soaking the head in cursed energy and converting it to blood that solidifies into a block. Satoru pats the cube, checking for sturdiness. Yup, that should secure the fingers.

He places the Prison Realm before Kenjaku’s head and chants: “Gate Open”. The Prison Realm opens right in front of the head. Satoru can see Kenjaku’s eyes shaking as he tries to think his way out of this situation. But unfortunately for him, he’s been outsmarted. 

In another timeline, this man was the mastermind behind the deaths of thousands. And among those deaths, Satoru's students.

"Take a good look, Kenjaku," Satoru mutters, low enough for only him and Kenjaku to hear. He crouches down next to Kenjaku's head and smiles, but there's a cold, angry bite leaking into his tone. "It'll be your last."

After a few minutes of fending off curses, the gate finally closes, engulfing the block of Kenjaku’s head and the fingers inside. Gojo hands the Prison Realm over to Megumi so he can store it with the Back counterpart.

“And that’s a wrap!” Satoru cheers. He’s honestly surprised his plan went that smoothly, but maybe he did get lucky. “Yippee!” He gives a high-five to Choso and all of his students. Yuuji is a bit slow on the up-take though, seemingly dazed about how quickly this got wrapped up.

”So it’s all…over?” he mutters, mystified. “The Shibuya Incident, the civilian casualties, Kenjaku’s group…our role is done here?”

”Yup!” Satoru exclaims.

“And thank God for that,” Maki groans. “I’m so ready to go home now.”

”After we evacuate the rest of these people,” Shoko interjects, referring to the leftover group of hostages. Yuta sits behind her, putting his palm on her back as he restores her cursed technique. 

Yuta huffs a sardonic laugh when he looks at the Prison Realm.

“Is something funny?” Satoru asks.

“Ah, I just find it ironic,” Yuta explains. “The man who wanted to see something new is now forced to stare at the same four walls for all eternity. It’s like poetic justice.”

Hm, poetic justice, Satoru muses. Suguru deserves that much, at least. Satoru scoots closer to Shoko so he can watch her heal the amputated hostages. “Hey Shoko~” he greets, trying to replicate his normal teasing voice.

Shoko pauses her work and looks at him, already seeing through his faked nonchalance. “Yeah?”

”I know you probably would’ve wanted to handle Geto’s body so…” he does the jazz hands while pointing at the body in the corner. “Tada! Think of it as an early birthday gift.”

Her eyes widen and she looks like she’s about to scold Satoru, but then she softens. “…thanks. It would be nice if we uh, held a funeral some time. For him.”

“Yeah,” Satoru agrees quietly. Shoko gazes at him wearily. There’s a quiet, mutual recognition in the gaze—they both carry the same wound.

Shoko turns her head away, opting to punch Satoru’s shoulder. “Now stop distracting me from my patients!” 

Satoru pouts while rubbing his arm. “Sheesh! Okay woman!”

Once Shoko has healed all the hostages, they begin to leave the station, with Todo guiding them through the different hallways. Satoru deals with whatever curses come their way. Finally, they exit Shinjuku station and meet up with Nanami’s group. His students cheer and begin throwing around celebration ideas like having Karaoke or eating take-out. Satoru chimes in whenever he has the chance to annoy Megumi. Yuuji will sometimes smile at what others have said, but most of the time he stares at the wrecked entrance to Shinjuku Station in disbelief. 

“What are you looking at?” Satoru asks, effectively snapping Yuuji out of his daze.

Yuuji blinks. Now that Satoru has a closer view of his face, Yuuji’s face looks pale and there are beads of sweat on his forehead. “I was just thinking,” he says. “I can’t believe it’s all over. Kenjaku’s gone. Sukuna’s gone. There are no Culling Games…”

Satoru grins. “Well that’s a cause to celebrate, right? We didn’t massively screw up this time. I’d say that’s a lucky win!”

Yuuji looks up at Satoru. “So I don’t have to worry about this anymore?”

 “Yup!” Satoru reassures him, patting his shoulder. He doesn’t know what tragedies Yuuji witnessed in his future, but he definitely will not then occur in this timeline. Never again. “You can rest easy now.”

