Jujutsu Kaisen: Miura and the Twisted Curse (I)

by MiuraChronicler

"Let's make a binding vow. If you lend me your strength, my powers, allegiance and whatever ounce of my protection I can give, will be yours," she said. Gojo lifted her face to align his sapphire eyes at her and grinned, "My strength, my heart, everything, it's all yours. Vow or no vow. All I want, is you." #GojoxOC #fluff (Canon-Divergent, Hidden Inventory Retelling)

12. Existence, Living and Premature Death

Existence, Living and Premature Death

---

SUMMARY: Their time with the Star Plasma Vessel is drawing to a close.

The special grades begin to deal with the aftermath of the bloody ordeal by finding comfort in each other's company.

---

Word of the boy with the Six-eyes kept on spreading like he was some kind of celebrity in the Jujutsu realm that even the sorcerer killer, then Zenin clan member, took to a curiosity and visited him. He decided to be discrete, leaving his usual casual garb for a traditional two-layered kimono with muted shades, just so he could blend in with the subjects of the Gojo household. Not that what he wore mattered, as someone who practically had no recognizable power emanating from him, he could easily pass as a civilian. His family treated him like a nobody anyway, it wasn't difficult to stay hidden.

Toji was careful not to make any sound as he placed one foot in front of the other, staying at a safe distance so that not even their shadows would touch, of course, not a minute had passed since a breath had escaped him and there he was, gawking with probing eyes at the adult who observed him from afar. The kid's eyes were like a vortex, skies and seas seemingly trapped inside his eyes, hooded under the umbrella of his pale lashes, looking through the older man like he was tracing every detail of his being.

It was the first and last time anyone was aware of my presence when I was standing behind them.

It was quite an experience for Toji, he had never felt more exposed and vulnerable in front of a kid, for a moment he felt unencumbered, drawing a step back at the kid's discovery of his existence but then after, all he felt was challenged.

So this time, he was sure to return that favor and allow the grown-up version of the kid with the curious eyes to feel the same way. Then again, fox girl, under the veil, felt his presence almost immediately too. Perhaps it was the coincidental celestial binding of their births under one moon that allowed such ability or maybe it was just a mere chance.

Nevertheless, the sorcerer killer's plans were going along smoothly as he had hoped. So far anyway.

The lady with the maid's apron and dress was already shielding her frightened mistress away from the assassin, looking intently at the boy beside her as if to catch some sort of signal for their next move.

"SATORU!" Suguru didn't waste time and summoned a colossal caterpillar-like curse to devour the man who had stabbed his friend, successfully trapping it in its belly.

The white-haired boy raised his arm, fingers abducted towards his friend in the ponytail, teeth showing as he formed a wide curved in his mouth, "It's fine!" he said, pointing towards the now non-existent blade that once pierced through his chest, "I didn't cast my technique in time but no vital organs were hit, kinda like a needle through a sweater," he gave out a shorter cackle as he wiped the tip of his nose, making the other three exhale in relief.

He went to his partner's side and dusted the front of his chest where the blade had made an opening, "Amanai is the priority, leave the rest to me and take her to Master Tengen quickly,"

Suguru's cursed spirit began to vibrate and writhe in pain. Suguru was already drawing close to the two ladies he would lead to Tengen's. Browse weaved and mouth clenched, he warned his friend with his striking purple eyes, "Don't let your guard down," he said under his breath as the three of them began running.

Gojo's right thumb and index finger clawed on the middle of his glasses, removing it quickly and tucking it safely inside his breast pocket, "Who do ya think you're talking to?" he yelled back.

Whoosh!

Cutting away at its guts to provide himself with an exit, Toji had emerged from the beast. Blood and grime had splattered around his whole form, but there he was, with a different blade and what was even more peculiar was that parasitic creature that wound around torso-a cursed spirit made its entrance. He gave Gojo a sinister grin as the young boy began to wonder what else could the assassin be hiding.

"Damn it! Where'd the vessel go? I hoped to kill you with that strike," he said in a low tone, almost giving his opponent a sarcastic smile, "Must be getting rusty,"

Gojo feigned a small beam. Beads of sweat had been decorating his entire head as he tried to make up a plan that could render the man in front of him incapacitated. Despite the disparity in their status as sorcerer to non-sorcerer, this man could not be afforded to have guards down, "The bounty's been lifted, you idiot,"

Toji shrugged, blade in hand and cursed spirit resting on the side of his shoulder, he laughed and elevated his chin, "To gain an advantage over guys like you, I had to create an illusion that things were going your own way. I was the one who took it down, hotshot. Too bad none of the other sorcerers with you died but it would have been a different story if there was no time limit on the bounty, you probably wouldn't have stopped your technique until the end,"

Gojo clicked his tongue but combined his frustration by secretly building up cursed energy within his fingertips. Before another word came out from the assassin, he had sent a wave of his curse towards him. But rather than be too fazed by Gojo's display of power, he merely dodged it.

The cyan-eyed boy's expression deepened in aggravation. He knew that there was something peculiar about his opponent. He realized that he had zero cursed energy which meant that he was using his innate physical prowess to overcome the sorcerers he had encountered.

Gojo kept on using his technique nonetheless, trying to test the limits of the non-curse user but as he had deduced, Toji was too well aware about his cursed technique. The great disadvantage about coming from a legacy family was that specifics of innate techniques were practically made public, leaving Satoru to a state of wary. He had to be more strategic.

Toji had been trying to avoid his attacks by using the available hiding areas around him. He was an expert in cloaking after all and this made it increasingly difficult to read his movement having no cursed-energy to sense. Gojo opted to concentrate on sensing the cursed spirit attached to him instead, but he was quite cunning.

Got no choice!

Satoru changed his stance, raising both of his hands to align with each other, to draw in his cursed energy. Blue blaze was streaming into an eclipse inside the confines of his hands, bright light reflected on his eyes as he positioned himself in front of the establishments to eliminate any possible hindrances, he spoke, "Cursed technique, lapse, BLUE!"

The impact was strong enough to practically erase the scenery in front of him that as soon as his technique lapsed, he could easily pin-point the man he needed to eliminate only to reveal a forest beyond where Toji hid. But what had followed his blow was a growing buzzing sound emerging in the form of a moderate sized winged-creatures flocking over their area.

"FLY-HEADS?" Gojo said, troubled.

Toji was tactical. In whatever way he had managed to release those curses, he made a way to distribute Gojo's concentration of curse-energy identification against his own cursed-spirit so the fly-heads could cloud over him. He took a moment to consider using his technique again, this time to finally finish off the assassin, problem was, he still couldn't find him and more so, he wasn't after Gojo, he was after -

Amanai-

Toji had stealthily made his way behind Gojo, crouching low enough so he could angulate himself for his next move. He had planned things very well. Knowing that Gojo could detect the cursed energy from the enchanted spear as he drew close, he only wielded it at that very moment he could strike. His fingers wound around the hilt of the short, trident-like cursed tool he had acquired from the Miura armory for this very reason-a weapon fit enough to destroy the most powerful of sorcerers, the Inverted Spear of Heaven.

A blade whose effect is the forced stoppage of a cursed technique.

A blade now plunge through the neck of Gojo Satoru.

Time stopped ticking at that very moment, Gojo couldn't feel anything, not even pain, all that was left was a void…and a glowing object winding itself around his wrist and lastly a memory-a vision of red eyes and pale hands, an image keeping him in a state of awakened trance and then there was a tug on his chest, a burning sensation now triggering his continuous resistance to fall into a slumber.

As the blade continued to pierce through his vocal chords, he could only plead in silence, "I can't die…I promised,"

Toji wasn't done. Gojo's weak hands were trembling, struggling to wrap around the taller man's wrist only to have Toji smile menacingly as he unsheathed the blade from his throat and direct it towards Satoru's forehead, orchestrating a gruesome sound of flesh and bone being ripped, draining the life from his eyes, as he watched the bloodied face fall to the ground in a grotesque display of a massacre.

The boy with the six-eyes had been defeated.

---

"This is as far as I go my lady," Kuroi had broken into a 30 degree bow, placing her hands in front of her, laced together to keep her nerves intact. She looked quite solemn in front of the middle-schooler. Since the day they had met, she had prepared herself to detach from the girl she brought up when the time came for the merger. It proved to be a more difficult task than having to protect her from curses and assassins. It was too soon.

Riko Amanai ran towards her caretaker, tightly winding her hands around the older woman, allowing a waterfall of her tears to wet her entire face as she whimpered, "KUROI! I love you!" she squeezed her more, "Always, now and forever!" she proclaimed, making Kuroi sob and speak in muffled reciprocation over the child she treated like her daughter.

Getou had allowed them only a few moments to bid their goodbyes but it was all they needed. A moment to air out no regrets and careful engraving of their last moments together. A quiet kind of justice for a greater sacrifice that awaited her in Tengen's domain.

Suguru couldn't help but pity the young girl who greatly mirrored his friend back in Tokyo. Having been assigned as the ferrier of her death carriage, he didn't take comfort in the fact that his mission was drawing to a close.

The girl with the headband scanned the large main hall towards Tenge's star room. It looked like it was a whole city built literally from the catacombs, "This is…" she spoke in puzzlement, walking beside the taller and older boy.

"Yes, we are very close. This is the base of the country's primary barriers," Suguru pointed towards the staircase, "Go down the stairs and pass the gate, then head towards the base of that huge tree. The barrier is different from the school's so only those who are invited may enter," he watched as Riko's eyes flocked down but he continued, "You'll be protected by Tengen until the merger…" his voice trailed off, sadness making its way to invade their space.

Amanai was already slowly pacing towards the stairs. Her eyes, hooded and heart thumping in fast but steady beats. Images of her short life slowly becoming a cinematic interweaving of the days that had passed by. She was scared but ultimately, she was ready.

But her lamentation was cut short by Suguru's voice coming from behind, "…Or you can turn back and return home with Kuroi," his words actually left his mouth faster than he expected. For a minute, he had wondered if these were the very words that Sachiko had heard just before she was offered up as the vessel. The same words that had saved her from an untimely sacrifice.

Amanai doubled back, slowly and stiffly turning to face the fervent expression that Getou had plastered on his face, "What?" she croaked.

Suguru raised his chin a little and took a breath, "When we were assigned this mission by our teacher, he referred to the merger as an erasure. We sensed that he trying to hint something at us and so we took it upon ourselves to interpret." He turned to her now, purple eyes softening as the younger girl, gazed at him with water swirling in her eyes, "Satoru and I came to a decision before we met you. If the kid refuses the merger, then, we call it off,"

Amanai's eyes widened, lips twitching as she tried to hold off from crying, she stood there, like a statue, trying her best to process the words that Suguru's voice delivered.

Suguru scoffed, "No matter what you choose, we promise to protect your future,"

Getou could hear Satoru's voice echo his statement. Their decision was a gamble but someone before them, their predecessors had placed the same bet and because of that, the girl with the crimson eyes, their precious friend, lived long enough to meet them. Perhaps, she could be given the same chance to create and maintain her own circle if she chose correctly.

Riko clutched her heart, allowing the pool of her overwhelming emotions to spread as she contemplated on her life, "I-ever since I was born, I was told that I was different-special. To me, that was normal. I was protected because of that. I survived because of that. Since my parents death, I felt like my solitude and sadness went with them," she sniffled now and continued to stammer through her reflection, "So I thought-with the merger, everything will be okay. With it, my pain would pass and everything I've been feeling would disappear…"

Getou blinked a number of times, staying silent as he listened in on her sentiments. He was seeing two people, a young Amanai and beside her, an image of the younger version of his friend identically projecting the same sentiments. Sachiko told them that she initially felt the same way-empty. But when kindness was willingly handed to her, she finally showed her true self. Her fragility was actually what sparked hope within Suguru and this was the same wish he had for the kid.

Amanai rolled her hands into a ball and continued weeping, raising her voice to confess her desire for freedom, "B-But now, I want to go to more places and see more things with everyone! I want to stay with everyone a bit longer!"

Suguru couldn't help but etch a sympathetic expression, brows angled slightly, smile creeping up his face. She chose to be given a second chance-to live. And seeing as how he was still there, in good condition, holding out his hand for her to take and allow him to escort her to safety, he felt that perhaps, this ordeal could be a good precedent to the one he wanted to fulfill.

Perhaps as he and Satoru had helped Amanai bring back hope in her life, there may be a chance that they could rekindle that in themselves to save the other girl with the braids at home.

