Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

An hour or so later, Yuuji stopped at a building, sitting on the steps leading up the foyer. He sighed, rolling out his wrists. Then, he turned to Uraume and spoke.

“How’s the poison?” He asked.

“Thoughtful of you to ask,” they said, not unkindly. “It should all be expelled from my body by now, you needn’t worry. I’ve forgotten what a burden possessing a corporeal body is.”

Sukuna could sympathize; though he was resistant to all toxins, a body that was not his original posed other challenges.

Yuuji hummed. “That’s good.” He said as much, but the way he was wringing his hands and unable to sit still told a different story.

Sukuna was about to question the boy’s plan moving forward, when a presence made itself known. 

“Yuuji,” Choso called, emerging from the building. Yuuji craned his neck to see his brother, and the latter startled at the sight of Uraume.

Recalling their earlier dispute, Uraume leapt to their feet and raised their hands, the air noticeably dropping in temperature as their cursed technique bubbled to the surface. Choso’s facial muscles tightened, and he replicated the stance. 

“You.” They sneered at the same time.

Yuuji, ever the mediator, hastily rose as well and positioned himself between the two. “Whoa, whoa, calm down! It’s okay, we’re all allies here!”
“They are aligned with Noritoshi Kamo. They are no ally of mine or of yours, little brother.” Choso’s eyes darkened. Meanwhile, Yuuji cringed at the moniker.  

“It was a misunderstanding, Choso, just like it was for you. Uraume is on our side now,” the boy explained.

The pair stared at each other for a moment more, but with Yuuji standing between them– arms outstretched to block any incoming attack– there was not much more either could do. Besides, Uraume was Sukuna’s servant. They would not so blatantly go against the nephew of their master.

Although Yuuji bristled at the thought of someone serving him.

Eventually, and at the same time, Choso and Uraume surrendered, relaxing and dropping their techniques. Breathing a sigh of relief, Yuuji turned to address his brother properly.

“How did you find us?” He asked. “And how did you figure out I was your brother?”

“I share a special connection with all my brothers. I can feel you through our blood relation– when I almost–” Choso paused, swallowing down the emotion before it could breach through. “When you almost died, I saw a vision of you and all our brothers together. That’s how I knew you were my brother as well, and how I was able to locate you.”

“Oh.”

“So you understand it?”

“Not really, but it’s not the first time something like that has happened to me.” At the very least, that other occasion wasn’t actually blood-related. “Besides, Sukuna already confirmed the possibility of our relationship, so I’ll trust what you say is true.”

Choso inclined his head. “That is all I wish for. How are your injuries?”
“I’m fine,” Yuuji rolled out his shoulder. “I’m learning Reverse Cursed Technique, and Sukuna takes care of everything else. It must be the fingers I consumed, but I can feel him growing more powerful. He absorbs the brunt of most of the attacks that land on me.”

“Good. I reckon you wish to return to Jujutsu High? Don’t worry about me; our remaining brothers are there, so I will follow you and rescue them as well.”

Yuuji shook his head, directing his vision elsewhere. “I can’t return, even if I want to. I’ve caused too much damage and killed too many people to go back and beg for everyone’s forgiveness. I have to resolve things, at least somewhat, before I can say hello to everyone again with a genuine conscience.” 

The boy was isolating himself out of guilt.

Foolish, but not unlike him. He had yet to fully forgive Sukuna for Shibuya, let alone himself. Even if their relationship was making progress, Yuuji’s faith in himself had shattered completely. It would take mending a few things to bring his spirit back in full. 

Well. What a blessing it was then that he and Uraume had turned a new leaf. If the boy wished to use Sukuna’s hands to fix rather than destroy, the latter would indulge this game of his. If only out of curiosity. 

“And you?” Yuuji returned his gaze to Choso. “I also killed your little brothers. Could you stand to be by my side and forgive me, knowing that?”

The words were painful, but spoken without emotion, as if Yuuji were prepared to face the rejection he was sure was coming.

The boy truly underestimated his own, intrinsic charm. He’d won over the King of Curses— that alone should have told him something. Yet now it almost seemed as though he didn’t want anyone to forgive him. 

Too bad he was so likeable, then. 

As a testament to this, Choso simply responded, “It’s fine. That, too, was a misunderstanding. If Eso and Kechizu were in my place, they would say the same thing. It’s not a matter of forgiving or not forgiving. Brothers are just like that.”

“Mm, I see.” Yuuji looked back at his clasped hands. He was quiet for a moment. “So, are you coming along with us?”

Choso nodded. 

“Alright. Then, let’s go. Our focus right now should be wiping out as many cursed-spirits as possible and rescuing any survivors. Then we can worry about Gojo and Kenjaku.”

“Kenjaku?”

“Noritoshi Kamo— Kenjaku is their real name. They have a technique that allows them to move from body to body. Sukuna knew them a thousand years ago.”

“I see… That would explain how they’ve existed for so long.” 

Yuuji looked to Uraume, then back to Choso, then sighed. “And, please don’t fight.” The two of them eyed the other, wrinkling their noses. “You don’t have to like each other, but at least work without disturbing one another. Okay?”

“There will be no problem, I assure you. I am no child. This one, on the other hand…” Uraume sent another glare Choso’s way, causing the latter to flare up in anger.

“I am not–!”

“...was just recently given a body for the first time, so it is understandable if he is not as well-adjusted.”