”Oh.” Yuuji’s shoulders slump, as though an invisible weight had just been taken off his shoulders. His face looks more feverish. “Then sensei, if you don’t mind, I’m just gonna—“

And then Yuuji passes out in his arms. 

“—what happened to—”

“—appears to be a psychogenic fever, possibly cursed energy exhaustion too—“

”—when will he—“

”—he’ll be alright just calm down—“

Yuuji opens his eyes groggily and lets out a low groan. The bright lights in this room sting his eyes. …What? Where…?

Soft fingers press down his eyelids. “Shh, just get some sleep,” the voice advises. So Yuuji obeys and sinks back into his sleep.

??? ??st, ????. ??:?? 

It was December 24th when Shinjuku became a graveyard. The day started off surprisingly normal…

Chapter Text

Thud. Yuuji watches in a daze as the upper half of Gojo's body slides off, hitting the ground with that thud. That thud replays over and over in his head, loudere than the monologue Sukuna gives on screen. Yuuji bites his lips, beads of sweat dripping from his face. Gojo-sensei is-- 

He's--

Fushi--Sukuna killed--

His breath comes out harsh. His trembling fingers only come to a stop once he makes a fist, digging his nails into his skin. Another precious person dead. Another innocent life cut short because of Sukuna. Yuuji stares at the image of Gojo's bloodied yet standing lower-half. The camera pans to Sukuna's half-burned, smiling face. 

A wave of vitriol pools in Yuuji's stomach at the sight, so potent it takes his breath away for a moment. This sorcerer...no, this curse killed thousands in Shibuya. Sukuna stole his best friend's body, and now killed his sensei. Yuuji has nothing but curses he wants to spit in Sukuna's face. That fraud who stole Fushiguro's face smiles with it so arrogantly, its painful to see. He wants to tear that smirk off and dredge it through the mud, make Sukuna feel that anger, that betrayal and anguish Yuuji is experiencing. He wants him to die.

Choso, sitting next to him, taps his shoulder apprehensively. "Yuuji," Choso whispers, eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"

Yuuji's breath hitches, and he avoids Choso's too-knowing eyes, instead looking around the room for a second. Some of the students look upset -- Okkotsu looks angry, which is expected. Okkotsu and Yuuji have always been similar in how they cared for their sensei. But for the most part, everyone seems to have swallowed the tough pill, readying their weapons for combat. Kashimo has already leaped off to duel Sukuna next.  

Yuuji's nails dig deeper into his palm. Hold off those emotions, he tells himself. As though the deeper the marks in his palm are, the closer he gets to sealing away his emotions. It's as Todo said in Shibuya: "Looking for meaning or logic in death can at times defile the memories of those we lost". Right now, Gojo wouldn't want Yuuji to wallow in sorrow. Gojo would want everyone to avenge him and put an end to Sukuna, for good. That's the best a cog like Yuuji can do at the moment. For now...for now...

"I'm fine," Yuuji says. He can't muster enough energy to form a grin, so he settles for a half-grimace. A million potential replies pass through his head -- 'Sukuna's just always been like that', 'I kind of thought Gojo wouldn't win', or 'I've seen so many deaths, I think I've gotten used to them'. 

Instead, what he ends up saying is: "Fine is all I can be right now, anyways."

A sad expression flits Choso's face, a sigh leaving him. He puts his hand on Yuuji's head and gently leans Yuuji's head on his shoulder. The two brothers of blood sit in silence, with only the dull throbbing of each other's heartbeat filling the gap. To Yuuji's ears, the sound is as calming as the push and pull of the waves on a beach. Proof that Choso is there with him, even when his friends and mentors have fallen.

And then Kashimo dies, and it's Yuuji and Higuruma's turn to face the mighty calamity. Choso sends Yuuji off with a pat on the back. Yuuji can't help but think of how, just minutes ago, they did the same for Gojo-sensei.

This time will be different, he thinks as he twists on his gauntlet. We'll put a stop to Sukuna before he can hurt anyone else.

We won't let Gojo's sacrifice be in vain. 

Yuuji's role was to protect Higuruma from going against Sukuna alone. Yet the few moments Yuuji was away for was enough for Sukuna to use his cursed technique on Higuruma. In the split second that Yuuji catches the Executioner's sword, he feels a horrible sense of deja vu. No, no, no, no--!