"Riko, let's go home-"

BANG!

"Yeah-" Riko had managed to speak her last words to Getou in a rather happy manner. What was unnerving was that not a few seconds later, his clothes were covered in her blood. A loud thud followed as Amanai lay lifeless on her side, decorating the stai case with more of the crimson that left her body.

"Riko…?" Suguru's mouth twitch as he stood in disbelief, processing what had just happened..

Getou quickly turned to the direction of the cocking of a gun, Toji, had appeared from the middle of the tunnel, in prime condition, a curseless object in his right hand, the same one that was one bullet short from the case as it now plunged through the poor girl.

With crazed purple eyes widened at the muscular figure, he spoke in broken thoughts, "How…here?"

Toji smirked and rested the body of the gun on his temple, "Good show, now, time to wrap things up. As to how," he cackled through his teeth and continued, "I killed Gojo Satoru,"

Suguru lifted his cursed embedded arms and jutted jaw, "I see," he began as he summoned a number of his cursed spirits out which included a large dragon and a cursed maiden, among taken form the roster of his strongest captures, his rage increasing as seconds passed, "THEN DIE!"

The man with no cursed energy proved to be a force to be reckoned with. His natural strength was unparalleled. He was deflecting the cursed spirits like any other foe and the questions that lingered in Suguru's head become quite evident in his questioning look that Toji took it upon himself to reveal his advantage. The cursed spirit he had carried had the ability to shrink in size but worked like a bottomless pit of storage for his weapons. By encasing itself within Toji's body, its become undetectable like his master, allowing him to walk inside the temple tunnels without having to alert anyone.

"An invisible man has to have invisible guts," he mused.

Suguru was further enraged by the fact that the slayer informed him that Kuroi had been eliminated as well. Sending him into a flurry as he directed the dragon to attack with the intent to kill his opponent, but Toji merely embraced his attempt and swung his blade at the heavenly creature and cut it open, making the curse manipulator grin his teeth but he was quick to activate the other spirit to encase the man with the lip-scar, using her as a sacrifice so he could get closer to him and attack.

But this was a failed calculation. A decision made too fast without proper assessment of his opponent but in that moment all he had to do was eliminate the weapons cache wrapped around his body. Even as Suguru had successfully come at good distance to discard of the cursed spirit, he found his hand being deflected by the worm-like thing effortlessly.

Before he could retaliate and focus instead on its master, the spirit was already spitting out a new weapon from its mouth. Toji's was too fast that Suguru didn't even catch Toji's movement until he felt sharp slashes being painted across his chest, impact so brusque and precise that Suguru rolled on the floor, bloodied and semi-conscious a few feet away from the sorcerer.

Toji's mouth widened in satisfaction, "I would've killed' ya if you had been a shikigami user but I dunno what'll happen with the curses you've taken in if you die," he feigned a sigh, "I'd rather avoid the trouble for now," he knelt beside the injured boy and hit is head with the end of his blade to ensure his safety, "Be sure to thank your parents,"

The sorcerer slayer took a moment to take in the horrifying image that was of his own doing, mentally counting the bodies he had left lifeless to get to this state, "You guys will all your blessed talents lost to a monkey like me who can't even use jujutsu. Thank your parents for that. Don't you dare forget that if you guys wanna live long,"

He shoved the heavenly blade inside of the monster's mouth and began walking to where he had left Amanai's body but just as he was about to collect her, a random thought had interrupted his mission.

His expression unravelled into an unfocused gaze, "Oh, I remember now…" he scoffed in between his nostalgia, "Megumi. The name means blessing. And I'm the one who gave him that name," he walked proudly now, chin raised at the random recollection.

Suguru's hands began to twitch, signaling his need to hurry with his escape. Scooping up Amanai with one arm, allowing the monster to carry her body for him, he left.

It wasn't long until he dropped off the star plasma vessel's corpse at the house of the Children of the Star to collect his bounty. The representative wasn't the least bit disturbed at the morbid picture in front him and simply thanked the sorcerer slayer. He didn't care much for the speech that followed. All that shit about their monotheism and their desire to keep Tengen pure wasn't any of his concern. All he wanted was his money. Whatever shitstorm the sorcerers and non-curse users had in plan could remain in the confines of their own personal hell.

---

Laying on the ground defeated, Suguru recounted on his heated conversation with Satoru about protecting the weaker ones and the real purpose of being a sorcerer.

Sparring without restraint was nothing new when it came to such exchanges, after all, they would often times or at least eventually concede to keeping an open mind.

As serious as their prompt had been, Suguru decided that there was another thing that he had to bring up, especially since they didn't know what was going to happen in the next few days.

The both of them were on their backs, panting and groveling under the sun in the open walkway of their campus. Suguru took deep breath and hoisted himself up to sit down, hands on his side to keep him balanced, "Hey Satoru, about Sachi…"

Satoru cocked a brow, leaning sideways as he was still splayed like a starfish on the ground, "Yeah?"

Suguru pursed his lip, "Do you think she's weak? Or strong?"

Satoru kicked himself off from lying down and crossed his legs. His eyes remained heavenward, one hand hovering over his eyes to protect himself from the glare, "She's strong…but vulnerable,"

Suguru looked at his friend directly now with an enthused expression, "So, by your logic, she doesn't need help or protection from you? I mean, she's also a sorcerer, a special grade at that,"

The cyan eyed boy clicked his tongue, "I'm not saying I won't protect the strong if they needed it,"

The boy with the ponytail laughed now making the other flinch at his weird questioning, "Okay, I knew you'd say that. She's probably your exception. Even if she didn't ask for your help, you'd give it," he cackled again, seemingly trying to illicit a response from the other boy.

Satoru frowned as he placed both hands behind his head, "Where the hell is this going?"

Suguru snapped his fingers, "See? You're not denying it."

"Denying what?" his voice rose now, eyes squinted at the boy beside him.

Suguru wove his arms together and closed his eyes to focus his line of thought, "I'm having difficulty navigating myself around you when it comes to her,"

Satoru tilted his head and cocked a brow, "Yeah? Why?"

Suguru opened one of his eyes to peek at his friend teasingly, "Because you're probably interested in her as well,"

For a moment, Gojo kept mum. Allowing a few seconds to pass before he shifted his position as he cleared his thoughts. He didn't admit it, but he had the same questions he wanted to ask his best friend. Both of them had good insight in a number of things and apparently teenage attractions was one of them. He was finally caught. His ruse finally being confronted by the person he trusted the most.

Satoru knew that the only way the conversation was going to end was to be honest about it, "I'm not sure," he began, one hand rubbing at his nape, "I'm not even sure how you could tell if that's the case," he gave out a sharp sigh at his awkward admission and clapped his hands together, "But whatever happens, let's not go low enough to walk on needles around each other and be sports about it eh?"

Suguru snickered irking Gojo, "I agree. I'm afraid I can't wait for you to grow up so, you may as well know that I intend to pursue her. But, if you had answered differently and told me that you intend to go after her first, I would've backed out."

His statement made Gojo laugh hard. One hand over his tummy, the other slapping hard at the flapping up and down his side, "Is that so?" he beamed with both brows raised, "How generous!"

Suguru grinned, "You're actually quite clueless, aren't you? There's a reason why I intended to give you a leeway but now as we speak, I take it back."

Satoru began to stand now, making his friend follow suit. Turning towards each other, they bared their teeth.

Satoru repositioned his dark-rimmed glasses and held out his hand, "I don't like losing," he professed.

Without having to say anything more, Suguru had understood what his childhood friend meant beyond the words he had voiced out. No matter what they disagreed on or if any of them ever ended up proving a point at the expense of another's pride, they would always be comrades.

Brothers.

Suguru clasped his hand around Satoru, and both gripped into a solid shake, "You and me, my friend," he said.

Suguru's eyes fluttered open, welcoming a blur that slowly formed the walls of the crypt. He began to feel cold and damp, probably from the blood that had scurried itself out of his system. His fingers began to twitch, slowly scraping into the pavement to grab onto something he could use to pull himself up. The pain was excruciating, the blade was too sharp, and he was sure that even as he healed, he would most likely live with a brand across his chest.

The silence made him realize that he had failed in securing Amanai's safety that his hand, now tainted red with dried blood, covered the half of his face to bury his frustration. Riko was basically Sachiko's stand-in and he had repeatedly told himself that should he fail, it would mean that a grim future awaits Sachiko. Which is why, he had tried his best and he still needed to keep on trying.

Forcing himself up on his feet, with an arm pressed around his bleeding abdomen, he stomped in haste to get himself treated before resuming his mission. If he were to do anything else and barge in at this state, it would be all for nothing. He needed to increase the odds of his survival-and his chance to get revenge.

His free hand was plastered on the wall, allowing himself some sort of balance as he made his way out. At his periphery, he saw the glinting light of red that wound around the hand that kept him poised to stand.

Sachi…

His hand keeping the blood from leaving his body momentarily left its place to trace around the string, briefly contemplating about activating it just for his desire to see her but instead, he cursed under his breath and took a step forward, "Stay safe and wait for me. We're coming back…"

---

Toji couldn't stand another minute inside the base of the fanatics that he just excused himself out of their main halls. His cursed spirit was still wound around his bodice as he walked but he didn't have any use for his weapons anymore. Until, he found his way out blocked by a familiar figure, standing, bloodied, and tattered in all of his form, white hair unruly and decorated with specs of his dried blood, his cyan eyes stained with dirt and crimson, targeting Toji's own green oculars and locking him into his hypnotic gaze.

Gojo opened his mouth, a Cheshire smile spreading at his face, "YO! Long time no see!"

Toji's face turned to the source, his muscles tensing at the sight of the dead boy risen from the crutches of his death, "For real?"

Gojo's hand parted the hair that covered the side of his forehead where Toji's knife dug deep to reveal a small scar as its remnant, "For real. Real. I feel like new," his smile widened, sending Toji an unwelcome thrill.

Toji gritted his teeth, "Reverse cursed technique!"

Gojo laughed and snapped his fingers, "CORRECT!" he continued blabbing about how he didn't fight back after he got stabbed in the throat and instead pooled all of his cursed energy to reverse its effects, "You lost. You should've cut my head off. And you didn't use that cursed tool when you stabbed me in the head," he was taunting him now, effectively making Toji unsheathe his sword from his cursed spirit.

Shifting his stance and wiping the raw discontent on his face, the sorcerer killer spoke, "The battle is just beginning,"

Gojo felt himself shake as he regurgitated a horrid laugh that made even Toji, uncomfortable, "WHAT?" Maybe you're right! You're so right!"

Toji finally leapt towards the special grade boy, hacking at him with the cursed spear only to experience how flawlessly Satoru had evaded each attempt to harm him.

Finally, the boy with the six-eyes found a safe distance to activate his technique. As someone whose innate technique revolves around time and space, he found himself floating as he positioned his hands into a benediction, "The positive energy born from reverse cursed technique, flows into the limitless cursed technique carved into me," his cyan eyes glowed two shades lighter now as a haze of crimson overlapped his fingers, "Red!"

His cursed energy sent a shockwave towards the man with the curious lip scar, sending him flying and crashing into the wall and within the building he had just left. Blood trickled down the sides of his head, probably signaling an impending concussion at the impact he had received from Gojo's attack. His whole body was shaken, weakened by the rogue force that hit him, but he wouldn't stand down so easily. Unlike the careless boy he had fought earlier, this young sorcerer, was something else, "You're a monster," Toji hissed.

He was still mobile. His technique only rendered him momentarily paralyzed, should he use his other techniques blue or limitless, it shouldn't be much of a problem for the curselessman. He enchained the handle of the heavenly blade and began to swing it in a clockwise motion until he finally decided to release the extensions of his arm towards the boy.

But Gojo didn't feel any alarm. His thoughts were far from the transgressions he had experienced earlier on. He felt kind of guilty that he didn't feel any vengeance nor anger for the sorcerer killer in the kid's stead. All he felt was himself-his power, enhancing and encapsulating his form, body, and soul. The tantalizing energy building up from his core ready to be released.

Right now, it's just that everything feels right.

Gojo lifted his hands and softened his expression, "Throughout heaven and earth," he began pointing towards the crazed man attacking him, "I, alone am the honored one," he released another ball of energy towards Toji but it seemed that he had some luck left in him that he was able to deflect most of its impact. Even as he had the chance to maneuver the chained cursed tool to aim at Satoru's core, the boy with the six-eyes remained composed.

