Your eyes fluttered open, seeing the white ceiling in your view. You instantly recalled the event taking place before you lost consciousness. You extended your hand out, feeling how strong your cursed energy has become after your body had converted Maki's energy into yours. Although you felt relieved that this has worked, you didn't expect yourself to blackout after the process.

"Feeling better?"

Your head snapped to the side and saw Shoko in her chair as she made eye contact with you. She looked tired as always as dark circles painted her eyes. It's a good thing she wasn't smoking or else you'd be coughing like crazy.

Your lifted hand fell back to your side, and you rose to sit up with your back hunched and eyes on the white covers. "I… think so?" You felt okay, nothing more or less than that; honestly, you didn't know what to feel. No tiredness or nausea were present but a healthy body waking up from sleeping. "I feel fine. How long was I out for?" You asked since there wasn't a clock in the room or windows. Your heart was slowly accelerating because you feared Yuji would hear about this from Gojo if he's expecting your arrival around evening.

"For an hour, so it's 4 right now."

Shoko's answer reassured you since Yuji didn't have to be alerted and scared for your well being. You knew if he had heard the news, he would be panicking in his seat. But now you were better, you weren't going to tell this to Yuji whatsoever. If he didn't see it, it should be fine on your end.

You released a hefty sigh. "That's not bad… At least it didn't take long. Now I'm going to go home,"

Before you left, you went to find Maki and apologized for scaring her, and also went to the school's archive to find books about Kameko.

In the dimmed archive lit by candles on the walls, you were alone in the room filled with rows of old ancient history about sorcerers. The only sound was your footsteps and wax melting.

Everything was organized in alphabetical order, and you immediately went to find the letter K. Your fingers dragged against the spine of the books, feeling its different texture and bumps as you felt dust collecting on your skin. It kept sliding until it reached the section of Kameko, the mother of jujutsu. Without any hesitation, you took as many books you needed in order to know who she truly was. You didn't want to read it in this room since you'd want to read it at home where you're comfortable. The archive made you feel lazy to even study; it didn't give you the same motivation as your home did.

After packing the books you needed to study off from, you almost exited the archive if Gojo hadn't found you first. Gojo spread his legs wide open till both feet hit the door frame as he folded his arms across his chest. His pose reminded you of those teacher memes—the bell doesn't dismiss you, I do. You had no idea what he wanted or why he appeared in front of you, yet then again you're at the school and he works here too.

His lanky and long body towered you, making you crank your head back. "Hi y/n, how's Yuji doing?" Gojo secretly asked, not even asking how you were doing first but Yuji's. You were a bit ticked off now.

You clicked your tongue in annoyance. "Really? You're not going to ask about how I'm doing? Rather someone else who you can text? How rude of you…" then you rolled your eyes at him. You were definitely fed up; you wanted to go home and see Yuji's warm smile greeting you.

Wait, why am I thinking about Yuji greeting me when I'm home? You felt your heart flutter from the idea of his jolly presence waiting for your return.

I'm just used to it. He's been growing on me lately, so I'm just used to the normal now. You rationalized your thoughts so you wouldn't have to delve too deep into your feelings.

Gojo, being shocked, gasped loudly, hastily covering his mouth with his hands. You couldn't understand why he's so dramatic. "Omg…!" He cried, crouching down to your level. "Did Yuji really rub his positivity onto you?! Normally you hate whenever I ask how you are, but now you're mad at me for not asking? My child has really grown—"

Your pinky was in your ear, turning left and right as you felt uncomfortable by him bringing up the past. Gojo was right. Yuji had grown on you, and you couldn't really ignore his presence at home either. You knew you weren't the best person to be friends with, and Yuji helped you reflect upon that. You're trying your best to change. It's not a fast rate, but you're putting in the effort to.

"Yeah he has. For better or for worse, it's working on me."

"Wow, y/n! I always thought you were a tsundere like your twin Megumi."

Gojo's comment threw everything out of proportion. He really didn't have to bring up your 'twin' because you guys weren't even alike.

"Bye!" You crawled under his legs to get out of his grasp and ran out before he could chase after you. To be honest, you weren't sure why Gojo had even stopped to talk to you to begin with but you also didn't want to know, which is why you dashed away.