There's a splash of blood, an outstretched hand, and a pair of eyes that finally managed to look at Yuuji: as if to say, my role ends here. It's your turn now. 

"You've got it from here," Nanami had said in Shibuya. 

"I've done what I can," Higuruma says, eyes firmly on Yuuji. The lawyer tries for one last grin. 

Yuuji feels that anger rise up again. The best he can do is channel it. I am...Yuuji lifts up the Executioner's sword behind Sukuna...a jujutsu sorcerer!

The sword pierces through Sukuna's back like butter. Sukuna looks taken aback for a second. Yuuji holds his breath abatedly, clutching the sword in hand. But the sword shrinks and disintegrates, and Sukuna remains unharmed. 

...Damnit! Yuuji blocks a few punches from Sukuna. A string of dismantles and punches fling him backwards. Why...!

"Looking for meaning or logic in death can at times defile the memories of those we lost."

The rough landing on the ground scrapes his gauntlet. Yuuji wipes blood away from his mouth as he gets up to face Sukuna. Okay, Todo. I won't think about that. From now on, I'll dedicate myself to defeating Sukuna, no matter who else dies. We're all just cogs, right? So no matter who dies...

Okkotsu Yuta joins the arena. With Okkotsu and Rika fighting alongside Yuuji, Yuuji starts to feel like they have a genuine chance at beating Sukuna and rescuing Fushiguro. 

"Jacob's Ladder!!" Okkotsu chants. A bright beam of light thunders down from the sky, burning up Sukuna in something akin to a holy fire. Rika holds Sukuna back as Yuuji rushes in to deliver a punch. 

"Wake up Fushiguro!" he says. So far, the battle's been going at a good pace. If he can just reawaken the embers of Fushiguro's soul, maybe this could end right here. And then--

He's suddenly in a dark, desolate chamber. Fushiguro is sunken onto the floor, face to the ground. Hands outstretched, slightly covering his head.  "That's enough..." Fushiguro croaks, tone full of agony. Yuuji looks at him, face stricken. "I've had enough..."

With a startle, Yuuji realizes: what if he's trying to save someone who doesn't want to be saved?

The brief moment in Fushiguro's soul ends, and Yuuji is evicted back into reality. The first thing he hears is: "...of the dragon. Recoil. Twin meteors." 

Yuuji's eyes widen in pain as a dismantle cuts into his chest. It's a superficial cut, strange considering the chant was supposed to strengthen the technique. Then Yuuji looks at the sorcerer next to him, and his eyes begin to shake. Arms and abdomen bisected by a single slash aimed at the world: Okkotsu bore the brunt of that World Cutting Slash. Just like Gojo-sensei. Rika screeches at the sight, scooping him in her arms and fleeing for help. 

...no matter who dies...

Yuuji feels like he's going insane. Todo, I'm trying--

...

Maki was hit by a Black Flash powered punch. Kusukabe died.

...no matter who...?

Todo's words flash in his mind.

Yes, Todo. I'm a cog. I'm a cog. I'm a cog.

We're all cogs. Our duty is to get rid of Sukuna. No matter who dies, we're all just cogs and that makes it okay--

Following that is a string of more deaths. Ui Ui's bisected abdomen, killed as he was trying to teleport some of the injured sorcerers away. Choso's bruised, bloody face as he dissipated into the blood barrier protecting Yuuji from furnace. Gojo's abandoned body in the dumps, used as a weapon even after his death. Todo's diced remains after he shielded Angel while she was summoning a third Jacob's Ladder. And most recently, Maki's heaving figure while she clamps down the guts spilling from her stomach. 

Somewhere along the middle of this string of events, Yuuji felt a vague sensation that maybe it was the point where something big should happen. A new application of a cursed technique, or maybe even a domain expansion to change the tide of this barrage. Yuuji tried to visualize a domain expansion into real life: something like Sukuna's domain, a shrine of bones or a fiery pit. The most he could muster was some light snow; a sudden surge of memories flowing into his head prevented him from pushing the domain expansion any further. Memories of all those fallen in battle. Junpei, Nanami, Kugisaki, Gojo, Higuruma, Kusukabe--

We're all cogs. We're all cogs. We're all cogs--

"Agh!" Yuuji grunts as he lands his next punch on Sukuna's face, right on the side where the curse's eye is bleeding. Those memories...they fill him up with pure rage. Anger. All of those lives cut short at Sukuna's whims. He continues beating Sukuna's face while being punched in the head by Sukuna's other arms. He's absolutely livid at the curse of a sorcerer who's stolen everything from him. The anger swishes violently like acid in his viscera, a pit from which all his words emerge laced with poison that burns even his throat. "SUKUNA! I'll end you!"