“Well-adjusted– At least I have a semblance of loyalty! What reason do you have to help my little brother other than the fact he is the vessel of your former master? Do you even see him as anything beyond that?” Choso postulated, issuing a submerged hiss from Uraume.

Sukuna snickered.

“Okay, enough!” Yuuji rubbed his temples. “Seriously, aren’t you guys supposed to be older than me? Why am I the one telling you to calm down?”

“My apologies.” They said, bowing before his vessel in an unintentionally simultaneous manner. 

Sukuna suspected the two had more in common than they’d like to admit.

A topic for later, he supposed.

For now, the three of them were headed out to exterminate some curses.

After much persuasion– both from Choso and Uraume, as well as Sukuna’s admittedly less pleasant mental insistence– Yuuji finally gave up the battle and went to sleep. After stealing more convenience store food and consuming that as their dinner, the three of them had settled in a mattress store for the night. 

Yuuji, despite his protests, was exhausted. He’d passed out the moment his body hit the soft firmness of the display bed. Sukuna found him curled up in his innate domain once more, cocooned beneath his cloak, and couldn’t help the faint smile that pulled at his lips.

There were still no flowers, however.

Nonetheless, the boy slept onward, with Choso and Uraume standing guard, given they had no biological need to sleep. They had resorted to a silent ceasefire for the time being, in order to not disturb the boy under their watch. They were not aware, it seemed, of Yuuji’s superhuman ability to sleep through the most disastrous of environments. Even this location was unnecessary– the boy could sleep just fine standing upright. 

Still, Sukuna supposed his vessel had earned as decent a night’s rest as the circumstances could provide him. Much was still to be done, so proper rest was of utmost importance.

Thus, why he too was watching over Yuuji.

“Are you truly Sukuna’s servant?” Choso asked, breaking their truce. It would seem his human side was presenting itself more and more since meeting his youngest brother, making his desire for conversation apparent. 

“His most loyal follower, his right hand, his sole confidant– yes, I am. Do you doubt this?” They narrowed their eyes at him.

Choso looked up at the moonlight beaming through their window. “It is not you I doubt. It is Noritoshi Kamo whose words I do not trust.”

Uraume hummed. “Kenjaku has truly brought upon a confusing series of events. That, we can agree on, Death Painting.”

“If you are all that you claim, then I assume your goal is to bring back Sukuna.” Uraume didn’t respond, but their answer was evident. “Unfortunately, that is not something I can let come to pass. Though we may be allies for now, I won’t allow you to harm my little brother or to turn him into an unwilling vessel.”

“I figured as much. In truth, the plan Kenjaku and I had did not involve Itadori in such a manner.”

Choso’s brows pinched together. “Oh?”

Drifting their vision to the lump on the bed that was Yuuji’s sleeping form, Uraume said, “A discussion for later, when my master and the young ward are present participants. Kenjaku’s plans stretch far and wide, beyond that of ourselves, even. I never cared one way or the other, so long as my master was resurrected.” 

“Have things changed?”

“Mm. Itadori is here.”

Choso huffed. “Indeed.”

Satisfied with his listening in on the outside world, Sukuna slipped back to his innate domain. Much to his dismay, he found Yuuji twitching and struggling in his sleep. 

The beginnings of a nightmare.

It was not that Sukuna didn’t expect this– on the contrary, even the boy himself had known it would come to pass, given the nature of everything he had witnessed– but rather that he was uncertain how to approach the situation. He would have to do so quickly, or else the display would present itself in the corporeal realm, leaving Uraume and Choso to handle it. Yuuji, not all that familiar with the two, would likely wave away their attempts to soothe him in embarrassment, then spend the rest of the night in awkward silence, unable to find sleep. 

That was not the preferable outcome.

So, it would be up to Sukuna once more– but how so? A large chunk of the boy’s distress was due to Sukuna’s own actions, and while they were bridging the gap of understanding between each other, he still could not fathom how to comfort his vessel when it was he who haunted Yuuji’s nightmares.

Enough. 

He had dealt with Yuuji’s night terrors before, what difference would this one be?

Silencing his own meaningless thoughts, Sukuna knelt before the boy. With practiced ease, he reached over with his thumb and forefinger and pinched Yuuji’s nose. Disgruntled, his face scrunched up and, sure enough, he awoke.

“Sukuna?” The brat mumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he sat up. 

“I’m here,” said Sukuna, before realizing that likely wasn’t a comforting statement.

Yuuji blinked a few times, registered his surroundings, and hummed. He wrapped the cape tighter around himself and shivered, but he made no move to lie back down. 

Sukuna sighed, sitting back on his haunches. “Well? Get on with it, brat.” 

“Huh?”

“You were having a nightmare. Vent your frustrations and go back to sleep.”

“Oh, yeah. Right.” He looked at the ground, as if expecting to find the flowers he would usually fiddle with, only to be disappointed. “It wasn’t anything in particular. You know, I never used to have bad dreams before. Maybe when I was a kid, over like, vegetables or homework or something. But that’s not the same. These are… not like dreams, more like recalling memories.”

“Of Shibuya?”

“Just now? Yeah. Sometimes they’re other things, though.”

Sukuna hesitated. “And who plays the role of the perpetrator, in these dreams?”

“Mahito, most of the time. Kenjaku, too, and–” Yuuji’s eyes widened and he clamped his mouth shut. But Sukuna had already anticipated this. 

“And me.”

Defeated, Yuuji’s shoulders slumped. “...Yeah. Isn’t that weird? You destroyed so much, but when you woke me up, I wasn’t scared or upset to see you. Actually, I’m glad it was you. I don’t know what I would’ve done if Choso or Uraume woke me up. But this feels… right? Is that strange?”