Innate techniques that have been passed through generations have an advantage to users as they have how-to manuals, allowing me to perfect them. Disadvantage is that word gets out about the techniques. For someone to be well versed in them, this guy must be from one of the big sorcerer families. Likely a Zenin.

Satoru etched a wide grin now, But this. Even within the Gojo family, is known only to a few.

Motion and Reversal. It is born by colliding both infinites. An imaginary mass that rushes forth…

Gojo's eyes widened even more, his left hand balled to a fist, the other into a benediction, red and blue pyres of his cursed energy combined to produce a whirl of an even stronger output of his technique.

Hollow technique.

"PURPLE!"

Toji resigned to his fate. His last thoughts finally piecing together the source of so much unease and despair that plagued his life. Everything about the claims of the most powerful sorcerer alive and the Zenin family, all he wanted to do was discredit it. To crush it.

All of the steps he took to find self-reprieve and to deviate from his true self.

From that moment he had decided to tread on that lonely, arduous path, Toji Zenin knew,

I had already lost.

Half of the sorcerer killer's body was already ripped apart from Gojo's technique, leaving him with nothing but mangled pieces of a dying man, barely able to stand and breath comfortably. He could no longer feel the blade he grasped, nor could he feel the excruciating pain of blood and guts falling to the side of his body. He wasn't even sure if could still see correctly.

His vision was not only blurring but he was having a hallucination.

In front of him was a woman with short raven-hair, her eyes were closed, and her cheek pressed on their son's head. She looked serene as she provided warmth to the child peacefully resting in her arms. That child, so small, and so innocent, sleeping safe and sound-a truly blessed creature.

I chose this path, didn't I?, Toji said in silent contemplation.

Gojo Satoru descended from the skies and looked towards his fallen foe. There was no longer rage that could be traced in his features, just fatigue, "So, any last words?" he asked monotonously.

Toji gurgled out blood before replying smugly, "Nope," but before he allowed Gojo to shift his stance, he mustered up enough energy to continue speaking, "In two or three years, my kid will be sold off to the Zenin family," he looked down now and smirked at his defeat, "Do what you will with that information,"

---

"You're late, Suguru," Gojo had already placed a long linen over Amanai's body as lay lifeless in his arms. She didn't weigh heavily but the burden she brought with her was enough to cause him to ache at its extent.

Suguru thought that he saw the ghost of his friend. He looked emotionless, ironically like a vessel of the famed boy with the six-eyes. Suguru couldn't help but feel guilty that he had gone for treatment before going back to the star vessel headquarters but the state he was in, he was glad he did. He needed to be in prime state to escort his friend back to their base. Suguru had to bring back reason inside Satoru's head.

Suguru continued, "I'm sorry I messed up," his eyes caught sight of Riko's limp arm dangling on her sides making him bite his lip in frustration, chest building up with so much regret at his choices but still he had to remain collected. The air inside the room couldn't allow the two of them to breakdown.

Gojo began to walk away from the fanatics that kept on clapping their hands behind them, "Don't worry about it. I'm the one who messed up," he gave out a low sigh.

Suguru jerked his head to the side, purple eyes scanning the room full of smug masks making him more uncomfortable as time passed, "Let's get out of here,"

Gojo's footsteps halted, looking over his shoulder without changing his expression, he turned to his friend, "Suguru," he looked at him owlishly, "Do you want, to kill them all?"

Suguru flinched at his absurd question, momentarily silenced at how calm he rolled out that suggestion, but before he could get a word in, his friend continued,

"Right now, I probably wouldn't feel anything." Satoru's eyes diverted towards the corpse he carried, reflecting on what he should be feeling inside that grim room, but he couldn't understand what exactly whirled within himself. He just felt empty.

It was true, there was no hesitancy nor anger sensed from the white-haired boy. He was eerily calm unlike the troubled curse-manipulator. Suguru with half-lidded eyes, shook his head, "Forget it. It's pointless. The one's in charge are probably gone. Everyone left here are just followers. Because of what happened, they'll disband anyway,"

Satoru's eyes grew heavy, voice turning low, he conceded, "Pointless, huh?" he blinked, "Does there need to be a reason?"

Suguru took another step forward and clenched his fist, trying his best to remain calm as he addressed his disgruntled companion through gritted teeth, "Of course it's important," his voice rose, "Especially as jujutsu sorcerers…"

---

The six-tailed Kitsune felt a little claustrophobic at her holding area. As soon as they were picked up from Okinawa, the higher-ups had ordered the school officials to put her inside the talisman room until her cursed energy balanced itself.

Just like old times.

One of the windows from the safehouse had witnessed how she had shifted into her Kitsune state and was too stunned at how she haplessly clawed out the heart of that summoner. She would never forget her horrified expression. That kind of face would be imprinted forever.

Yaga was on the fence on agreeing to their terms but as soon he saw how much markings were splattered all over her body, how her eyes hardly looked human and how strong her cursed energy filled the room she resided in, he conceded.

Nanami and Haibara were quick to defend their senior, stating that what she did was the only way they could have survived the grade 1 curse-user, still, the raven-haired girl went willingly after getting reassurance that her juniors would get treatment.

4 hours.

That was the period of her sentence. It may have seemed short, but a lot could happen in those 4 hours if it hadn't happened already.

The whole room was nothing, but an empty crypt filled with candles and talismans meant to seal and suppress its inhabitants. Around her pieces of paper were consumed rather slowly but as time passed, her markings lifted one by one.

She didn't mind her stay there. She was used to being encaged but she couldn't help but feel so restless knowing that two of her friends were still out there in danger. It was the day of the merger and heaven knows how much was at stake. Her crimson eyes focused on her hands now. The markings that surfaced when she gave them her red strings left no traces which worried her even more. They didn't call for her yet, but the problem was, if they did, she might not be able to come. She was trapped.

But if you two do, I'll bust myself out of here, one way or another.

She sat in utter silence on the floor, hands tucking in her knees, with her head pressed above her thighs. She was clutching her skirt tightly, fighting off the feeling of helplessness as the moments continued to fleet. She didn't want to think about how she bloodied her hands. Those thoughts would have to be reserved for another time. She didn't regret it. She had saved people because of it.

Sachiko could just hope that the other two wouldn't need saving.

Come back. You promised. You both did.

Sachi was directly connected to those two because of her tails. Even if the strings remained dormant, if the wielders were injured, she would instantly feel its reverberations fire back at her at once.

Again, two possibilities.

One, they were probably on their way back already and didn't need her help.

Or,

They didn't need her help because it was too late.

She never knew what it meant to lose those tied to her. There was nothing in the history books of the Kitsune-borne about what would happen if people who were gifted with the protection charm died before they could use it. She was the first to reach the sixth tail after all, so up until now, the strings were a stuff of legend.

An hour or so had passed, but Sachiko couldn't even tell the exact time inside the dimly lit room. It made her quite reminiscent of her old home-the one she almost engulfed with her flames.

The sinking feeling, she felt that time was similar to what she felt at that very moment-sick, tired and empty. Hugging herself tighter, she let out a long breath before rubbing her eyes, "I can't give up this easily…I can't wallow in my own self-pity, I'm better than that."

Sachiko readied herself to stand now, determined to get out of the prison she was forced into, luckily, before she did anything reckless, the doors had flung open and unlocked, allowing a large cloak of light breach the darkness inside the room.

"SACHI!" Shouko stood with her hands dividing the doors to keep it open. She looked like an enraged mother, holding back her tears as she bit her lip hard to muffle her whimpering. Relief had overwhelmed the reverse-jujutsu trainee. She had not seen her friends for days nor has she heard from anyone them since they arrived in Okinawa. Her best friend finally returned but the person that was described to her wasn't the one she knew. But seeing her now, her outrageously messy long black hair, streaked with silver resting lazily on her shoulders and her fair skin making the crimson pearls of her eyes float was the same person she had grown close to.

She didn't know what the higher-ups were talking about. They described a fiend, not the girl with the kind face. Not her friend.

Shouko stomped across the room and dragged Sachiko out without asking for her permission and the minute the doors closed, the girl with the beauty mark embraced her best friend and allowed the tears to fall while she spat curses at her for making her worry. Sachiko could say that she was sorry for making her worry. Soothing the back of the taller one's head that still reeked of tobacco, to hush her whimpering. Sachiko felt bad that she focused too much on the boys back in Okinawa that she had been too complacent with her protection charm she had left with Ieiri whom she had assumed was safe and far from any of the hunters and while true, she had forgotten to protect her friend from experiencing any emotional injuries as they left for battle.

She looked over Shouko's shoulder, where, her tall, blonde junior, was closing the door to the sealed room with his bandaged hand. She knew right away that it was Nanami who had rescued her this time not just by freeing her from the talisman cage but by bringing along her dear friend to help comfort her. She didn't doubt that he knew how shaken she must've been to end up destroying a man in exchange for his and Haibara's protection. And she just hoped that he knew how sorry she was that she had to witness such a horrible thing.

Her brows weaved ever so slightly at him which was followed by small smile as she nodded as if to show her gratitude towards the familiar prospect.

Nanami nodded as well, his hazel eyes, still but tranquil as he looked back and kept the line in his mouth to a minimal curve. He didn't fear her. He knew who she was. All he felt was worried, for her. Giving them the space that his seniors needed, he slowly turned his back and made his way to his friend, who was also recovering from the Nogitsune's attack. As he exited, he hoped that by the time he would arrive, Yu would be sleeping off his pain and leaving in his sleep whatever trace of shock he had experienced that day.

---

Ieiri's phone kept on ringing, calls for her to return to her post to tend to the wounded from the recent events beckoned her to assist but before she left, she had already given instructions as to where she could find their friends.

"They're fine," Shouko squeezed her friend's shoulders before letting her go, "They've been here for a few hours,"

"Hours? How long was I in there?"

By the slight twitch of Shouko's mouth, Sachi deduced it was probably more than the promised time of her release. It didn't matter now though, they were both back, "Are they okay?" she dared to ask.

Shouko's face sunk, "They're alive but-I dunno, something's off…" she shook her head, "You can go check on them if you want but that white-haired dumbass is still getting patched up at the hospital, so he'll come back a little later. You can visit Suguru first, he's probably in his room,"

Sachiko gulped at her statement; she had another question she wanted to ask but it seemed that her face already asked for her. The picture of wonder and confusion pierced through the brunette, that all she could do was look away, "They didn't-" she said, answering the question regarding their mission if they had succeeded or not instantly making Sachiko even more worried about how they were taking it.

Shouko sighed again, "They're back. That's all that matters. You should go and see them,"

---

Suguru's room was located a floor above Satoru's. Unlike the other boy, his floor was less crowded. A lot of rooms remained vacant and perhaps it was a preference of Suguru's to have some place he could be alone. He was always quite silent rather contemplative and in the small jests that he was comfortable enough to display in front of his friends, he still had an air of mystery around him.

Sachiko's footsteps were audible as she walked across the hallway. A lot of the students were deployed because of the two organizations after the vessel so she found no difficulty making her way towards the last room of the wing. Before she knocked, she remembered how she willingly discarded her bloodied uniform jacket and had resigned to just wearing the white blouse tucked over her skirt. It was better to look like that than a complete mess. Still, she felt the weight of her hair as it swayed to the side. She had lost her ribbon, the one that Suguru had given her when they were at the farm. Twisting her hair to keep them in one place, she straightened her clothes next before knocking,

"Suguru?"

No response.

Is he resting?

She leaned in on the door to check if she could make out any sound to signify his state. True enough, he heard movement from the other side of the door. So, she knocked again, this time, harder,

"Suguru? Are you okay? May I come in?" she tried to steady her voice as much as she could, holding her breath with each second that had passed that he didn't respond.

"It's open, come in," finally hearing his voice took some weight off her chest. He sounded fine but she would need visual proof before she could relax. She slowly turned the knob and inched in her way inside his spacious dorm room, eyes searching for any sign of her friend.

His room was tidier than the other boy's but perhaps it was just because he had few things lying around. He had displayed quite a few of his sketches though as well as photographs. Art materials and books were neatly kept on one corner, but her tall, purple eyed friend with the piercings and long hair was nowhere to be found.

Closing the door behind her, she quickly kicked off her boots and began searching, only to have another door open-his bedroom, fling open with him leaning on one side, making his presence known to her in that awkward position, he kept his chin close to his body and made minimal eye contact. His right arm was hovered over his side in his attempt to contain the pain that he still felt even after receiving treatment, "I'm here," he said trying to project a small smile as her eyes leered over his weakened state.