His own bleeding eye is a matching scar, and its only through his good eye he can see Sukuna's grim-set mouth. They both know this battle has dragged on for long enough.  Both are worn out: their cursed techniques have burned out for the moment, and each have sustained damage. On Sukuna's side: several Jacob's ladders, hollow purples, direct attacks to the heart by the Soul-Split katana, and the soul-cleaves Yuuji's been attacking him with. Not to mention the toll from repeated usage of the cursed technique reset method Sukuna's been spamming. On Yuuji's side: two Jacob's ladders (he couldn't get out of the technique perimeter fast enough), a couple of black flashes from Sukuna, being chucked through a few buildings and the numerous cleaves and dismantles he's incurred over the course of the battle. He's lost count of the number of times he's used RCT and blood manipulation to re-attach his limbs.

The two are at a standstill, with each practically on their last leg. It's only a matter of who will tip the other over fastest.

"What, brat?" Sukuna taunts. "Already forgotten the plan to save your friend?" One of Sukuna's arms punches Yuuji in the stomach so hard he vomits blood. The blood splatters on Sukuna's face and, sensing an opportunity, Yuuji hardens that blood over Sukuna's eyes. The blood detonates, blowing off the skin on Sukuna’s eyelids. 

“I haven’t given up on him!” Yuuji declares. Inky sparks shimmer in the air as Yuuji lands another Black Flash on Sukuna’s stomach. “Wake up, Fushiguro!”

Rather than the order it came out sounding like, its really a desperate plea from Yuuji. Yuuji can’t fail Fushiguro too. 

“PLEASE!” He roars. He returns to that dark chamber of misery, with Fushiguro on the floor. He looks even more desolate than before. 

“Just let me go…” Fushiguro whispers, clutching his bleeding ears. There’s a puddle of tears from where he lifts his face, though he doesn’t bring himself to meet Yuuji’s eyes. “So many…so many have died—“

”And you won’t be one of them!” Yuuji asserts angrily. He grabs Fushiguro’s arm and pulls him out of his crouch. Fushiguro feels sluggish under his grasp. “Yeah everyone is gone, but I’m still here! Don’t leave me alone in this hell! Or do you want Sukuna to get to me too!?”

For the first time in weeks, Yuuji gets to see Fushiguro’s eyes. What was once vibrant green eyes are now dead and dull, partly due to depression and partly because of all the soul damage. Still, those eyes are surprised. Then, he looks away, whatever glimmer of hope faded. 

“You’ll survive somehow and live a good life,” Fushiguro mutters, shivering. “But me… I’m so tired of this all. They all died at my hands, Itadori.” He chokes a bitter sob. “Tsumiki, Gojo, everyone else…it would be better if I was dead. That would put an end to this awful suffering...”

“No, Fushiguro,” Yuuji grits forcefully. He doesn’t know how much time is left in this space. “Shut up. If you can’t find a reason to live, live for me, okay!? We’ll find a reason to live somewhere along the way, but for now, I can’t—“

Yuuji’s breath hitches. His voice trembles. “I can’t lose you too, Fushiguro. If I do, I might really break. And I’m…”

I’m scared of what that would look like. I’m scared I would turn into something I hate. If I can’t even save the person in front of me—!

Yuuji’s knees sink to the floor, and he bows his head, holding onto Fushiguro’s arm desperately. “Please,” he whispers. “I need you.”

Fushiguro stays quiet for a moment, and then sits down next to him. “Really?”

This ticks Yuuji off, just a bit. Fushiguro’s seen Yuuji fight Sukuna for Fushiguro's sake, enduring all sorts of torture and witnessing the deaths of his comrades, yet he still questions Yuuji? Still, Yuuji has enough tact to respond gently. “Yes,” he admits. 