"Wait! Y/n!" Gojo yelled as he stuck his head out the door frame, extending his hand out to reach you as it slowly closed into a tight fist. You were too far for him to chase after. "My baby is growing up so fast…!" A bittersweet smile drew his lips upwards. He wasn't going to run after you since he knew you'd smack him.

After exiting school grounds, you walked your way home under the evening sky. You turned off your nullification technique so you wouldn't get a headache. It's similar to Gojo's infinity that leaving your technique on can fry your brain and you have to use reverse technique to keep your brain refreshed. But another drawback is it heavily affects you; you get small headaches here and there if you don't turn it off for a few hours to a whole day. Your brain gets overstimulated and it needs to rest, and if you don't then you're going to have a massive headache throughout the week until you decide to turn it off. For your head not to hurt like hell, you temporarily turned it off until tomorrow morning.

Wondering about how Yuji was doing, you sent him a text message.

To: Yuji

From: y/n

Hey, are you doing well? Nothing bad has happened? And you are home too?

You didn't want to sound too overbearing yet at the same time you were a bit concerned. You didn't want Yuji to get into big trouble and get exposed. If you're not physically there with him, it makes you more anxious than when he's home alone because you knew your house was a safe place.

Even though it's only been a few seconds since you hit "send," you couldn't stop your uneasiness from bubbling. You gripped your phone tightly in your hand and continued walking home while part of your mind was thinking about if Yuji had received your text message or not.

y/n calm down. He's perhaps still hanging out with Junpei! There's no need to be too concerned. He's not a baby; he's my age and has a brain. I shouldn't worry if he replies very late because as long as he's having fun with his friend then that's all I can ask for. He deserves his own happiness and freedom before it's taken away from him. You were trying your best to convince yourself why he's not replying very fast. Yes, you were on edge to know if he's unharm because Gojo handed him to you. So it's hard for you not to see him as your responsibility.

"Don't go crazy. Everything will be alright." You breathed out heavily, doing your best to believe Yuji is in good care.

5 minutes later, you finally received a text from Yuji and you felt your heart explode in relief. Instantly, your anxiety left your body as you felt reassured and happy.

"Finally! I was about to go crazy if I didn't receive anything within 10-30 minutes. Yuji's not a slow replier,"

You opened the text message and read what he wrote:

To: y/n

From: Yuji

Hi y/n! (*≧▽≦)

I'm doing fine. I just departed from Junpei and I'm heading home now. Are you already home? Is that why you texted me? Because you're expecting my cooking lol

A smile drew your lips high as you shook your head lightly. "No, it's not always about his cooking but his safety too." Instead of replying back, you called him instead, still making your way back home.

You waited for Yuji to answer your phone call as the line still continued to beep.

"Excuse me miss!" You felt someone tapped your shoulder and you turned around, wondering who it could be.

You lowered your phone from your ear and cranked your head to the side. Your eyes locked with a woman who was literally close to you. She didn't give you any personal space whatsoever. You were taken back because you didn't expect a person to be that close. Does the woman not feel weird touching arms?

"Can I help you—!" What you didn't expect was purple dust to be blown into your face when you asked your question.

You choked on the dust particles as it entered your throat. You coughed violently, hitting your chest and fanning to clear the air. However, you were in disbelief that the purple dust didn't vanish. It expanded and grew thicker, quickly the streets and people you once saw disappeared. Then a great force pushed your body down as you collapsed and your phone flew out of your hand.

THUDD!

"Ugh, what the fuck is happening?" Your head was processing the small details from the random lady to her purple dust and to the weird fragment of time being warped due to the dust.

The lady, purple dust, and this indescribable ability… It must be the work of a curse user! Damnit! Just the day when I choose to turn it off, I get attacked out of nowhere. Isn't this my lucky day— You quickly stopped talking when you felt the hairs on your skin raise from the familiar yet haunting voice of the two people you loved the most.

"y/n, why did you leave us?"

"We should've fallen down together."

Your heart and soul were trembling as if you were lost in a dark forest and couldn't find a way out. You wanted to deny that those voices were your parents, but you didn't want to confirm either. You wanted to stand up and run away, but your body refused to. Their haunting words glued you to your seat as you were barely breathing from your nose or mouth. You were struck with immense fear. Your mind refused to think rationally to even help you escape from this person's technique. You felt so powerless because they conjured your deep fear and regret that you hid from yourself.