Sachiko studied his form. He had changed out of his uniform and opted for one of his sweats and navy cotton shirts that were thin enough that she could see bandages wrapped all-over his torso. His hair was also undone, strands dropped to his sides, some tucked behind his pierced ears.

Her forehead creased and lips pressed together thus urging the cursed manipulator to correct his posture to alleviate some of her worries. She took careful steps towards him and tilted her head upwards before looping his arm over her shoulder and guided him back towards his bed.

He was already resting when she came in, but he was too much of a gentleman to turn her away.

Suguru remained propped up on his bed as his visitor took the empty chair beside him. She pursed her lips, "Are you okay? What happened?"

She was still fixated on his injuries, but Suguru couldn't afford to worry her any further. Grabbing the blanket over his legs and pulling it over his abdomen, he forced a large smile, "I assure you, I'm fine," his words weren't as convincing as he had hoped. Sachiko was still frowning, "I'm just a little tired."

She hollowed her cheeks, feeling some guilt form over her as she was indirectly forcing him to tell a tale he'd rather keep to himself from the time-being so instead of probing, she merely blinked and tried to relax her jaw, "Okay, I'm glad you're fine even though-" her eyes flickered over the soaked bandages that was thrown in the wastecan from across the room, "You're really not. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be bothering you like this,"

Suguru shook his head and reached out to touch her arm, just for a moment, to reassure her. She didn't know how comforted Suguru was to see her after the grueling past few days. How happy he was that she was safe. How despite warnings, Suguru was still alive and reunited with her.

Suguru slumped back on the pillows that Sachiko had fluffed for him to keep his back stable. The sides of his mouth quirked up at the presence in front of him. It took him a moment to decipher what was amiss with her but soon found his fingers gently lifting a lock of her hair. It wasn't particularly different from how it looked before they left. There wasn't too much of the silver that surfaced this time, "Do you want me to tie this for you?" his voice was softer now, making her relax her features at his suggestion.

Covering her giggling mouth with the back of her hand she pointed towards his own hair, "I think should be asking you that,"

Her continued graces were enough to lift some of the pain he felt but despite everything, he just couldn't bring himself to really say what was going on in his mind. Until he felt her fingers trail over the unused red charm that wrapped around his wrist, "Why didn't you call for me?"

Suguru tilted his head down as he spoke, "I have lost the star plasma vessel, her caretaker and almost lost my best friend. I couldn't afford to lose another person important to me. I wouldn't be able to protect you at that state," allowing the truth to escape his lips took a lot of energy from whatever was left in him. Though Sachiko in some way, knew and understood his reasoning, she couldn't bring herself to make peace with it just yet.

Her hand gripped unto his wrist tighter before releasing him, "I want to understand…and honestly if you had called, I wasn't even sure if I'd make in time but, please remember, I'm not someone who would simply fold in a fight," she aligned her eyes towards his, the red of hers filled with water that was pushed back, sending waves of different emotions pooling back at him that all he could do is listen to her as he pleaded, "I can protect you too," her lips upturned now, "From now on, don't forget. Okay?"

Suguru Getou had wanted so desperately to hold her in his arms. This girl was the consolation he needed. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and confess to her how important she was to him but instead, he just etches another smile. A rather ill attempt to mask how he felt so ashamed to face her. He had failed in his mission. Too devasted and unworthy to confront his own feelings that he didn't have enough courage to spare to put his heart on the line.

He doesn't say anything so the other opened her mouth to speak,

"Okay," she said, patiently waiting for the awkward tension that her inquiry had left, "Get some rest," she was already tucking him in when Suguru's head fell on her shoulder. The meds were already kicking in, the anesthetic pulling him close to his slumber.

With whatever was left of his strength, he placed one his hands to cling unto her sleeves, carefully positioning them so that she wouldn't draw away nor take offense on his advances, but alas, his words would be betray him as he couldn't control his whisper. Nuzzling in his chin on her unoccupied shoulder, he breathed in the sweet scent of her hair and allowed her warmth to transfer to him, "Don't get yet, for once, stay with me,"

His eyes shut tight after he spoke his last word. The raven-haired girl allowed a few minutes to pass before she placed a hand behind his head and placed lowered it over the pillow.

He looked so peaceful as he slept, the exhaustion that was evident with the rims under his eyes, his hazed-out vision and his forced beams towards her retreated along with his slumber.

Sachiko stayed as she had promised him but soon left when she was sure that he was finally truly, resting.

Sachiko couldn't imagine how it must've felt to be in their shoes. Right before they left the beach, they had already informed her that they intended to save Riko Amanai. She supported their decision, in fact, she had even offered the services of the Miuras with whatever influence she had over her clan. Amanai was just like her after all, and she deserved another chance to live especially after what she's been through.

Like her, she was young.

Like her, she was orphaned.

Like her, she was made to believe that she had a higher calling.

But unlike Sachiko, she was gone.

---

The young Kitsune was already on her way to her dorm when finally, she got a call from Shouko. She informed her that they had just transferred Gojo to the clinical lab to get treatment and he would have to stay there for observation as all the other hospital beds were filled.

Not minding the cold and crumpled clothes she was wearing, she dropped the call and hurried over to see him. Shouko was explicit. She told her that he had been stabbed a number of times by a cursed tool and when they came to check on him, he looked very worn out. His skin was covered in cuts and bruises. His hair had dried blood clinging on his strands, and he looked very sullen. In short, he didn't look like his usual self.

The medical wing was crowded and every medical staff available, including her best friend was busy giving treatments. She wondered why out of all the people needing tending to, her two friends, the ones who literally risked their lives for this mission, were the once displaced. If anything, she expected that they would be awarded some sort of VIP treatment.

Who cares if they failed? They tried. Why are they being treated like this?

No one seemed to mind that the apparently rogue special grade was already freely roaming around the campus. Even Yaga had spotted her moving about but didn't pay her too much mind. Perhaps he already found recluse out of the situation. What was the worst that could happen now, after all?

Sachiko finally entered the clinical lab. It was pretty vacant. Except for three other spare beds, all of the equipment and staff had gone to the main hospital except for one person.

She first caught sight of his unruly white hair, his face still hidden on the pillow he had snuggled. He was lying down on his belly, face buried on the pillow with one hand under it, the other slumped to side, with an IV-line attached. More so, like Suguru, he was covered in bandages and half-soaked gauzes over his head, neck and even limbs. The room in fact reeked of disinfectant. She never thought she'd actually encounter the two strongest sorcerers in such state.

Her heart ached for them. She knew there was more to their physical scars, everyone who ever got involved with Tengen's mission never came back the same. She just wished that those two would soon recover so they could at least find some semblance of normalcy, even though the truth was, she had changed herself.

Sliding the door close behind her, Sachiko clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she stomped towards his bedside. She wanted to force him to awaken, shake him and beat him up for being the stubborn idiot for not asking for help but instead, one look at his peeking, cyan eyes, made her knees weaken. Sachiko slumped on the floor and began trembling after being given one of his signature grins.

"Thank God," she mouthed, still surprised at how calm he was after having almost died from the mission. Her mouth set in a hard line, eyes looking downwards over her still unsteady hands, waiting for herself to calm down.

She heard a shuffling in the sheets. The boy with the six eyes used his elbows to crane himself up to turn and face his friend. The hand connected to the medicine reached out to pat her head, making her raise her chin to look at Satoru.

"Hello Chi-chan, I missed you," he chirped. His voice was a bit unsteady, hoarse even. There were shadows under his eyes despite crinkling them to give her some sort of comfort. He was looking at her tenderly but even as he tried his best to feign good vitality, he was undoubtedly in need of recovery, "I was about tex-"

Her red eyes narrowed at him, lips quivering in frustration making Gojo retract his hand, "You…" she began, "Why didn't you call on me?" her voice was embedded with a bit of steel making Gojo lower his head and scratch the side of his face.

Before he answered, Gojo decided to prop himself up to sit so they could speak properly but his remorseful look didn't wither away. He tapped the space beside him and motioned for her to occupy it.

Her expression didn't soften s as soon as she was able to see what he looked like up close. They had only been apart for a few days, but it looked like he had lost ten pounds. His usual energy wasn't there. It was obvious that he was just feigning his mood. He looked so drained.

Her eyes lingered on the neatly tied bracelet he kept on his arm but was distracted by the bruises that formed around it.

Satoru took a deep breath, "It's simple, I didn't' want place you in unnecessary danger,"

She winced and leaned forward, searching his eyes for a better answer but she retaliated, "I gave you that charm so this-" her eyes traced over his evident injuries and shook her head with her eyes closed, "This, could have been avoided,"

Gojo knew she was right. There was a big chance that they could have gotten less serious injuries if they had summoned her but there was an even bigger chance that the assassin would've eliminated her as well.

"Listen Chi," he crossed his arms now, "We're special grade sorcerers, it wasn't smart to have us all there, especially with you, a possible substitute for Amanai…it wasn't ideal to ask for your help," he spoke matter-of-factly. Gojo had tried his very best to relax his brows and chin so that he could remain hopeful in her eyes. It was difficult as he was just as disappointed and devasted as Suguru.

Her eyes left his face, turning instead to the twiddling fingers resting on her lap, "I know," she shut her eyes, "I know that but, I just don't want you to forget that no matter what, even if it was a life-or-death situation, I am here for you. I can help," her voice turned low, almost as weak as the one beside her. Lately, she had been showing them this vulnerable side of hers than she would care to but in these moments, there was no time to beat around what was most important.

Gojo was filled with the same overwhelming, almost painfully sweet emotion that he experienced that day they had spent before he left. A big portion of himself was on the verge of breaking down. He still hated himself for creating such crucial mistakes that cost them a number of lives. But honestly, it wasn't something new. Risks were always there in any mission. It just hurt his ego that their mission was an exact mirror of a previously successful one.

"I'm sorry," he spoke very clearly, "I-we'll keep that in mind," this earned him a stern nod.

He cleared his throat, still feeling the mending tissues slowly being replaced, his hand went to his neck to steady his organ before taking another lump of his saliva to swallow. Sachiko continued sitting beside him, still absentmindedly playing with her fingers, a dirty habit he noticed she did when she was feeling disconcerted. Of course, as all focused on the two and their transgressions, he had again failed to immediately realize that perhaps she was also dealing with something on her own.

She was also on patrol and even if he lacked the details to piece them together, he knew in his core, with every minute change in the way she spoke, the way she looked at him and even the symbolic meaning of her hair changes, that something was also bothering her.

Without asking permission, Gojo placed his right hand over her left, gently grasping it to separate her fingers and instead replace the twine with his, this caught her off guard, making her jerk her head to look up at the smiling face tilted down at her carefully, "What about you? What happened? Is something wrong Chi?"

She didn't expect-no-she had hoped that he wouldn't ask about her. She counted on him being too engrossed in his own ordeal, but she didn't take into account how differently he had begun to treat her since he last walked her to her dorm.

There was no clear way to explain why she had allowed him to hold her hand once again, but she did for now, accept it as some sort of comforting appeal to hear her thoughts.

"It's nothing, I'm just tired of worrying,"

Before she could say anything else, Gojo had cupped the side of her face and slowly directed her head to rest on his shoulder. Despite him looking so pale and beaten out, he still felt warm against her skin. Being smaller than him allowed her to fit in his mold without much effort but in that distance, she could actually hear the fast beating of a heart. She wasn't sure if it was his or hers, but it was clear that she was starting to pink-up from his sudden gesture. Her eyes fluttered upward as she remained in the same position, a little bit paralyzed and unsure what to do next. Gojo's eyes were very bright even as they were hooded under his light-lashes, and his smile looked quite different from a few minutes earlier on. He was endearing and he gave a look of certainty as he stared back at her.

He nuzzled his cheek on top of her head, making Sachiko's eyes dilate from a bit of shock, "We don't have to talk about it now. Whenever you're ready. Just,"

Sachiko's hands were steady against his, but Satoru's began to shake, instinctively, he clasped unto hers tightly to control it but later released some tension and relaxed into his hold once more, "Just remember too, that, you-" his free, bandanged hand went to the back of his head, "You can talk to me too. Whatever it is,"

"Thanks," This made Sachiko giggle. He really was trying to comfort her even if he didn't know what exactly was making her so uneasy. She appreciated that he didn't push her to speak. Perhaps it was the meds knocking some sense into him or he himself was just too tired to get into any heated conversations with her.