He glances back at Fushiguro and finds his friend looking several years younger. A kid, maybe around four or five years old. An emotion swishes in the dull eyes of younger-Fushiguro, and he offers a smile. “Okay, then...” 

The world is engulfed in a splat of white, then promptly breaks into shards, flinging Yuuji out of the soul space. Yuuji sighs a breath of relief. When he opens his eyes, he's back on the battle field, with merely a second to dodge a flying chunk of concrete.  

From that point, it's a free-for-all: Yuuji throws blocks of cement at Sukuna, Sukuna jumps over the blocks and lands a few blows before grabbing Yuuji's ankle. He lifts Yuuji as though would to punt him through the building, but his leg suddenly sinks into a puddle of darkness. Fushiguro...? Yuuji puts his own hands on the ground, kicks his ankle free and somersaults away.

Sukuna glowers at the puddle. "Don't tell me you've decided to awaken now, Fushiguro?" He barks a laugh. "After I've killed everyone?"

”Don’t listen to him, Fushiguro!”

Shadowy hands rise from the puddle of darkness beneath Sukuna and latch onto his arms, binding him down. Yuuji picks up a breaks off a chunk of the building wall and clobbers it into Sukuna's head. Sukuna retorts by knocking his head into Yuuji's chin. Yuuji's vision goes black for a moment, the pain from the blow combined with all the other injuries he's incurred blinding him. No--I can't lose focus at this time! He pushes through the pain and kicks Sukuna through a pillar, then jumping after him. 

As they fall through the air, Sukuna's long limbs reach out and grab Yuuji's face with his hands, squeezing down on his head as though to squish it down. The immense pressure is enough to bring back the woozy feeling from earlier. Yuuji hits Sukuna's arms, trying to pry his grip off. With a pop, Yuuji's jaw dislocates. Yuuji could scream. Oh shit, he messed up.

And then, Yuuji experiences a moment of complete luck. All of a sudden, large needles poke through Sukuna's chest, prompting the curse to release his hands and spit a mouth full of blood into the air. Yuuji's eyes widen. Kugisaki's technique!? But how--?

More nails drive into Sukuna's arms and legs, snapping Yuuji out of his surprise. He narrows the distance between them and grabs onto Sukuna, hitting him blow after blow as they tumble down. Sukuna's back crashes onto the concrete with a loud thud. Yuuji stands on top of him.

Cursed energy roars around Yuuji's fists. Both of them can sense it now: this is the end for Sukuna. "This cycle of curses ends here," Yuuji states, and then delivers the final blow: a divergent fist, of all things. One of the first tools in his equipment is now being used to put an end to the man who haunted his journey.

Sukuna hollers at the time-delayed effect and vomits more blood. In that moment, a fleshly amalgamation separates from Fushiguro's body and expands into several fingers, trying to engulf Fushiguro's body in a rapid almost flood-like manner. The flash flood dies out as quickly as it came, and the fingers deflate until there's just one little scab of flesh remaining. Yuuji draws nearer to the flesh, panting heavily into the cold air.

When he looks down at the little remains of Sukuna, stares into the creature of flesh that shares his eyes, he almost feels stupid. 

So this is all Sukuna amounted to: a quivering hunk of mass trying to assert its place in the world. Yuuji finds himself even more pitiful: for all that talk of bitter agony and a burning desire for revenge, he can't summon a single ember of that wildfire now. Like the air after a fire's been snuffed out, he feels chillingly barren. Empty. He glances at the scorched ground and demolished buildings of Shinjuku, equally as devoid of life. Mixed feelings of disgust and sorrow and self-hatred rise in his throat. This city, once full of vitality, has now become a graveyard.

"...so much waste," he whispers. Sukuna's been defeated, but did Yuuji really win?

His eyes tighten when he looks back at Sukuna's ravaged figure, panting just as heavily as him. The small mouth on the flesh scowls. "Don't begin... to pity me now...brat."

"Wasn't...hah... planning on it," Yuuji spits out between breaths. His insides are too corroded to bring forth even a semblance of sympathy or compassion. Satisfied with that, the flesh smolders into a faceless chunk, and then burns into the winter sky. Gone in a vapor, yet so much destruction left behind. At the very least Yuuji can confirm two others are alive: Fushiguro, who lies unconscious on the ground, and the source of Nobara's technique, who is probably...