“Mm, but you’ve always been a strange one.” Sukuna stretched out his hand to flatten the tufts of wayward hair that had been shuffled about in the boy’s sleep. 

“So are you!”

Sukuna tugged on a strand of his hair, not enough to tear it out, but just enough to cause his vessel to wince and stick his tongue out at the other. Sukuna laughed. “You should learn to respect your elders, brat.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay. As if you’re a prime example of respect, Uncle.” 

Sukuna froze.

Yuuji had been so nonchalant about their relation to each other, he had almost forgotten his vessel knew…

The boy frowned. “Does that really bother you so much?”

Sukuna clicked his tongue, pointing his vision elsewhere.

“It does!” He laughed. “C’mon, I’ve met three family members I never knew about in the past day, and you don’t see me complaining! And one of them tried to kill me! And the other two are super evil bad guys!” 

The other scoffed. “So strange.”

Yuuji pouted in faux-disconcert.

Eventually, his expression took on a more solemn look. “But, I mean, Choso and Uraume tried to kill me, and I’m not mad at them. I don’t have nightmares about them either. It's probably not the same, because that was a matter of miscommunication, but…” He looked up at Sukuna, honey-brown meeting crimson-red.

“You give your heart out too easily,” Sukuna stated. 

“Maybe. But, until I have a reason to stop, I won’t.”

“You wouldn’t be such a brat if you did.” He laid his hand on Yuuji’s head, mussing up the hair he just fixed. The boy whined, which only made Sukuna’s mirth grow. 

“But still, it’s weird, thinking about the you who killed everyone and the you right now.”

“Are those two parts of my being so far removed, to you?”

Yuuji rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I guess not. I guess it just means you’re… trying? You’re not all evil, but not all good either. But that’s okay.”

With a devilish grin, the brat extended his hand and pulled at Sukuna’s hair. Snarling, but not truly angered, Sukuna tugged at Yuuji’s ear. Yuuji swatted at him, rolling to the ground to avoid him. The boy collapsed into a fit of giggles and, not for the first time, Sukuna reminded himself how young his vessel was. 

“See? There’s good in you and a want to be good too, I think. Knowing that helps.”

“You talk a lot of drivel and pull a lot of nonsense for someone speaking to a demon god.”

“But you haven’t killed me yet!”

Sukuna smirked. “Who else would entertain me, if not you?”

“Well, in any case, thanks, Sukuna.” Yuuji smiled at the other, his eyes and the crescent lines beneath them wrinkling. “I think I’m ready to go back to sleep now.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

All he really needed was someone to talk to. Someone to listen, even if everything he said was foolish and aggravating and he– 

He was so strange. 

Sukuna shook his head. 

What a brat.

Yuuji curled back into his cocoon and, just before he fell asleep, grinned and said, “Goodnight, Uncle.” 

His heart twisted beyond what his ribcage could hold, and a low hiss fell from Sukuna’s tongue. “ Don’t you dare.”

But Yuuji was already asleep. 

When morning came his vessel, figuring his uniform would be too recognizable, stopped at a clothing store to change into something less suspicious. Naturally, he chose a zip-up hoodie and a plain white undershirt, keeping the shoes and pants from his uniform. At one point, he asked Sukuna what color he should pick— yellow or red? Sukuna gave no comment. 

Though there was no one left to see or bother about him stealing— nor would many of the items likely ever be sold again— Yuuji still felt bad about the robbery. It took Choso offering to have him wear his outer robe instead that got the brat to move past it.  

As of currently, Yuuji was walking back along the bridge he was on prior to reuniting with Choso, retracing his steps to properly assess the area. He had sensed some curses lurking in the water and on the underside of the bridge earlier, but hadn’t had the chance to exorcise them with Uraume still suffering the effects of Choso’s blood. Now, however, he had a plan in motion.

As the boy had anticipated, a swarm of giant-sized cursed-spirits flew out at him from all angles, squirming and squealing about. They crashed through the bridge, and Uraume sent out a spear of ice, giving Yuuji the opportunity to leap off of it and evade the curses.

He sprinted onward, ensuring the monsters were following him, until he came across an underpass. He skirted down to it, then shouted for Choso. Just as the cursed-spirits were about to reach the boy, Uraume sent out another block of ice to propel him to the wayside. Meanwhile, the curses surged through the underpass into Choso’s waiting hands, their exorcisms imminent by the draw of Piercing Blood.

All their exorcisms, but one.

A cursed-spirit resembling a sugar glider managed to avoid Choso’s technique, and began closing the gap between the two. Annoyed, his brother mumbled Yuuji’s name.

The boy, however, had already begun to chase the creature, descending from above to land a punch square on the curse’s face. With just one hit, it fizzled away.

His vessel truly had grown. Not just in strength, but the planning (although nothing too complex) was commendable too, especially for a boy as brash as Yuuji. Granted, he had the level-headed Uraume and Choso at his side, but nonetheless, praise was due where praise was needed.

Yuuji had grown and still had some growing to do. The potential of this one wily brat was… Well, he and Sukuna were related for a reason, no?

“As impressive as ever, little brother,” Choso spoke for him.

“You’re still calling me that?”

“Of course. And I will continue to do so until it sticks. Try to remember, Yuuji. Your father, he had stitches on his forehead, did he not?”