She released her hand from his, making Gojo mouth 'eh?' as his face contorted from her moving away to create some distance, "Okay, I think we're getting a little too emotional here," she was standing now making Satoru kick the blanket to convince her to stay and stand himself.

"Oi-oi Chi-chan! We were having a moment!" he proclaimed, his expression, now a familiar sight of slight irritation and jest, "Besides, you did that mouth-wisp thing when Suguru was injured back in the farm,"

She doubled back, "Huh? He told you about that?"

He clicked his tongue, "In great detail. Anyway, I think I could use some of that," he already opened his mouth wide, ready to receive the healing bead she could conjure.

Sachiko pushed his chin to close his mouth and rolled her eyes, "That only works with poisons you idiot,"

Satoru gave her a short laugh as he stood on his knees on the bed, one hand reaching for his friend. Sachi raised her pointer finger and dug it deep over his forehead to force him back to lie down, "Don't push it Satoru," she scoffed, "I was worried but I'm not anymore, so-"

Gojo pouted and clicked his teeth. Pursing his lips, he spoke to himself, "But you were clearly blushing and holding my hand too-"

Sachi's brows shot upwards as she stomped her foot, him pointing out such embarrassing observations were making her nervous, "Go to sleep! You're injured for Pete's sake," she said in avoidance of their current topic.

Gojo cackled now as he allowed his weight to catch on the mattress, "Hai-hai…" his blue eyes darted on her once more, "Thank you for coming to see me Chi-chan, I feel better already,"

The girl with the raven-hair gave out a long sigh and returned to his side to help cover him up with the blanket, "Seriously, must you both make me uncomfortable every time I'm being nice?"

Satoru's eyes snapped open, "You two? Who? Suguru?" he spoke so fast that it made Sachiko cock a brow, "Why? What did he do? What did he say? Did you visit him before me?" he sounded a little vexed but didn't want to show too much of it to her.

"Huh?" Sachi shrugged, "He teased me like you did and yes, I did visit him first. You weren't transported yet. What's the matter?"

Satoru turned to his side so that he could hide his downturned mouth, "Nothing," he blurted out, making Sachiko squirm at his ridiculous tone.

"Anyway," Sachiko beamed at the boy who had his back turned on her, before leaving, she smoothened the back of his hair and whispered, "Rest well, Satoru,"

Her touch made him tingle and it was hard to contain the excitement he felt at her gesture as he had to wait until he couldn't hear anymore of her footsteps as she made her way out.

They were at an impasse. Too much had happened and too many things that they would have to move past as days would go by.

But still, he was still thankful, that though their true feelings remained unspoken, he had one constant thing he could count on to keep him at bay.

I missed you, Chi.

Even though, we failed…I'm just glad, you're still here.

Heaven knows, if Tengen were to take you away from me too, I would do it all again.

I'm sure the both of us would.

---

1 and ½ Months after the failed Merger

"Are you sure about taking these requests?" Yaga was busy checking in on the cursed dolls he had left inside Miura's private dorm. Inspecting each button and stitch to see if they needed mending. A smile crept up on his face after realizing that his student has been doing a fine job at being their caretaker.

Sachiko took to his side as they strolled around the patio in front of her private dorm, "Yes sir, I am,"

Only a month had passed since they all recovered from Tengen's mission. For a few weeks, the four of them were given amnesty from taking on any missions, but other than that, things seemingly went back to normal.

Shouko though wasn't fooled by any of their avoidant tactics. The three special grades had changed. She wasn't sure it was the continuing theme of death and failure that doomed their inner thoughts but none of them seemed to have any intention to sharing what was going through their thoughts.

Of course, Sachiko had confided in her-rather was forced to confide on her after Nanami had hinted about how she acted that day she was forced to kill a man to save her juniors. For a while, Ieiri would catch her excessively rubbing and washing her hands for more than 3 minutes, resulting in very chaffed, dry, and sometimes abraded hands which she would hide by wearing gloves or long-sleeved tops. It was only during her mindless washing that she finally confessed to her trauma.

Ieiri sat her down, calling her aunt, to counsel her through the guilt and seemingly irreparable part of herself that she knew could spring forth should she not learn to take control over more carefully. It scared her that she was capable of doing such things and if she spoke bluntly, it was getting tiring to have to go through therapy with every single thing she had going on in her life.

Kodansha reminded her that inevitably, she would have to make difficult choices-including choosing between who to save and who to eliminate. Her choice that day was difficult, but it was the correct one. She had complete control over the situation, even though she didn't recognize herself nor her energy that time but, not a single part of her showed any intention to harm others than her enemy.

"I hate that they had to lock you up!" Ieiri exclaimed, fuming at her seat as she turned to their mentor, "Why did they do that?"

The grey-haired two-tailed Kitsune sighed, "The higher-ups fear anything that they do not understand. I'm just glad that they let you go,"

Sachiko was slowly coming to make amends with her trauma, she was more focused on getting her ability in check than anything else, more so that the three special grades were already being sent on separate missions.

But Getou and Gojo though were still off their game. They tried to act normally but the two ladies of the group could only play along for so long.

After their failed escortship, thoughts about their roles as jujutsu sorcerers lingered in their thoughts. In some way, Sachi felt guilty that she had added to their regrets by telling them about her experience as a vessel, but that fact could've been brought up by someone else. It was better that she told them head on. She just hoped that they could get over their slump soon. She was missing them both already and she felt so bad that Shouko had to become the mediator for the four of them.

Sachiko had already accepted to cover for their missions to give them time to recover. It wasn't right that the school had been piling up demanding tasks just because they destroyed the organizations and eliminated the sorcerer killer. They didn't even consider offering them counseling or mental health support after going through it. So, despite Shouko's dispute regarding her decision, they both agreed that having some more time away from the field would do them both good.

"Don't tell them yet though, I haven't gotten an official assignment yet but, it's probably going to be overseas,"

"Overseas? But I thought you were gonna go to Kansai,"

"That's my next one but after that, I'll probably be joining them on the Nogitsune mission,"

"You sure, you'll be able to handle it? You'll be the only special grade there. They're practically gonna use you as their safety net. Are you prepared to handle that?"

She shrugged, "Doesn't sound much different from my other missions,"

"You're beginning to sound like those two idiots," she pouted, "Just don't be dumb enough to rely on your techniques, if you need to, run away, don't be a hero or-just don't go!"

"You know it's too late to back-out now,"

Shouko groaned, "I'm gonna tell you the same thing you keep on jamming into those two airheads-" she inhaled deeply, "Be careful, ask for help, come back home,"

"I promise,"

"Good. I don't want to open any of you up in the forensic pathology lab!" she popped a cig on her mouth which Sachi quickly snatched making her roll her eyes and rummage through another one.

"Don't worry about us," she etched a more confident expression now to reassure her best friend, "We're the strongest,"

---

Suguru and Satoru eventually went back to their cycle of training and goofing around like nothing happened. Sachiko however had left very suddenly making their dynamic a little less lively than before. She had left for Kyoto 2 weeks ago to see her grandfather. After finally being told about his injury, she had demanded to be brought back to their estate.

To Yaga's convenience, she needed to get dispatched to Kyoto anyway. After Yuki Tsukumo, their lone special grade affiliate had graduated, she wouldn't take on any missions unless she had something to personally gain from it.

The boys didn't see much of her since she got dispatched. Sometimes, she would return to Tokyo only to arrive too early or too late to hang out, often times she'd just enter the classroom and slump on her desk, later finding herself sleeping the whole day in between breaks.

Inaris were also seen loitering around both campuses, guarding the heir and heiress 24/7 against possible attacks. It was fortuitous for a while for the Inari-shifter. One lunch-hour, he had snuck inside the campus in his blue-black fox form and magically transformed into his uniformed self as he took a seat beside his lady. Utahime was startled by his sudden appearance but having been apart for a while with no pleasant exchanges in between, Yahiko couldn't help but be a little affectionate towards her, to the amusement of Mei-mei.

Sachiko smiled at the shift of her cousin's mood as soon as he reunited with her senior. He had been manning both her and their grandfather's post for quite a while, so he deserved a to have some joy back in his life.

It was two grueling weeks of hellos and goodbyes to her group of four. They didn't seem to mind her absence too much as she was still able to return their calls and messages, sometimes, she'd even have time to have lunch with them, but it was all to keep the ruse that she was alright.

Gojo and Getou had been trying to figure what exactly was going on with her. They had too much free time on their hands and Yaga giving them a month to rest without deployment was something out of the ordinary. Shouko wouldn't tell them anything so they thought they would go to a more object source.

Getou had been trailing the older Miura boy, but he had been avoiding him like the plague. It seems that the three of them were conspiring against him and Gojo.

"She's covering for us, isn't she?" Getou spoke, distraught.

Gojo clicked his tongue, "Damn it, I knew one month had to cost something,"

---

Getou had gone home for the weekend, taking advantage of their forced suspension to try and clear his head. Gojo initially intended to do the same but after receiving word from Shouko that Sachiko had finally returned, he knew he had to see her. Despite warning him not to interfere with her rest, he still found himself rushing to change and run to her private dorm with a bag filled with sweets and books he thought she'd might like as he had been collecting and pooling them for her return.

In her absence, he and Suguru had been possessed by some sort of Sachi-magnet ritual. Unknowingly grabbing and buying stuff that would draw her in, dumping them in their rooms hoping that she'd come and retrieve them. It was a pretty stupid and pretty desperate move on their part but there wasn't much to do without any missions. Shouko was either off smoking or prancing around the clinic. Heck, these days, she didn't even have time to date.

The worse part about having so much time for themselves was the amount of time dedicated to burying all images of the Merger and questioning what might've been should they acted or decided differently.

They never vocalized it, but Suguru and Satoru wanted to do absolutely everything and anything they could to forget about it.

It hurt his pride to admit that Suguru initially felt relieved that he would have some time off from seeing Sachiko. He just felt too guilty whenever she was around but, it didn't seem like the correct reaction. Like Gojo, the less they saw of her, the more they felt empty.

Especially, Satoru.

In his own despair, he had forgotten to think about the other person who also got deployed on the mission.

I'm such an idiot.

His hand was already hovering over the door, the other, balancing the backpack he had brought with him. He lowered his eyes over the knob, half-expecting it to just magically turn and open for him. Satoru would only try knocking once. He didn't want to disturb her rest. Besides, what would he actually even say?

They haven't even talked about why they those moments. None of them had the backbone to make meaning of 'em.

Suguru told him that among Amanai's last wishes was to spend more time with them and now that she couldn't, it felt like they owed it to her to not have any more idle moments.

He lightly padded the door with his knuckles and spoke, "Sachiko-chan? Are you there?" another set of knocks followed, "May I come in?"

He heard movement from the otherside which braced him as the door began to creak open, "Chi-chan are you-? Eh?" he peeked through the open space but was surprised that what had welcomed him was the boxing-bear cursed doll.

Crouching down to level himself to it, he gave out a confused laugh, "Hey uh, is she here?" the small bear suddenly tensed, waving its gloved hands before slapping its back to push the door to a close. Gojo had inserted half of his body inside, literally crawling inch by inch to push the unusually energized stuffed-toy out of the way, "Oi, mewaku akuma (annoying bear), I'm going in one way another! You know who I am!"

The bear plunged it's blue-gloved fist towards Gojo's nose, making his shades fall out as he rubbed his nose to soothe from the pain. This only made the cursed doll look victorious to Gojo's dismay but seeing as it had released its hold on the door, the white-haired boy lunged inside before the door closed once more.

The bear squealed at the sinister look Gojo had etched and raised its hands in surrender, finally turning to direct him to where his caretaker was.

He dusted himself off the floor and scooped his bag unto one shoulder before scanning the loft. It was very clean and antiquated besides her personal gadgets and talismans lying around, there wasn't much stuff inside. A number of the cursed dolls began following the young sorcerer as he moved around the receiving area, uninvited.

"Chi-chan?" he called.

Scanning the empty room where only the kitchen space and the lounging L-shaped couch stood with neatly organized books and school materials were, Gojo didn't find any trace of his friend. He began to wonder if Shouko had misled him after all. Heaving a sigh, he set down his bag on the counter and began distributing the assortment of sweets and packages he had prepared, including the books Suguru had asked him to hand over to her.