"Okkotsu," he greets the sorcerer running up to them. There's a line of stitches around Okkotsu's head, evidence of the incident earlier where he piloted Gojo's body, and one large scar running through his torso and arms symmetrically. His body must have been stitched up by Shoko, but how is he still alive?

"Sukuna's dead?" Okkotsu asks. At Yuuji's nod, his shoulders slump in relief. "Thank God. This nightmare is finally over."

Yuuji has a shaking sensation that it really isn't. He doubts the world can return back to normal after all that has happened. After all who have been lost. He clears his throat. "You copied Kugisaki's technique?" he asks. 

Okkotsu grimaces. "A few days ago. We had a feeling things might go wrong, so I was authorized to feed Rika just a hand from Kugisaki. Nothing overly vital, in case you're worried she'll wake up-"

"Nah, it's okay," Yuuji says, shaking off the sorcerer's worries. "Fushiguro and I knew for a while that...that she was probably dead. I think she would've wanted us to use her technique on Sukuna's last finger, instead of just letting her rot."

Weapons, even in death, he reflects. He can't handle another mentality-shaking reminder, so he just repeats the mantra: We're all cogs. We're all cogs. We're all cogs. We're all--

The desolate landscape stares at him like a boldfaced contradiction. It reminds him of Shibuya, almost.

Todo...what would you say about this?

And with a sad sigh, he realizes, even Todo's gone now. 

"About the others..." Okkotsu starts. He bites his lips. "I don't want to make any promises, but Shoko's trying to fix up the lighter injuries now. It might be too late for some since we couldn't get them out in time, but there's hope."

The cold air stings Yuuji's face. Just as stinging is the realization he's become equally cold to that 'hope'. Gojo had said he would survive, and he didn't. Todo had said there was hope for the others, and then he died. Choso...at the very least, he was honest until the end. Yuuji feels cheated all the same.

He tries to distract himself from those thoughts. "I saw you trying to heal the others while I was fighting. Is Maki better?" 

Okkotsu nods. "The cut was superficial. Must've been because Sukuna's technique was wearing out."

"Right." Yuuji did notice that Sukuna's attacks were doing less damage as the battle went on, to the point Maki was able to predict and dodge a World Cutting Slash, the same technique that took out Gojo and Okkotsu. Speaking of which... "How are you alive anyway?"

Okkotsu looks away somberly. He twists his ring. "Rika..."

"Oh." Yuuji swallows hard. So she's gone too? "Sorry."

Okkotsu's mouth forms a half-scowl, half-bitter smile.  "Thanks."

Yuuji hates to ask this. "Your cursed techniques--?"

"She imprinted them on another shikigami," Okkotsu responded, fortunately taking no offense to the question. He gazes wistfully into the sky. "She really thought of everything."

Well his domain is named Authentic Mutual Love; it's no surprise that Rika loved Okkotsu enough to sacrifice herself.

Yuuji's eyes land on the unconscious Fushiguro, and spontaneously, he decides to join him on the concrete ground. The uneven ground is broken and cold, hardly a good substitute for a bed. The sharp edges of concrete press into Yuuji's back. 

He takes off the gauntlets on his hands, freeing his hands from that restrictive pressure. He flexes his fingers, surveying each hand. His vision seems to be getting better, maybe his RCT has finally started back up. His gaze rests on his left hand, which tingles with the phantom pain of two missing fingers: one cut off by Sukuna, another cut off to stop Sukuna. "Sukuna's last finger..."

"With me," Okkotsu dangles the object and takes a seat beside him. "The medical team should be rolling in around now."

"Great." Yuuji mutters. He bites back a scowl, feeling the stings of all the open wounds on his legs and arms. He feels so tired. He and the others spent a whole month preparing for this fight, and now Sukuna and Kenjaku are gone. The merger isn't a possibility anymore. The world was saved from those threats. Yuuji's job is done for today. He should feel fulfilled, but instead, he feels...

So damn tired. He sniffs the air, eyebrows furrowing. Too tired. It's...sort of suspicious. Warning bells go off in slow motion in Yuuji's mind, coinciding with a headache. His eyelids are droopy, his tongue is heavy like lead. "Hey, Okkotsu, isn't this... kind...of...wei..."