“Mother, actually.” The boy ignored the other’s bewildered expression. “But, even so, we just met each other. Shouldn’t the title of brother be earned, regardless of blood?”
“I–”

“I don’t see Megumi,” said a voice. Yuuji and Choso turned, finding a blonde man standing atop the underpass and looking down at them. As if summoned by the new threat, Uraume appeared at the side of Yuuji not occupied by his brother. “Am I the first one here? Is that possible? Is he that slow?

The man kept mumbling to himself, but Yuuji’s mind was hyper focused solely on the name he’d spilled. He hadn’t seen Megumi since he’d left the other boy with Shoko and Yaga, so his status and whereabouts were unknown.

That unnerved Yuujj.

“What are you two doing?” The stranger finally addressed them. “You totally stand out. Don’t you want to run?”

“Run?” Yuuji questioned. The man was most certainly a sorcerer, but from where or for whom was still up in the air.

“Huh? Don’t you know?” The other mocked, hands on his hips. “Your death sentence is back on since Satoru’s support is gone.”

Ah, right. The only thing that Six Eyes was good for– keeping Yuuji’s execution at bay. With him out of the way… Indubitably, the higher-ups were having their fun. 

On either side of him, both Uraume and Choso tensed, their cursed signatures broiling an ugly red. 

“My business is with Megumi,” continued the strange man. “So I honestly couldn’t care less if you live or die. However, I can’t have you scampering around and interfering. So, I think I’ll start by breaking your legs.”

With the mention of Megumi being brought forth once again, Yuuji’s cursed energy too began to burn with anger.

“What do you want with Megumi?” He shouted, his muscles constricting as cursed energy saturated his body. Truly, he was at his scariest when his dearest beloved was threatened. 

Sukuna once again found himself thankful he’d saved the Ten Shadows runt. To think what the brat would be like if Megumi had died…

The blonde man smiled. “Hm… I think I’ll have him die. But it’d help if he wrote a little something for me first.”

As per usual, that was all it took. Yuuji pinched his brows together, readying his fighting stance and–

“I heard Megumi is looking for you.” 

He was already there!? 

Such speed, they hardly even noticed! 

He slammed his right fist into Yuuji’s neck, blocking Choso’s attacks with left. From the opposite side, Uraume attempted to freeze the sorcerer’s legs, but he simply leapt off the ground and dodged the ice.

Just as his feet touched the ground, and Yuuji and Choso prepared for round two, the man zipped away. Their punches hit air, and the two of them stood stunned before realizing their opponent had dashed to the other side of the road.

“He’s really fast, but something’s weird,” Yuuji muttered.

“It’s probably a cursed technique,” Choso supplied.

“My ice isn’t fast enough to catch up to him. We’ll have to predict his moves,” added Uraume.

Nodding, the three prepared their next advances, when a sudden compression of cursed energy befell the area, staggering even the stranger. Uraume, used to Sukuna’s overwhelming presence, remained the only one unfazed.

Yuuji whipped his head around to find the source of the power, and from the roof of a neighboring building was the second intruder of the day. He was significantly younger than the first intruder— not that much older than Yuuji, really— and was carrying a scabbard. On his white top were two golden buttons with the symbol of Jujutsu on them, not that that meant much now. 

All sorcerers were to be assumed as enemies, given this new update to Yuuji’s status.

“Who are you?” His vessel, never one to instigate anything unless prompted, asked as the other drew his katana from its sheath. 

The newcomer said nothing, merely stepping off the roof he was on to descend upon the group. His landing was effortlessly powerful, exploding the material of the wall under and behind him. 

Such potent strength… Undoubtedly a special-grade. 

“Who’s with Itadori?” The stranger asked, walking along the rubble he’d created.

No one answered him.    

“So you’re Yuuji’s executioner,” Choso growled.

“Wait just a second!” The man with the speed-related technique spoke up, his hands raised in feigned surrender. “I’m on your side. You’re Okkotsu, right?”

Ah. 

One of Yuuji’s memories trickled to the present, as he recalled the name as the one of the second-year Megumi had mentioned in the past. He was supposedly studying abroad, so then, why was he here? A summons? If he was to be Yuuji’s executioner, as Choso had predicted, that certainly made sense. 

But why him?

“Who are you?” The boy– Okkotsu – asked the other.

“I’m Naoya Zen’in, Maki’s cousin,” he responded. A Zen’in. Of course. Irritating sorcerers, that bunch, even in the Heian era. “I’m also here to kill Itadori.” 

As the Zen’in continued rambling, Choso turned to his brother and mouthed, “You gotta run, Yuuji.”

Evidently, Yuuji couldn’t quite catch his meaning, but Uraume understood.

“No need,” they mouthed back. “I can handle them just fine.” 

Choso’s face twitched, and he sent a challenging glare at the other, which Uraume returned in kind. Yuuji, naturally, stood in the crossfire of an argument he didn’t even know was occurring. 

Still, Uraume was right; there was no opportunity for them to run, and even if they did, their assailants would catch up eventually. Choso begrudgingly accepted this, however, a new idea formed in his head.

“There’s a trick to the blonde one’s speed,” Choso murmured– aloud, for Yuuji’s sake– focusing on Naoya. “Playing chase with him won’t work, but I have tricks of my own, so I’ll take him.”

“You sure? You’ll be alright?” Yuuji asked. 

“I will be, don’t worry. The one they want is you, Yuuji. So, focus on getting away from Okkotsu.”