Suddenly, you felt someone's arms snaking around your body, and you fearfully looked down at their arms to see it was grey, bloody with scrape marks, and bruised. Your breath was shaky as your eyes widened in horror. You knew. You knew too well. You knew the owner of these arms. Your eyes and memories will recognize these arms no matter how old you get. How could you forget the arms which cuddled you when you were a child? Your own mother who swore to protect you and love you till the days she died.

Tears brimmed your eyes from denial and sorrow. So many thoughts were coming and going from your head. You couldn't focus on breaking free from your trauma. It shackled you and threw you into a prison cell to keep you behind bars for good.

"Sweetie, won't you look at mommy and daddy?"

A hand lifted your chin, making you face them. Your tears broke as your heart sank to its grave. Your mouth was hanging from the gruesome sight of your parents: so much blood and bruises covered their face, small glass parts punctured their skin, parts of their face had light to deep cuts and through the lost layers of skin, their red muscle tissues peeked through. This was how they looked when they died during the car accident of 10 years ago.

"Don't you miss us?" your mom smiled widely, causing more blood to gush out from her wounded face.

Meanwhile with Yuji…

After he dropped off Junpei at his place, Yuji felt his phone buzzing in his pocket so he looked at the ID and saw it was you who was calling him.

"Oh? y/n want to call? Okay," He didn't think too much about it as he accepted your call. "Hello?"

Yuji didn't hear your voice but heard what sounded like a body falling on the ground as a big thud erupted from the phone. This paralyzed his body and mind for a few seconds before he regained his composure. His hand securely gripped his phone and his feet ran before he realized it. He was scared for you, and no matter how much he called your name through the phone, you weren't answering him.

"y/n! y/n! Can you hear me?! Where are you?! Y/N!" Yuji yelled in fright, feeling his heart racing in adrenaline. All he could think about was you. He wanted to know if you were okay. Images of your face ran through his head like those cutscenes where a person recalls their happiest moments with their significant other. He made a promise with your grandma—to ensure you were going to live your life in pure glee—and he wasn't going to break it.

"AHHHHHH!" You shrieked through the speaker of the phone, and his heart coiled in fear as it beated heavily till it made his chest hurt. He didn't want to be too late. He prayed you weren't heavily injured, or even...dead.

Yuji's eyes frantically looked for you in all directions. He looked high and low, left and right, and even asked people if they saw you. He felt his heart ripping into shreds. His feelings were telling him to ask Sukuna for help since he's interested in her, but his head knew Sukuna would refuse if he's not allowed to mess with her or something.

Y/n, I promised your grandma to be by your side. I promised myself to make you happy. I want you to feel content with life. I don't want you to suffer whatever is hurting you. I want you to genuinely smile from your heart as you truly mean it and feel it blossom in your chest! Please, please! I beg of you god to make sure y/n is alive!

Yuji didn't want to imagine the scenario where he has to tell your grandma that you have died because he couldn't get to you in time. He doesn't want to see her painful expression as she breaks down into hard sobs, knowing that he's at fault for not protecting you and fulfilling his promise to her.

Then from a distance, something caught his eyes as he quickly shot his attention in that direction. Between two tall medium sized buildings, he saw a black bump peeking through. Yuji knew what it was because he had seen it before. It was a curtain. He remembered that really well during his last mission before he 'died'. This gave him hope. He finally found a lead where you might be, so he wasted no time finding you.

Approaching the curtain, Yuji jumped inside without hesitation. His mind only thought about you and your safety. You were like a drug he needs in his arms. If he doesn't have you, he would lose his mind. Although his attachment towards you wasn't as strong as his grandpa's, you were important to him.

Yuji saw your limp but alive body on the ground. You weren't moving, rather you were frozen in your spot as you groaned in pain. "Y/N!" Yuji screamed, running towards your motionless body. He didn't see any blood leaking from your body which was a plus, but it didn't help the fact that he didn't feel uneasy in this situation.