Satoru placed both hands at the back of his head and frowned at the stuffed animals watching his every move, "Ne, where is she huh?"

Another rustling by the doorway. Gojo could hear the dangling of keys as it inserted on the knob.

No wonder that thing didn't want me here.

Wanting to surprise her, Gojo hid behind the curtain near the door. Stupid as it may seem, he just wanted to make her and himself laugh. He was already biting his cheek to keep himself muffled as she made her way inside, placing a finger in front of his mouth to tell the cursed dolls not to reveal his whereabouts.

Sachiko had disrobed her coat and hung it on the rack, when her eyes shifted to the shoes tiled by the side of the door. Alarmed by the presence of an uninvited guest, her brows curved together and quickly scanned her surroundings, as soon as she heard a creek from behind, she knew that two shadows were displayed on the floor. He was fast to approach from behind, but it didn't do much to the intruder's advantage, as soon as he was near enough, Sachi grabbed his arm, crouched and flipped him over the floor pressing her knee over his chest, one arm gripping his shoulder, the other balled into a fist.

Gojo's eyes widened in surprised, his hands were raised in surrender, "Uh, surprise?" he laughed nervously, making Sachiko shrink in front of him, embarrassed by what she had just done.

Shutting her opened mouth, her eye twitched, "Satoru?" still upset by his play, she removed her weight from him and hit him on his chest once, making him flinch, before moving to the side herself, "Why are you here? More importantly, why are you pranking me so early in the morning?" her tone wasn't too dismissive making Gojo relax his features as he straightened.

He ruffled his hair, "Sorry Chi, I just wanted to visit, that's all,"

She sighed, "Shouko told you I was back?"

He nodded.

Sachiko's eyes went round, and she shifted into a calmer demeanor as she helped him up, "Seriously, you should've texted me first or something,"

Satoru squared his shoulders and smirked, "Then it wouldn't be a surprise,"

"Right," she said in between yawning. Her eyes caught sight of the uneasy alignment of the cursed dolls that were scattered around the receiving area making her baulk and look over her shoulder, "I see you've gotten into their nerves," she giggled, making Satoru shift his gaze, "Don't worry," she spoke to the dolls directly now, "He's a friend, you can all go back to what you were doing,"

The dolls looked at each other like how humans would in these types of situations and made their leave. The bigger ones scooping up the frantic teddy-bear who self-proclaimed Satoru as his nemesis after the boy stuck out his tongue as it left.

She took another deep breath before turning to him, "Would you like something to drink?"

Satoru's cyan eyes lingered on the girl in front him. She looked like she had cut her frame in half. Her lids drooped over her crimson eyes, and she looked like she needed some color to her skin. What was more concerning was the Kitsune markings on her cheeks and arms that lifted against the pale dress she wore. Her hair was undone, making them flow over her shoulders and back which was probably the only thing recognizable now.

She's not smiling. Maybe I am intruding.

"Sure Chi," he said, following her to the kitchen counter. As he took a seat, his eyes quickly darted on the cluttered materials he had emptied out of his bag, making him scramble to quickly dump them back as he knew she hated clutter.

But instead of allowing him to tidy, she simply shook her head and began tracing her fingers over to the stuff on the table-top. Her eyes glinted in pleasant surprise and for a moment, Satoru saw that one side of her lips curled upwards, "Are these for me?"

"Yup,"

She gave him a small bow before widening her beam, "Thank you," her voice was steadier as she gave out her thanks putting the boy beside her at ease. She was already stacking up the books with the curious titles when she turned to Satoru as if to ask him about them.

The light-haired boy pursed his lips and rested his chin on one of his palms, "Yeah, Suguru asked me to hand those to you. Said you'd enjoy them," Satoru always thought that it was weird how the both of them were so engrossed with those horror novels. He couldn't decipher what was going on in that thick head of his to insist that gore novels could relax their friend.

But Sachiko seemed delighted to have them, so he let it slide.

"I'll thank him later,"

She went over her fridge now, grabbing a bottle of the strawberry and lime cream soda that Satoru frequented when they went to the convenience store. She placed a clean glass over a coaster in front of him before pouring over the drink, "Here you go,"

He grinned, "Thanks!"

She crossed her arms over the table to lean in and began to pick-out which of the treats she was gifted she wanted to taste first, "These are a lot of tooth-rotting food, did you buy out the whole store in those two weeks?" she teased.

He laughed, "There were more but it took you so long to come back so the three of us had to divide it," his statement made her giggle, her small voice made Gojo feel a flutter at his chest. He painted over his hand the whole array of food in front of them, "But we saved you the best ones,"

"That's nice," she was quite overwhelmed by how much they still included her in their ventures despite her absence. That was all she wanted anyway. It was the condition of her deployment-a place to come home to after. That was all.

She turned to him now with a rather apologetic expression, "I'm okay though, really, just tired,"

"I know," Gojo interjected, after taking two swigs of his soda, "You're strong,"

Sachiko squinted her eyes at him, "And don't you forget that!" she mused.

Satoru set his cup down, looking morose as he looked at her through his periphery as he shied away from directly looking at her with that serious expression, "You're strong, but you're not alone, don't you, forget that,"

Her chin went close to her chest, "I've been caught huh? Guess, I'm a hypocrite," she sniggered, thinking about how she lectured both of her friends regarding the same topic not long before, "I'm sorry, but as you can see, it's all fine. I can handle myself,"

Satoru didn't reward her with any of his delighted expressions. Dragging the chair closer to his companion, he slumped down before grabbing the back of her chair and forcefully turning it to make her face him directly. Sachiko's hands held unto the padding under her thighs to keep herself from falling, her face in knots at his rash behavior, "S-satoru what?"

His hands didn't leave the back-rest of her chair, encasing her in between his arms so that she wouldn't escape. His cyan eyes squinted at her, his taut expression making her tense at how fierce her happy-go-lucky friend looked, "Chi…you have no idea…how much we missed you…but, you shouldn't go off deciding for yourself how you should protect us…especially since you-" his hands left the wood on her back and slowly lifted it towards her face, making her squirm, fearing that he might shake her, she closed her eyes to brace herself but instead of having to deal with an angered Satoru, his expression was slathered in controlled laughter, biting his lip to contain any sound from leaving his mouth and eyes filling up with water from the pain of holding back as he squeezed her cheeks together to make her look like a bloated fish, "You kept on bugging us about the same thing!"

Sachiko freed herself from his grasp and turned away, "Okay, I get it, I'm sorry!" she said, half-infuriated at his joke.

Satoru could no longer press on his muffled laughter with his hands and began to burst out, slapping the side of his thigh. Later, he found himself hanging on the table to keep his balance, "Warui, warui! You just looked so funny!"

She punched the side of his arm, making him arrest his cackle then after she left grabbing one of the boxes of sweets and settled on the couch to hide her pink-out face. Grabbing the book nearest her, she quickly flipped through a random page and covered her face in it.

Satoru was already happily skipping his way towards the lounging area. Giving her some time to recover, he took the initiative to open the box of treats and took one for himself. He tilted his head and opened his mouth as he gobbled up one whole piece of the powdered treat. After swallowing, his eyes snapped open, "It's delicious!" he leered over his shoulder and lifted the box just over the book that covered her face, "Come on, stop moping and try some! You could use some food in your system!"

Sighing behind the box, she folded the book and lurched forward to examine the box's contents, "What are these?"

"Treats from Sendai!" he grimaced before pointing towards a specific side of the desert, "These are kikufuku mochi," he spoke with a childish glow in his eyes, lips still covered in white from the sugar-coated treat, "I recommend this one, the edamame and cream flavored one,"

"You can have it, I'll take-" her fingers were suspended over the multi-colored treats and landed on the green ones. Before she could speak, Satoru interjected,

"Matcha," he smirked, "Of course,"

For a while, they just talked. And ate. Comfortably remaining in the company of each other, this time, there were no shows to watch. The books she had opened, remained closed at the side table. Even the dolls gave them some space to just catch up.

Sachiko was really glad that he dropped by. It was nice to be welcomed back in her home in Tokyo by someone she was close to. Of course, she had preferred to have all of her friends together, but it was really nice of him to go out of his way to prepare something for her. He wasn't exactly the type to do so which made it seem that perhaps he sympathized for her a lot or maybe even pitying her for who she was. But sometimes, she would find herself half-awake at night, emotions stirring with both comfort and confusion with the way he treated her.

He was always kind and caring but no different than the rest.

But maybe, it was a little different…

It's funny how he actually seemed like a totally different person outside of his uniform. Clad only in his black sweater and jeans, his shades tucked inside his pocket, he looked like an ordinary guy which was nice. It was soothing to think that they pretend to be normal teens sometimes.

Those thoughts were coming more often than she cared for. Which was disheartening as she wished she could just focus on trivial things.

In was already past noon and Gojo was still blabbing about the stuff that three of them had been doing while she was gone. Sachiko politely listened in and despite the fatigue looming over her, she was sincerely interested in his stories. But the fifth time she hid her yawn, he knew it was time to stop.

Sachiko's eyes were already draping to a close, as she sat with her arms around her knees, she began to sway as her consciousness slowly fleeted away. He grimaced at her movements, eagerly shifting his position on the floor so that he could rest his head and arms over the foot of the couch. The pale girl was already turning to her side with half-lidded eyes, positioning herself restfully as she reclined.

Satoru scooched over so that he could examine her closer. His head was still perched down on the cushioned seats as Sachiko's small frame allowed some legroom for him to rest beside her. She made small, whispering sounds as she breathed in and out making Gojo smirk at how silly and peaceful she looked as she slept. He was already familiar with the way she looked like but observing her features up close was calming.

Her big red eyes always lured him whenever she caught his stare, her long lashes cast small shadows under her eyes, and he never noticed how naturally they had curled up. She had a small nose, symmetrical to the cupid's bow of her pink lips and her ears, slightly pointed to a curve just on tip was always decorated with her sapphire earrings.

I should ask her about that. Maybe it's an heirloom.

There was always something about her that made him curious about many things. The curiosity that always brought him to her doorstep or pushed him to shoot her a text to see what she was doing or even pretend to make up an excuse for her to visit his dorm.

Child-like interests that would eventually earn him still very vague answers but at least bought him time with her. Admittedly, even after he and Suguru and a serious, albeit, short discussion regarding their feelings towards the same girl, he still stood by his word that he still wasn't sure how exactly he felt about her. Especially since he and Sachi didn't have time to discuss it. But if there was one thing he stood by.

His fingers lightly pushed back the strands of hair that covered some parts of her pale face, soon, he found himself tracing the markings that appeared on her cheek, she felt warm under his touch, he wondered if it was just her body temperature or her cursed energy that caused it. She looked so peaceful as she slept, her lips were quirked upward as he continued to sooth her by raking her hair and massaging, the back of her head. This made him mirror her expression. He wondered how many times she had stayed like this, watching over him as he dozed off.

In hindsight, he always knew that he didn't dream the parts where she would also make the same gestures. He recalled vividly how he had to stay still as she tended to his wounds just so she wouldn't think twice about it.

So, this time, he decided, that he would be the one who would return the favor. He had to stand by that one thing, after all.

"I just like you…for whatever reason, I do….that's all," he said.

---

Sachiko was finally able to get a well-rested sleep after days of night-watches, travelling from the estate to the mission spots as the lone offensive player in their roster of select sorcerers. Honestly, the exorcisms weren't as difficult as she expected. It was true that it was enough for just one of the special grades to be present, so she didn't regret covering for her friends. A month of lone deployments was doable.

It was more of the stress that came from her clan. She was glad that her grandfather was recovering but the fact that Nogitsune summoners were becoming more active than before really struck a nerve. But she gave them a stern warning that she hoped was worth days of her guilt.

She was just glad that finally, things were settling down. Despite another big deployment coming up, she was afforded some down time with her friends.

Sachiko was already coming to. Her eyes were slowly welcoming the light that came from the ceiling but still her hands still look blurry from her sleep.

She felt so warm and so comfortable in her position, her energy was finally coming back but it seemed like the environment was inviting her to go back to sleep. She was about to close her eyes gain when she felt something move beside her. Her eyes snapped open as soon as she felt something grab the side of her waist. It wasn't a harsh touch but rather a gentle streaming of a hand that seemed to wrap around her. Then there was the feel of puffing warmth against her forehead, making her lift her chin and settle on the toned arm that served as her pillow.