“I will handle that one,” interjected Uraume. “He’s a special-grade, I can feel it. I am the only one here with the same rank, so I’ll take him.”

“Fine by me. We’ll meet back up at yesterday’s spot,” Choso said.

Yuuji shook his head. “No, wait. I’ll run, but I’ll come back, and I’ll bring some curses with me. That should create enough of a distraction for us to get the upper hand.”

“ Not to kill them?” Sukuna asked. 

A shiver went down Yuuji’s spine. I… 

He trailed off, and Naoya and Okkotsu struck. 

Naoya went for Choso, which worked well for their plan, however Okkotsu was solely focused on Yuuji. 

True to his word, Yuuji sprinted off, but Okkotsu was fast, even with a drawn katana in his hand. Uraume formed a pillar of ice, flipping a car over and allowing Yuuji to leap over and duck behind it. 

Okkotsu caught on quickly, however, and darted along the side of the vehicle to draw a slash at Yuuji’s landing. Uraume shot out a blade of ice, cutting off the other’s attack and allowing Yuuji the momentum to propel himself back over the car.

Thinking fast, the boy smashed his fist into the car, and with just pure strength alone, he rammed it into Okkotsu. At the same time, spikes of ice protruded from the ground, disturbing Okkotsu’s landing.

No way out. 

Taking his chance, Yuuji sped off once more into an alleyway, searching for nearby cursed spirits. However, Okkotsu remained unfettered, sending the car overhead and crashing into a nearby wall. 

At this rate, even with Uraume as back up, Yuuji wouldn’t have an opportunity to duck away. Unless….

“Surprised?” said Okkotsu, slowly closing the space between them. “I don’t look like the power type. I’m actually on the weaker side. But I’ve got more cursed energy than Gojo-sensei.”

“Huh?” How was that possible?
“But Sensei has– Urk!” A rain of frozen daggers fell from above them, whilst icy stalagmites rose from below. Okkotsu managed to avoid most of them, but his leg and arm had been impaled. He stumbled.

“Done talking?” Uraume hissed. “You can use Reverse Cursed Technique all you want, but you won’t be able to melt my ice.”

Sukuna. Yuuji thought, as Okkotsu was momentarily distracted by the other. Do you remember, back at the detention center, when you made my cursed energy flare up?

“Mm, I do.”

Could you do it again? But with your cursed energy, not mine.

Sukuna raised a brow. “Why?”

Cursed-spirits are drawn to your cursed energy, aren’t they? 

Oh, now Sukuna understood. Instead of finding his own curses, Yuuji wanted to drag them to him. Smart. “ If you insist.” 

Inside his chest, a boiling hot, searing hellfire began to stir and fester. It was contained inside Yuuji’s own body, the same as it was inside his fingers, but it was potent nonetheless. Like the howl of a wolf, it was a beacon to all who recognized it. 

And it worked.

In a matter of seconds, a crowd of cursed-spirits were bounding down the streets and between buildings, all scampering to find the source of that energy and consume it.

Yuuji grinned as Sukuna drew back his cursed energy and the spirits all rushed at Okkotsu. In their confusion, they must have assumed Okkotsu, with all his boundless cursed energy, was the source of the calling. 

This was perfect for Yuuji and Uraume, given he would be too overwhelmed by the mass to fight them properly, but–

Okkotsu sprang from the swarm, charging once more at Yuuji.

He completely ignored the cursed-spirits! Even as they bit and clawed at him, he paid them no mind, healing himself over and over again so he could delegate everything he had at Yuuji. Damn. His never-ending cursed energy was good.

To make matters worse, the curses had recognized Sukuna’s residuals on the boy and pivoted their attention to Yuuji.

With both Okkotsu’s unpredictable moves and the scrambling, erratic attacks from the cursed-spirits, Yuuji was worse off than he was before.

Shit. 

“Uraume!” He called over, scarcely missing Okkotsu’s blade. “I messed up! Hold off the curses for me!”

“But, young master–!”
Young master!?

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!”

With no time to argue, Uraume set off on exorcising the horde, corralling it away from Yuuji and Okkotsu.

Yuuji re-centered himself. Just as Okkotsu was solely focused on him, so too would he be solely focused on Okkotsu. 

“Sorry,” he said. “But I can’t die just yet.” 

Okkotsu had a shikigami up his sleeve. The shadow-like creature, who Okkotsu so affectionately called Rika, grabbed hold of Yuuji. The boy struggled in its grasp, but was ultimately overpowered by it, unable to break free.

Okkotsu approached them, holding his katana up and–

No.

“Sorry, Itadori.”

Rika fizzled out, and the blade drove straight through Yuuji’s heart.

Sukuna was about to chant enchain and fix the boy himself, when…

Oh?

Okkotsu had done it already, at the exact same time as he had stabbed the boy.

He’d both killed and resurrected the boy simultaneously.

Interesting.

Sukuna pivoted his attention to Yuuji’s body, which was lying in his innate domain. He was injured and unconscious, but not mortally wounded. 

Moreover: he was alive.

“You are one lucky brat,” Sukuna muttered.

When Yuuji woke up again, night had fallen. Immediately, he gasped and sat up, ignoring the aching in his chest and side. Before him was a fire, and behind that was Okkotsu, sitting on a broken piece of wall.

Confused, Yuuji looked down at his intact chest, marred only by two stains of blood on his undershirt. His jacket had been carefully laid across his lap.

“What a relief!” Okkotsu cheered, a genuine smile stretching across his face. “I think it was around September when Gojo-sensei came to see me. He asked me to watch over you, so I had to put on this act.”