He heaves another breath, and then slowly drags his arm to cover his nose. Crap, he thinks, blearily looking at Okkotsu's collapsed body. There's a sedative in the air. Yuuji tries to get up, but his body holds him down like weighty anchors. Forcing himself up is a struggle, and as he gets on his feet, he's overwhelmed by the throbbing achy, almost useless sensation in his limbs. First thing to do: get Okkotsu and Fushiguro out of here. He takes a step forward, and then, feeling a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, turns around just in time to have a gun prodded in his chest.

The soldier's eyes widen. "How the hell--!?" Their voice comes out muffled by the gas mask. Behind him are a squad of men similarly clothed.

Yuuji squints his eyes. Soldiers? Like the guys he, Fushiguro and Hana saved? Why are they here?

They don't look so friendly. This is probably another one of Kenjaku's failsafes he concocted. Either way, it's up to Yuuji to protect Fushiguro and Okkotsu. He puts his hand on the gun, and in one smooth motion, breaks off the tip, throwing it into another soldiers head. Pooling cursed energy into his arms and feet, he tackles the soldier in front of him and uses the soldier's body as a shield while he bulldozes through the squad. He manages to headbutt a few people to the ground when a metal wire latches onto the open wound on his back, and for the next few seconds, all he knows is pain. 

"AHHHH!" He screams as the electrical current passes through his body. It's as if his whole body has been lit on fire. His muscles twitch and spasm in burning agony. Blood and acid work its way up through his throat. Then, his limbs lock up and he falls straight on the ground. The impact from hitting the ground knocks him out.

Sluggishly, Yuuji finds himself waking up on an operating bed. The bright light makes him squint; when he re-opens his eyes, bright spots dance across his vision. He immediately feels uncomfortable. There's a clinking of metal instruments, a low rustle of chatter. Some people wearing white face masks, hairnets and gowns. A sharp object prods his skin. "Mph." There's something covering his mouth, preventing him from speaking. His fists are tied down. He tries to get a better view by lifting up his head.

Looking down, all he can see is red. An incision line straight down his chest, cranked open by cold metal arms. His chest falls and rises. Babump. Babump. His heart lies in that red pool of blood exposed to the air. Yuuji can see his heart beating. What the hell, he can see his heart beating. His heart starts beating faster. 

One of the surgeons picks up a knife and presses it to Yuuji’s arm. “Mph!” he screeches, banging his fists against the operating table. Someone swears in English. 

“He woke up again? Give him a higher dose this time.”

Yuuji’s arms and legs thrash about. “Mph!” Pursing his lips, he uses his upper teeth to bit out part of the tape. He spits out a chunk. “LET ME GO! STOP IT!”

Someone grabs his flailing arm and injects a syringe into it. The effects are fast-acting: Yuuji already feels woozy, his limbs too fatigued to jerk around. “Mph…” 

No—! Yuuji forces his mind to stay awake. I can’t fall asleep now!

“It must be the regeneration factor,” a surgeon says. The voice sounds feminine. Yuuji watches helplessly as she cuts a line down his arm with the scalpel. He barely feels the pain. “Observe, friends.”

A few seconds pass. Then, the skin on his arm begins to thread itself back together, fastening a woven net over the incision. Some of the surgeons gasp. 

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” The surgeon from earlier continues. “He’s the first one I’ve seen with this quality. I know we’re supposed to be extracting cursed energy, but just imagine how phenomenal this regeneration would be if we could work it into our technology —  healing burn scars, regrowing organs, even eradicating cancer!”

She laughs. “I’m so happy the higher-ups put me in charge of this — think of all the possibilities!” Her excited brown eyes meet Yuuji’s half-delirious gaze. She pats his shoulder. “I know you’ve suffered when you were fighting that curse, but just hold on a bit longer. You’re the key to my medical breakthrough.”

“Okkots…Fushi…” Yuuji struggles to talk. The lull of sleep nearly has him in its clutches. “Are they…safe?”

Her smile is sharp and pointed, like her scalpel. He doesn’t stay awake long enough to hear her response. 

By some extreme misfortune, it seems he has stumbled out of one hell and into another.

Chapter Text