As Yuji got closer to you, he saw your eyes fully white as it shocked him. Never in his life has he seen a person's eyes go completely white. His lips twitched, viewing your tear stained face. Yuji felt extremely miserable as his knees buckled before him. He was at a loss of words, wondering what's wrong with you. Shakily, he leaned over with his hand cupping your face, feeling your body temperature neither hot or cold but cool. This really concerned him. Then what tugged his heartstring was tears streaming down your eyes.

"Y/n…" Yuji whispered, unsure what to do to snap you out of this trance you were stuck in. He wanted to take your pain away. He didn't want you to shed any tears.

"She's never going to get out of that state, boy. As long as I'm alive, she will be stuck there forever; under my technique which puts the victims into their deepest regret/fear and haunts them until their soul is vulnerable to destroy." A woman emerged from the shadow, grinning at Yuji. "I don't know who you are, but it looks like you're a sorcerer. If you want to live scotch free, then I guess you turn around and leave. I have no business with you, but to claim her pitiful life."

Hearing how the woman said your life was 'pitiful', it angered Yuji. "She never asked to be pitied!" Yuji immediately rose up and began fighting the woman.

He used his technique: divergent fist against the woman, yet faltered at the same time because he didn't want to take a life. Yuji had never taken a life before, and he doesn't want to either.

The woman was fiercely fighting back, getting hit and scoring hits. She wasn't going to let a high school boy win her. It's her job to kill you and get money as the reward. She had her eyes on the prize.

"Why does she mean so much to you? Is she your girlfriend?" The woman taunted Yuji.

His heart squeezed in anguish. "No! She's my friend who I really care about! I don't want her to die by the likes you!" Yuji retorted, controlling his anger to the best of his ability. He knew he wasn't the best sorcerer but he's trying very hard to catch up to the rest of his friends.

"Then you're going to have to kill me to bring her back!"

A flashback triggered at the back of Yuji's head.

[flash back

It was a random day where Yuji was watching tv and you popped out of nowhere asking him a grave question. "Hey, if you had to kill a human to save another life or yours, would you do it in a heartbeat?"

The question caught Yuji off guard as he rapidly blinked, registering your words. He wasn't sure how to respond because he valued all life. "Um, I'm not too sure. It really depends on the situation, but if you want a quick answer it would be no. Killing would be my last resort."

You frowned, crossing your arms as you sensed his weak conviction once again. In your eyes, he sounded like a pacifist if he's unwilling to take a life. "Mmm, I see." You didn't hide your disappointment. As you know, being a sorcerer means sacrificing things in order to maintain balance or changing the tide of the battlefield.

"Why? Have you?" He gulped, fearing to hear your answer.

You weren't going to hide it. It's the way to live, especially when you're a special person. "Yes I have."

Yuji's face paled as he felt uncomfortable now.

"In order to survive because my head has a big price, so of course I want to live another day. I won't let these bastards take me down. I will keep on fighting until I can't. I don't deserve to live this way, Yuji… Having blood cover my hands doesn't fear me or make me feel guilty. It only strengthens my will to show these curse users who's boss!" You laughed, smiling from your deranged words that Yuji couldn't understand.]

I have no choice but to kill that woman to bring back y/n. I really don't want to, but I have to. Y/n is my friend who's endangered. She's an important figure in the jujutsu society, but most importantly… She doesn't deserve this either. Now I understand why killing doesn't faze her.

Yuji wrapped up his resolve and ended the woman's life with two powerful blows to her chest as her rib cage broke and pierced her heart. Blood spewed from her mouth as she fell to the ground and died.

Yuji breathed heavily, locking his eyes on the woman's dead body for a moment to make sure she's really dead. After he didn't see her body move an inch, he ran over to you and scooped you in his arms. Yuji cradled your body as he sat against a wall, holding you tightly. He double checked if your eyes were back to normal by peeling them apart, and indeed they were back to their normal color and Yuji felt at ease. You weren't in distress as your body relaxed from the woman's technique gone. You were breathing softly against his left side of his chest.

"It's okay, y/n. I'm here now. I'll protect you too," Yuji wiped your wet eyes dry. It hurts him to see you cry. "I wonder what's your deepest fear that's making you cry so hard." He frowned.

Later, Yuji called Gojo to inform him of the situation. Gojo came to the scene and took care of it by getting rid of the woman's body. He had everything under his control as Yuji took you home.