“Act?” Yuuji, intrigued, crossed his legs and sat upright.

“Instead of allowing a different executioner or having all information about you being hidden, I decided this work-around with me as your executioner was best. But the higher-ups at Jujutsu Headquarters aren’t dumb, so to approve me as such, I had to enter a binding vow to ‘kill’ you. So, I did. Sorry about that.”

“Then why am I still alive?”

“Because of Reverse Cursed Technique. At the same time your heart stopped, I instantaneously healed you. I’ve never tried it before, so I’m glad it worked!

“Still, this is the second time your death has been staged. Given the circumstances, people might find out soon. But, for a time, your death sentence will be considered complete. You’re safe.”
Yuuji, struggling to trust yet another person who had attempted to kill him, asked, “Why are you doing all this?”
“Because you’re important to people who are important to me,” came Okkotsu’s simple answer. “And… I understand what it’s like to bear a power you can’t handle. You aren’t to blame for what happened in Shibuya.”

“You don’t understand.” The boy frowned. “It isn’t about whether it’s my fault. I–”

“Yuuji.”

Yuuji’s head spun around at five times a normal speed— even for him. “Megumi,” he gasped, both in relief and in anguish.

“What are you doing?” Megumi approached him, his eyebrows pinching together. “Let’s head back to Jujutsu High. The barrier around the school is loosening. As long as no one directly sees your face, it should be no problem for you to go back. We’ll rejoin the older students and–”

“Stop!” Yuuji cut him off, sweat pooling down his temples. The sight of Megumi had brought everything back to him. “Don’t act like everything is normal, like nothing happened!”
He trembled, and Sukuna was once again reminded of the fact that, where forgiveness was easily given to others, it was not so when it pertained to himself. 

“I killed people!” Yuuji shouted, as if the events of Shibuya had simply slipped Megumi’s mind. “Because of me, so many people died!”

“It’s our fault,” Megumi snapped. “Don’t be selfish and give up all alone.”

Yuuji froze, starstruck as if he’d expected the other to suddenly despise him. Truly, it was beyond Sukuna how the two hadn’t figured out their feelings for one another yet. 

Megumi sighed. “We aren’t heroes fighting for justice. We’re Jujutsu sorcerers,” he reminded the other. “No one can say who and what we are, nor can they judge us. So we must continually prove the worth of our existence. And we don’t have the luxury of thinking about ourselves. We’ve just got to save people. Wasn’t that the principle behind your actions? Behind becoming a sorcerer?”

In his mind, and the boy sure thought loudly when he was in an emotional state, Sukuna could hear him think: No, Megumi. It’s because, as long as I’m around, you will suffer!

The curse at Yuuji’s old school, the detention center, the Yasohachi Bridge, Shibuya– all of it flooded through his vessel’s brain. Regret. Remorse. Helplessness.

But just as quickly as Yuuji had sunk, Megumi dove in and brought him back to the surface.

“So start by saving me, Yuuji,” he said. Despite everything Yuuji had caused, Megumi still had faith in him. Perhaps that was the benefit of wearing one’s heart on their sleeve. The Ten Shadows user continued, “Noritoshi Kamo has made plans for those involved with Jujutsu to face off in a culling game. My sister, Tsumiki, is ensnared in that. So, please, Yuuji. I’ll beg if I have to, but… I need your strength.”

Such a blatant cry for help, and coming from Megumi himself?

As if the brat could ever say no to that. 

Yuuji stood up and, with renewed vigor, addressed him. “What should I do?

Megumi explained the plan, which boiled down to contacting Tengen– something Sukuna was, admittedly, not looking forward to. Other than Uraume, there were few people from the Heian era he wished to see again.

“Sorry, Megumi,” Yuuji said, when the plan had been laid out. “I have to ask: what happened to Kugisaki?”

The other boy was quiet, his eyes drifting from one spot on the floor to the other. “It’s… complicated.”

Yuuji squeezed his fists, biting his lip. “Oh, I get it. I–”

“Young master!” Uraume, who was approaching the group with Choso close behind, surged forward. They reached Yuuji’s side, looking him over top to bottom and frowning at the tear in his shirt. “I apologize sincerely for my failure to ensure your safety.”

They were about to drop into a bow when Yuuji caught them, giving an awkward laugh. “It’s fine! I’m fine.”
“Of course, but Master Sukuna has such a fondness for you I would never wish to–”

“It’s fine!” Yuuji waved his hands about in a nervous manner, flushing a deep shade of scarlet.

Sukuna scoffed. Fondness? Uraume must not be seeing things properly. 

The boy looked over Uraume’s shoulder to find his brother. “Choso, hey, when did you guys get here?”

“We followed Okkotsu after he explained himself,” replied Choso. Uraume glared at the name; certainly, they weren’t pleased about his having murdered Yuuji, even if not completely. “About that concealing barrier of Tengen’s… There may be a way past it.”

“Oh?” Okkotsu prompted eagerly. Apparently, between the time Yuuji had been comatose, the three of them had gotten acquainted with one another. Megumi, on the other hand, didn’t seem all too pleased with Yuuji’s new companions. “What do you mean?”

“Mahito once stole Sukuna’s fingers and the Death Painting Wombs, right?” Choso elaborated. “We can do the same thing.”

As they were headed down to the basement beneath Jujutsu High’s main floor, Yuuji slowed his step to match Uraume’s.