Satoru was looking at her with very benevolent eyes, grimacing and turning red himself as he didn't budge from his position and instead drew her a little closer to where they lay, "This is okay right?" he said in between a little laugh. He then smiled with his eyes closed, "It's just hugging,"

Sachiko felt herself warm up from his bold statement. He really thought that there was nothing wrong with what he was doing. Sachiko felt like something wanted to jump out of her chest upon realizing that the only division between them were her hands. She finally decided to deviate from his eyes and jumped up to cover her face from her embarrassment. She gave out a small, nervous giggle as she excused herself, pushing his legs away so she could get some room to stand. But before she could totally leave his side, Satoru's arm looped around her waist making her quiver and place her hand over his chest.

He frowned at her as he tightened his hold, "Where are you going?" he sounded a bit disappointed at her sudden attempt at abandonment.

Sachiko continued to stray away from his stare, "Uh, it's getting late…I should go,"

The cyan eyed boy tilted his head and grimaced, "Huh? But you live here."

Her mouth opened momentarily but she remained mute upon further embarrassment draping her entirety. This made Satoru snicker. He knew right away that she wasn't comfortable with such advances yet, so he released her from his hold and instead caressed the back of her head, untangling some curled up locks. He continued giving her such an unflustered expression. He was becoming accustomed to making eye-contact with her, "Sorry, too soon?" his shoulders lifted up and down, "It's just hugging,"

She shook her head and folded her lips before responding, "No, I'm just-"

"It's okay, no need to explain," he stood up now and hoisted himself to stand. For a minute, she worried that her reaction had ruined his mood but instead Satoru gave her a small smile and began tidying the living room. He took some of the empty containers of sweets and bottles of water and juice and placed them neatly over the counter.

He looked over his shoulder and jerked his head towards the Tupperware that sat beside the microwave, "I also brought you some seaweed soup, don't forget to heat it up," turning to face her again, he pointed on the paper bag near the fridge, "Eat it before downing those weird concoctions Shouko made,"

She was surprised at how much he had managed in the few hours. She probably wouldn't have noticed if he just went back to his dorm, still it was comforting to know that he was willing to do those things for her. He may be weird and high and mighty most of the time but sometimes, he could actually manage being sweet, "Alright, I got it, I'm well enough to do all those things,"

He gave her a nod as he zipped up his now empty bag and waited until Sachiko was ready to usher him out, "I know, but I'm running out of excuses to prolong my stay,"

As soon as he was done putting on his shoes, he turned to her once more, this time leaning in to take one last good look before he turned the knob finally allowing the girl behind him to breathe.

She crossed her arms as Satoru's hand froze on the doorknob, "We'll see each other tomorrow you know," she gently nudged him forward after opening the door for him before he stepped out, he quickly pressed his mouth on her temple, sending a shockwave that almost paralyzing as her whole body turned scarlet.

Before running, Satoru gave her one last wave and grinned, "Goodnight!"

He was already gone before she could react to his action. Her hand went to her temple and began rubbing over her skin as she tried to calm down.

We held hands once-oh umm, it's twice…and now, he's sleeping beside me and kissing my head. I don't know what to feel.

But, he did say-that he liked me.

Or was I dreaming?

---

There was something else that bothered Satoru when he watched her sleep that day. Besides the more obvious Kitsune markings etched on her skin, her cursed energy registry was quite weak.

He tossed and turned that same night, trying to decide if he should do further prying. He didn't like uncertainties especially when it came to the lives of people he cared about.

His attachment towards her only grew in time and now that things were finally picking up, he couldn't bear the thought of it having a definite time-stamp.

I can't lose anyone else. I have to find a way.

The next day, he had gone through measures to contact the only person whom he thought could give him definite answers. Lucky for him, that person was available for a chat that afternoon. He decided to skip school that day and travel to Kyoto.

His source asked to meet-up at one of the tea-rooms inside the Fushimi-Inari-Taisha, a middle-aged woman in a wrap dress, with graying her and greyer slit-like eyes was already having her first cup of the day. She set her cup down and motioned for the boy to enter and take a seat across the table.

Giving her a half-bow as he entered and took his place, he reached out for his poured cup to take a sip of the tea. It was filled with fragrant moonflowers, coloring the warm water with swirls of blue and lilac as he stirred the cup with circular motions from his wrist. He tilted the cup once more over his mouth until he drank the last drop before setting it down gently.

"What can I do for you, my child?" Kodansha Miura gave him a curious smile but patiently waited for the boy to loosen the knots on his back. His other hand was curled into a fist, and his lips were drawn in a straight line, much like his brows.

He lifted his chin and spoke in a doleful manner, "May I ask you something Lady Kodansha?"

Kodansha lifted her hand and nodded, "What's on your mind young one?"

Gojo gritted his teeth but managed to separate them before speaking again, "Kitsunes are naturally gifted with practically unlimited cursed energy right?"

The two-tailed Kitsune nodded.

Gojo straightened his form as he placed his brows together as he held out one finger, "And Miuras are natural born shamans," she nodded at him once more. He paused to edit and read her expression. She was expectant but remained calm, signaling him to proceed, "Surely, you must have all learned how to harness just enough cursed energy by now so you won't-"

The physician across him took a deep breath before pouring herself another cup, "You must be curious about our life expectancy correct?" her grey eyes darted across the table, earning her a shrug in response to her deduction.

She proceeded with her speech after taking another sip, "Every Miura is unique. Take me for example, I already exceeded the 40th mark with no problems,"

Gojo winced, bringing forth his upper body into a forward jerk as he retorted, "But you have less tails," quick to notice his tone, he doubled back and apologized.

Kodansha merely blinked, "Correct. But also, I was trained early. I was born and raised in the Miura system," her voice didn't raise but her points were being emphasized by her eerily calm demeanor making the boy sink back as he sat.

He turned his cyan eyes to target his balled-up fingers. Reducing his tone, he replied, "She was able to catch up though…"

Kodansha gave him a remorseful look before reaching across the small table to tap on his shoulder, "I understand where you are going. You are very observant of my niece's state," she sounded almost grateful for his awareness of Sachiko's state but it did irk him how calm she was about it. Still, she didn't wait for him to say anything,

"You know, she has the most potential to break the curse of the Miuras but she is also the most likely to succumb to it earlier than most,"

Gojo scoffed, eyes squinted on the floor as he tried to compose himself as he took in her words, "All those years of inheriting the Kitsune and it's still a mystery huh-"

Kodansha moved her head from side to side, "Not really, although," her voice was softer now, she rested both her hands on the table and rested her chin under her knuckles before giving him a half-smile. She observed him now, the famous Gojo boy, detailing in her head the features of his cursed energy registry, equipping herself with heightened senses to unravel the mystery of his strong feelings for her niece's condition. Hiding a sinister and hopeful grin, she waited until he calmed himself enough to face her, "There might be a way to help her,"

Gojo's eyes widened, "What do you mean?"

Kodansha pressed forward and straightened her posture, "The six tailed fox was born with both a burden and blessing and if she is unable to control it herself perhaps," grey-eyes locked on his blue as if she was trying to instill an idea in his head like a physical act of cursed-energy spell-binding that he had to blink repeatedly to collect himself, "She could share that cross,"

Gojo leaned forward, making the tea-cup wobble as he transferred his weight on the table, emotions welling up with both confusion and impatience as the older woman chose to remain vague, "What do you mean?" he pleaded.

Lady Kodansha smiled at him now, sincerely hoping that her words would pierce through him without giving too much away, "If she could find someone she can entrust a part of her cursed energy with and vice-versa, and if she is able to find a compatible sorcerer to contract with then," her eyes narrowed at the boy with the six-eyes now, hiding her grin behind her hands, she continued, "If she finds a human familiar, she may be able to live a little more comfortably,"

Gojo's mouth remained agape as he waited for the two-tailed Kitsune to finish,

"She may be able to live longer."

---

The two special grade boys were already on their way to their dorms after spending class without any of their other friends. They were still on a slump even with their involuntary one-month vacation coming to an end, they still couldn't accept that Sachiko and Shouko was taking in some work for them just because they felt bad for what they had to go through. Not that they weren't grateful to catch a break, God knows they deserved it, it just wasn't fair that they were taking a backseat while the other two were risking their lives just for small sliver of reprieve.

Gojo had his hands inside his pocket, walking side by side with his best friend, he spoke to break the silence, "We screwed up, didn't we?" without providing more context, Suguru immediately connected his statement to their failed mission.

Suguru could only sigh, "It's not for the lack of trying but we did what we could,"

"Hm…" Gojo nodded, only to allow himself more time to reflect.

Getou stopped walking, clenching his fist to his side and down turning his lips at the recollection of the survivors who stood in those damned halls where they picked up Amanai's body, "I still can't accept those fiends," he sussurated.

Gojo looked to his side to inspect the long-haired boy's disdain before flicking Suguru's shoulder with his knuckles, "Oi, the Q group disbanded and I eliminated the sorcerer killer, you should stop dwelling on those people. You're just gonna give yourself a headache,"

Getou cursed in the air lifting his hand to release the pressure that built up on his palm, "I meant those non-curse users…the Star group…they were humans…plotting against humans…" he looked distraught. Gojo could feel his rage with every flicker of his eyes. It wasn't often that he would display that kind of behavior, but it wasn't like he wasn't warranted to feel that way. He was partially correct. And he had every right to be enraged.

Satoru slapped his back twice before continuing his walk, "Some monsters walk around the sun I guess…"

Getou groaned in frustration as he caught up to him. His purple eyes still focused on the floor, the light dimmed over his head, "She wanted to go home you know," he said, referring to the middle schooler who died in front of his eyes.

"I figured,"

Getou continued, "She wanted to meet with Sachi too,"

Gojo could only reply robotically, "That would've been nice,"

Getou crossed his arms and shut his eyes to contemplate, "I'm not sure. Sachi meeting her mirror…"

The white-haired boy looked at him through the side of his pale eyes and snarled, "We agreed to the plan and if we did succeed, I'm sure everything would've worked out. But shit, there's no use going back to that now, is there?" he said, frustrated at Suguru's belly-aching. He didn't want to talk about it but here was his best-friend, recounting what had happened in so much detail and sentiment than he could bare.

Sensing his displeasure, Suguru shifted his mode and dropped his arms to his side, "You think she knew? What we tried to do?"

Gojo lifted his chin and rested his head over his hands folded on his nape "No doubt. I think she may have imprinted the idea unto us, which is probably why, she's out there, covering for our assess, out of guilt,"

Getou snorted at his friend's quip. It may have sounded crass, but it wasn't far from the truth, "You're probably right,"

It was Gojo now who stopped his treading to demand attention from his companion. He turned a tad bit serious as he jerked his head upwards and cocked a brow, "Sachi is not Amanai. Amanai is not Sachi. I know what you're thinking," his words struck Suguru with so much self-reproach that he couldn't say anything to stop Satoru from spitting harsh-truths against his rambling, "Just because we couldn't save one doesn't mean we can't save the other,"

Getou's frown deepened, "Yeah but I kind of feel like we failed her too,"

The boy with the six-eyes wiped his face in frustration, "Are we seriously switching roles now?" he grabbed the raven-haired boy by his collar and scowled, "Shit, we screwed up but that just means we can't screw up again. That's it. We owe it to Amanai and Kuroi to be better,"

He glared for a few more seconds until Suguru raised both of his hands and nodded making Satoru release him from his hold, "If you're done crying about this, can we jet? And stop with that habit of yours," he fanned his hand in front of his face after taking a whiff of his friend's tobacco-stained clothes, "Seriously, cancer's gonna kill 'ya faster than any curse,"

Suguru only replied with a nervous chuckle but before he could speak in jest, Ieiri was spotted running towards them both hands waving, "Where the hell were you two?" she paused for a second to catch her breath but jerked upwards to shift her glare from one boy to the other, "Sachi's plane just left! Did you read my texts?"

Gojo winced, "Plane?"

Getou took a step forward, face painted with confusion as he turned to Ieiri, "What are you talking about?"

Ieiri's brows twitched, "Huh? She didn't tell you? She went on a solo mission,"

"Again?" the white-haired special grade interjected, "Where?"

The boy with the piercings was already dialing her number before Gojo could ask, "Maybe we can catch up,"

Ieiri's face fell, "I don't think so-"

Getou was told on the other line that her phone cannot be reached and that she may be out of service, making him focus once more on the reverse jujutsu practitioner, "Why? Where'd she go?"