“Uraume– uh– san,” he fumbled for the correct honorific. “Back there, why did you call me ‘young master?’”

They glanced at him, then at the others before them, and leaned closer to him, quietly explaining, “You are my master’s next of kin. He has claimed you as his own, thus you are under his wing, so-to-speak. What else am I to call you?”

“Uh, my name?”

Uraume wrinkled their nose. 

Sukuna snickered. 

In the basement where Yuuji had once spent an entire month was Tsukumo and the Zen’in girl with the Heavenly Restriction, though her appearance had changed significantly since their last meeting. Her hair was shorter, her glasses different, and there were burn marks all over her body.

But Sukuna didn’t really care all that much. 

Yuuji and his group relayed the information to the others, including how they planned on bypassing Tengen’s barrier— essentially, they were to utilize Choso’s technique to locate the remains of his brothers locked inside. With all that settled, Maki turned to Yuuji. 

“Who are those two?” She pointed to Uraume and Choso.

“They’re Sukuna’s servant from the Heian era, but they’re working with me, so consider them an ally,” Yuuji gestured to Uraume. Regarding Choso, he said, “And he… For now, think of him as my older brother.”

Ah, it seemed the title had at last been earned. 

This all mattered little to everyone else, but to Choso, it was enough to make him call out Yuuji’s name in adoration whilst practically holding back tears.

A strange bunch they all were.

But, well, it was as Yuuji had said: Sukuna was fairly strange himself.

Thanks to Choso, they located the gate where Tengen laid. Her shrine, if one could call it that, was an empty and endless vortex of white, devoid of color but bursting with light. For a moment, Tsukumo thought Tengen had rejected them.

But her voice carried over resolutely.

“Child of the Zen’in, Michizane’s descendant, Death Painting Womb, and Sukuna’s vessel…” She called their names out one-by-one. 

“You gonna say hello to me too, Tengen?” Tsukumo asked. 

“This is not the first time we’ve met, Yuki Tsukumo. Nor is it for you, Uraume.” 

Uraume narrowed their eyes at her. 

“Why did you close off the tombs of the Star Corridor?” Tsukumo asked.

“I was afraid you might be in alignment with Kenjaku.” She pivoted her attention to where Uraume and Yuuji were standing. “I am most surprised you are not, Uraume.”

“Their goals contest with my master’s, that is all,” Uraume responded, though there was an edge to their voice. Even in the Heian era, Tengen had always been unnervingly perceptive, always extracting things from the least suspecting. She almost resembled Kenjaku in that way. 

“Is that so?” She smiled and looked at Yuuji. “Has the little one charmed you, Sukuna?”

What a blessing it was that Yuuji did not understand what was meant by those words. 

That made it twice today that somehow had pointed out his relationship to his nephew. Sukuna could only hope she did not know of that particularity of their connection to one another.

“No matter. After all, I cannot see into the human heart.”

“Master Tengen,” Yuuji piped in. “Why do you look like that?”

Inside his domain, Sukuna cackled. The brat sure had guts.

Tengen merely smiled once more, her four eyes crinkling into crescents. “Indeed you are charming, young one. I may be immortal, but I’m not immune to aging. After five-hundred years, you too would look like this.”

“For real?” The boy breathed in awe.

“ Don’t indulge her,” Sukuna reprimanded.

Wait, Master Tengen is a woman!? Yuuji’s mental reply came bouncing back. 

“Eleven years ago, after failing to merge with a Star Plasma Vessel,” Tengen continued, “My aging accelerated and my self-awareness as an individual diminished. The very world became myself.”

“And that’s why your ‘voice’ doesn’t proliferate,” Tsukumo commented.

Megumi raised a hand. “Excuse me, but…”

Okkotsu took over for him. “We came to ask about Kenjaku’s objectives, and how to open the Prison Realm. Will you tell us what you know?”

“I wish I could simply say yes, but there is one condition. Yuta Okkotsu, Yuki Tsukumo, Uraume, and the Death Painting Womb: two of you must remain here to serve as my guards.”

“Guards? Aren’t you immortal?” Okkotsu questioned. 

From beside him, Maki offered, “Are you worried about the seal?”

“No fair!” Tsukumo whined. “You haven’t even told us why or for how long we’d stay here?”

“So then, shall I speak of Kenjaku?” Tengen explained the curse user’s goal, and it was worse than Sukuna had anticipated. They wanted to expedite the evolution of mankind by merging them with Tengen.

An insane desire to have.

Even more insane was how close they were to achieving it. 

Successfully angered, Yuuji asked, “Why would Kenjaku do that?”

“I do not know,” answered Tengen. “As I said, I cannot read the human heart.”

“So, why don’t you just refuse to merge?” Maki wondered.

“That is the problem. Now that I have evolved, I am more cursed-spirit than human. Which makes me susceptible to Cursed-Spirit Manipulation.”

The air intensified dramatically. 

“Considering Kenjaku’s ability as a sorcerer, they may be able to seize me the moment we encounter each other. That is why my main body is rejecting everything at the tombs of the Star Corridor.”

“And the reason you want guards, right?” Added Okkotsu. 

“Correct.”

Megumi cut in, “So why is the culling game happening?”

“Think of it like the breaking in of the body prior to merging. It is not impossible to merge with someone other than a Star Plasma Vessel, but it is highly unlikely and would be incomplete at present. The culling game uses the players’ cursed energy and the boundaries binding barriers in a ritual for conveying the human beings of this country to the other side. Through that custom, he will begin merging with me.

“Kenjaku has set up many binding vows to perform this ritual. One of which states that they are not the game master, though this does not aid you. On the contrary, it means that even if you kill them, the game will continue— nothing can interrupt it.”

“Which means…” Megumi gritted his teeth.

Once more, Okkotsu continued for him. “We have no choice but to participate in the culling game and add a rule whereby Tsumiki and other unwilling players can get out.”

“We should also free Gojo-sensei. That guy could settle everything on his own.”

At this, Yuuji turned to Tengen. “Master Tengen, could you…”

“First, decide who stays.”

Irked when eyes flew back to them, Uraume shifted closer to Yuuji, staunchly proclaiming their decision. 

Luckily, both Choso and Tsukumo chose to stay. 

“Yuuji, you will need Uraume and Okkotsu’s help, especially if Noritoshi— if Kenjaku comes here for Tengen. Ending their life means salvation for my little brothers, so I will stay.”

“And I’m not done talking to Tengen,” added Tsukumo, who received a word of appreciation from Okkotsu for taking his place.

“Thank you,” Tengen said, then fished something out of one of her gateways. “This is necessary for freeing Gojo Satoru.”

It was a cube of similar shape to the Prison Realm. However, in place of the many eyes was a line across one of its sides, sutured up with stitches. 

“It is the ‘back’ of the Prison Realm,” she explained.

“You mean like a back gate?” Yuuji asked.

“Yes, that is right. Satoru Gojo is also sealed in this one.”

“Then, if we open it, we can—“

“No, the authority to open the gate rests with Kenjaku alone. Breaking it up would require either the Inverted Spear of Heaven that nullifies cursed techniques, or the Black Rope that disrupts and cancels cursed techniques. Both of which have been destroyed by Satoru Gojo.”

Yuuji and Megumi groaned simultaneously.

“But there is a way, right?” Tsukumo said.

Tengen inclined her head. “Indeed. Among the culling game players is a sorcerer from a thousand years ago who calls herself an angel. Her cursed technique can extinguish any other cursed technique it reaches.”

Another Heian era figure? Sukuna rolled his eyes.

Well, no matter. 

The brat was getting stronger, and he did well fighting alongside others. This would all work out fine.

Sukuna was sure of it.

With the rules of the game understood, each person was delegated their own role. Maki was to return to the Zen’in clan to retrieve weapons, Yuta was to join the game forthwith to gather information, and as for Yuuji and Megumi, they were to collect the suspended third-year as an ally.

Uraume, of course, was to tag along. No one contested nor agreed to this. 

They were saying their goodbyes when Yuuji called out to Choso. 

“Thank you,” the boy told him. “I appreciate it— this, and everything else.”

“Don’t die, okay?” Choso’s attempt at nonchalance was butchered by his immediate ducking away to hide the tears falling down his face.

Sukuna huffed.

Definitely Yuuji’s brother.

“Oh, Uraume-san!” The boy pivoted, heading down with the others to exit Tengen’s shrine. “How do you and Master Tengen know each other?”

“You do not wish to ask Master Sukuna?”

Yuuji squirmed. “He got really mad when she addressed him, so I figured I probably shouldn’t. Oh, what did she mean by that, by the way?”

Immediately, Sukuna manifested an eye and mouth on his vessel’s cheek. “Do. Not.”

Uraume poorly attempted to hide their chuckle behind a fist. “If you do not already know, young master, it should be apparent now.”

“What? But I still don’t get it!”

Uraume didn’t even try to hide their laugh this time. 

Later on, in a brief moment of peace before they headed out on their mission, Yuuji spoke to Megumi properly.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said. “I am actually happy to see you. You were really hurt back there, I wasn’t sure...”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Megumi replied. 

They walked in silence.

“Just.” Megumi sucked in a breath between closed teeth. “Quit being so reckless. And so hard on yourself, at that. You don’t have to save everyone– don’t put that on yourself. You’ll never be satisfied. Just a few is enough. Even just one.”

“Just one?” 

“Mm.”  

“Then…” Yuuji looked the other in the eye, his gaze steely and resolute. “I’ll be sure to make that one count.”

Megumi huffed. “I’m sure. But, knowing you, that one will turn into a dozen, then a hundred, then you’ll be upset at yourself because you didn’t save a thousand.”

“Well, that’s what I have you for, isn’t it?”

Megumi lightly smacked Yuuji on the backside of the head, but he was smiling something too soft for the action to hold any austerity. 

“Idiot,” he said, with all the care and pining in the world. To make matters worse, Yuuji caught the hand that had hit him, and the two found themselves caught in a spiraling whirlpool of each other wherein time itself seemed to slow to make space for their incessant, unexpressed yearning. 

Sukuna blanched. Gross. 

“Young master, I– Oh.” Uraume entered the room, carrying the undershirt they had insisted upon mending for Yuuji, and paused at the sight of the two– who were fully engaged in holding hands and standing millimeters away from each others’ faces to notice their approach. “I apologize. I wasn’t aware you were courting–”

“We are not courting!” Yuuji and Megumi shouted in unison, their cheeks and ears burning a hot red. 

Almost as an afterthought, Yuuji dropped the other boy’s hand.

“There is no need to be ashamed. Although, I do wonder what Master Sukuna thinks about this…” 

“No, wait, I can explain–!”

“I’m leaving.”

“Meg– Fushiguro! Wait, c’mon, it was just a bad time to suddenly walk in! I mean, not bad, but out of context, you know!”

“Not helping!”