Ieiri shifted from one expectant face to the other before clearing her throat to reveal Sachiko's destination, "Uh, Seoul, South Korea,"

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END OF CHAPTER

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GOOD JUJU

The Metro Dojo was quite crowded during summers. Mostly with visiting instructors and clan members bringing their children to train under the tutelage of some of the elite warriors of the Miura family. Others who frequented the Dojo were curious spectators who would apply to become a follower.

It wasn't exactly a secret that those who are trained under the creed-observers were often given numerous perks. Besides the promise of housing, education and even financial security should their candidate be deemed worthy to stand among those who will serve the main family, they would also be given protection and even reverence in exchange for their loyalty.

Lately, not many outsiders seem to be interested in becoming members of the wealthy clan, it seems as though word coming from the higher-ups that their motives were questionable kept them from growing as a clan.

This did not take kindly to the plans of the elders. Their six-tailed Kitsune needed more supporters and more so, she would need to find herself a suitable partner-compatible to her not just in the mundane sense but one who has the potential to harness his cursed energy to balance hers.

Hideo and Kodansha had long crossed out one name in their list-Naoya Zenin. There was a clear indication that his family only wanted to advance their status thus their pursuit in having one of their own marry into the Miuras. Power was the only thing they wanted, and they would not risk anything that would harm their clan and their heiress.

So, they opted to look further and beyond the scope of the recognized families of their society. And thanks to their resources, they found a potential match in Nanami Kento.

Yaga had a list of young sorcerers he wanted to admit to the academy, of course, Hideo had managed to convince him to go over it. The blonde boy had raw potential. He had a cursed technique that relied on much precision and careful calculation meaning the user would have to be at a genius level of an intellectual. From what Yaga had told the Miuras, he was likely to progress into at least a First-Grade sorcerer in the future with the correct amount of training.

The young sorcerer expected to prolong his stay with the Miuras. The idea of being part of a selection process for a possible alliance and even betrothment wasn't something that he concerned with. But when the opportunity to gain advancement presented itself to a non-legacy, he had to at least try.

He was taught everything, jujutsu, Miura history, binding vows and what it meant to be a familiar prospect. It was all fine. He was given a routine and it was pretty easy to follow. Besides, he would also be given the opportunity to choose which of the two pillars he would enter if he continued training under the clan.

What did bug him was the fact that he would be forced to become one of the subjects who were directly under the Six-tailed Kitsune. Before he entered the university, they never met. All he heard were stories-good and bad. He wasn't sure how someone expected to have lived and breathed under the principles of shamans lacked the experienced needed at their age of reasoning. So, when he first caught sight of her, and felt her wavering cursed energy inside the classroom, he had some doubts about qualified she was of her title.

If he were to give his life and loyalty to someone, he had to be sure that it was the tiny bit worth it.

Time and again, Sachiko Miura had proven just how competent she was to become the future of their clan, so when the day came to renew his contract, he didn't hesitate to sign.

Sure, he wasn't a sure bet as the human familiar but, there wasn't much to lose if he stayed as her subject. It was better than nothing.

The summer after her first year at the Tokyo institute, Nanami Kento commenced his training under the main family, giving him some time to get to know the Six-tailed fox better. When they sparred, there was no leniency but there were conversations. Open ones, pointing out lapses within each other's techniques. When they studied, she was generous and enough to take the time to teach him what were the important things he needed to know. Outside of training, she wasn't much different. She was very kind and motivated to be at her very best, no matter how tough things went.

It was quite obvious that she felt bad for him. She had always apologized on behalf of her grandfather for coercing him to enter into their creed. He always reassured her that he had come willingly and though unconvinced she respected his decision and just continued on making his life as a follower bearable.

There was one time when only the two of them were left at the Metro Dojo. A rare time for them to just catch their breath and do whatever they preferred to do. Truth was that the hope of the elders was that they would use those unsupervised moments to get to know each other better. To build their rapport and perhaps evolve their relationship status so that she could enter a binding vow with him.

She wasn't oblivious to this and so was Nanami but seeing as there was no way around it, they both remained casual about it. Respecting each other's' boundaries but still allowed some space for some sort of friendship and even partnership to form without much complications.

Nanami had slid open the door for the Lady of the dojo. She had nodded towards him in gratitude before going inside and calling over to him to follow, "You can take a seat if you want, I'll see what I can prepare from what we have in the pantry,"

Nanami shook his head and went to her side, "No, I'll help Lady Miura,"

"Lady Miura?" Sachiko raised a brow at him and smirked, "Please, just Sachiko is fine. No need to be formal around me,"

The tall blonde boy didn't say anything right away out of respect not only to his senior but as his potential liege, "Forgive me but, I don't want to be disrespectful. You are the Lady of this house,"

She sighed now at his lack of humor. Sachiko always thought of Nanami as a friend and not a subject, so it pained her sometimes that he was just too fixated on rules and formalities, "This is an order from the Lady," she teased, "Please call me by my name," her red eyes squinted at him until he was able to give her a favorable response.

Folding his lips to ready his surrender, he exhaled, "Very well…Sachiko-senpai,"

"Okay, that's a start,"

The contents of the pantry were quite limited, making Sachiko placed tap on her chin and figure out what she could make with what they had, besides, Nanami was there to assist her so it wouldn't be too difficult, "Okay, so with what we have, what would you prefer Nanami-kun? Rice or bread?"

He shrugged," I am alright with whatever you choose Sachiko-senpai,"

She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips at him, beckoning him to give her a definite answer making Nanami flinch, "Bread would be fine…"

She clapped her hands now and began gathering ingredients, directing her junior to pick-up some eggs, green onion leaves and mushrooms, after which, she had asked him to carve up the two medium sized loaves of sourdough bread into two equal halves as she prepared two skillets. Taking the ingredients, he had washed and prepared, the lady of the dojo began sauteing the main contents of their sandwich in one pan and the other, she had sprinkled with olive oil and basil leaves before setting the bread down to rest on the heated pan. It wasn't long until she slowly added the contents from the other skillet to the bread that was soaking the oil and spices on the pan.

Kento watched her cook with much enthusiasm, surprising even himself at how much she handled cooking well. He was a little too distracted by the aroma from the pan and at the finesse of her skills in the kitchen that he had forgotten to hand her the two pieces of uncracked eggs he was holding. This made her laugh as he almost dropped them on the floor. Having caught it before it broke, she tapped the eggs on the side of the pan and allowed the yolk and egg white to settle on top of the grilling sandwich sprinkling some salt and few more spices before increasing the heat and covering the pan with a lid to allow the egg to cook.

The younger boy felt beads of sweat form under his brow. His lady was doing all of the work and he felt a little embarrassed that he didn't much to help with their meal. After handing her their plates, he gave her an apologetic and uneasy expression, "Is there anything else I can do? Forgive me for not being much of help,"

Sachiko snickered as she took the plate from his hand and began transferring the contents of the food on it, "Please, I enjoy cooking, no need to make a fuss about it,"

He looked away now and nodded, "Please let me handle the dishes then,"

She shrugged, "Oh, well, if you insist,"

Nanami set their table and took the liberty of pouring a glass of cold water for Sachiko after making sure they had their own set of utensils. Not wanting to be rude, he waited for her to join him before he took his seat. She merely beamed at him as she placed his plate in front him and took her seat.

Nanami's brown eyes were caught by the vibrant colors of the sandwich which earlier only looked like a stale concoction of detached ingredients. The smell was very enticing, the buttery texture of the egg and garlicky aroma coupled with the sweetness of the ripe cherry tomatoes and savory flavor of the sauteed mushroom springled with some gruyere cheese made his stomach grumble.

"Casse-croute," Sachiko said, making Kento recount in his head what she had just muttered, "It's French for snack-bar. But it actually is a description of putting a number of ingredients together into a broil to bring back the moisture of the bread," she giggled as she rubbed the side of her arm, "Well, that's what one of the chefs told me before, anyway, hope it's to your liking," she smiled again as she pushed his plate a little forward, "Dozo,"

Nanami was bewildered by her. It was the first time that he actually saw her so unguarded and quite dreary simultaneously making him regret that he once believed that she was as cold-hearted and dangerous as the rumors said. Placing his hands together he spoke, "Itadakimasu,"

Taking his first bite, he couldn't help but take a few seconds to just stay still. It was very delicious. Touching even. He never had a meal done for him outside of his home and this actually made him feel the same way he did in his abode-secure. Hiding his own delight at how much she made him feel cared for, he opened his mouth to speak again, "Thank you, Sachiko-senpai,"

It didn't take long for them to finish their meal. Nanami had even breezed through clean-up duty and was able to join her in the garden. She was sitting by the footsteps, taking in the afternoon breeze. As soon as he secured a spot near her, Sachiko turned to his direction,

"Kento-kun?"

The sound of his name when it came from her lips was a small comfort that he looked forward to. She always spoke with much eloquence and a particular type of calming tone that always made him focus on her, "Yes, senpai?"

She intertwined her fingers before allowing her hand to relax on her lap. With ardent eyes, she looked down, "You should just live according to your own desires. There's no need for you to go through this,"

None of the Miura followers had ever asked him if he wanted to withdraw from their tutelage. There was always just an assumption that he would push through with it. But there she was, the very reason for the recruitments, offering him a way out rather-pushing him to walk away.

She turned her face to catch a glimpse of his surprised expression but continued to beam sheepishly, "I don't want you to waste your time here," a soft cackle left her lips, "I'm not even sure if I'm worth it."

There were many times that Nanami didn't find virtue among the walls of the Dojo. He was a soldier and a fail-safe plan for them. That's what he believed. That all began to change as he got to know the infamous Six-tailed Kitsune. He resigned to facts only, which helped him make very difficult decisions, including his entry into their clan.

If she is capable of showing kindness and this kind of unsolicited mercy and justice to me then, there is hope that she can also lead her clan under the same character. Those are facts as well.

"I don't think that's quite true," Nanami began, lifting himself from where he sat and standing in front of her with a determined look, "In any case, prospect or not, it was the right decision for me to come. It doesn't matter if you choose me or not. I was assured that my efforts would pay off."

The blonde boy knelt at her side to align himself with her face so that she could read into him as he continued his speech, "You're worth it,"

From that moment on Nanami Kento vowed that he would only look at her the same way as that day-compassionate and selfless. No matter how bad things would get, he will keep that image of her, from across the table the first time she made his heart stir.

Sachiko was surprised at his expression. She had never witnessed Nanami Kento smile before.

Nanami straightened to stand and resume his position by the steps. His raven-haired senior didn't reply but it was enough for him to let her know.

I may not be a hundred percent loyal to the creed yet, but I know that I will be loyal to her.

And it was also true that day when she had done something unimaginable that resulted in the saving of his life and his friend's.

She was loyal to us. And so, shall I be.

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NEXT CHAPTER: SIX-EYES AND THE KITSUNE SLUMBER

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Author's Notes: Thank you so much for dropping by!

Hope you liked the story and the art. Things are finally starting to clear up and get some answers huh? But more questions seem to breed, hehe sorry!

CHAPTER ILLUSTRATION IS AVAILABLE AT MY AO3 ACCOUNT! You don't wanna miss it ;) #fluff

Events of the Premature death in this fic coincide with the actual arc on the Manga. JJK © Gege Akutami

Leave me a comment or interact with me either via the comments, DMs or twitter :)

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Some factoids to remind you:

Kitsune- Fox-spirit and Sorcerer Hybrids

Nogitsune- evil fox-shikigami summoners

Inverted Spear of Heaven- actual cursed tool used by Toji in the manga

Familiar prospect- Miura followers who are among those selected to be a Kitsune's human familiar

Red-string (Kitsune tail)- a personalized cursed tool made up of a Kitsune's lock of hair. It is an indestructible object that serves as symbol of a blood compact between the Kitsune and those whom she gifts the strings. Wielders will be able to borrow her cursed energy if they pull on the string and if they break the string, they can summon the Kitsune using a portal. Once broken, the string can never be reused. The string will remain dormant until activated but if the wielders are harmed, the string's cursed energy output borrowed from the Kitsune will reverberate and warn her of impending doom from those she is connected with. Unused strings will permanently engrave itself on the wielder and will be hidden from the rest. To date, no one knows what happens if the wielder dies before it is activated. It is said that the number of strings Kitsunes can gift depends on the number of tails.

Hope I can update next week.

Stay safe everyone!