In the early hours of the morning, you and Yuji were forced to get ready for your mission. None of you guys were fully awake. Your droopy eyes wouldn't stop closing while you brushed your teeth and Yuji yawned changing his clothes. Prior to the mission, Ijichi informed you two that it's going to be a long mission so you guys need to pack a suitcase.

Ijichi threw the suitcases in the trunk of the car and sat in the driver's seat. He turned on the car and shifted his rearview mirror as his eyes glanced at you and Yuji endlessly yawned. He didn't understand why Gojo would want to make his students wake up at 4 in the morning when the sun barely peaked through the dark sky.

Poor Itadori and y/n. They're trying so hard to stay awake. I see their eyes rolling back and their heads bobbing. They're going to sleep throughout the car ride and not hear a word about their mission since Gojo-san has kept it away from them.

"Ahem!" Ijichi cleared his throat, capturing your guys' attention as you and Yuji stared up at him with weak, tired eyes. "I have the details of your mission!"

In that moment, you guys were wide awake like the sun was out and shining and the ounce of exhaustion left your bodies. You two were energized with your ears wide open.

"Ooo, enlighten me." You calmly spoke, stretching your body in the car.

"There's a curse user who's tampering with dead bodies to profit from mourning families. From what our intel has told us is that he will be in Osaka. He tends to travel a lot so we don't have a clear pinpoint where he could be 24/7. It's best to find him there if you're able to locate him, if not then it's going to be a long mission."

It gave you and Yuji goose bumps as the hairs on your skin stuck up.

"That's awful and disgusting! Manipulating people just for money is horrible. Now their loved ones think their dead family member is 'alive' but not alive at the same time." Yuji revolted from the thoughts of a corpse acting like a zombie. He really wondered if the corpse eats humans or not since the curse user is reviving the dead. It made him wonder if there's more dead bodies being discovered too because nobody knows how many corpses he resurrected from the dead.

You had a baffled expression from hearing the mission. Yuji made a valid point, but you were in deep thoughts about it. "The bigger question is… What is the curse user putting inside the dead bodies…?" You looked at everyone in the car because you can't bring back the dead…unless there's a method that can.

An eerie feeling sat in the air, consuming everyone's thoughts. Nobody wanted to think outside the box because that could lead into something far worse than anyone can imagine. No matter what it is, it crosses the line of the jujutsu rules and regulations.

"Hopefully we get an answer by tonight." You said, breaking the tense air. "I don't think I want to be here for a long time since we don't know when the curse user will leave Osaka."

Time wasn't on your side. You had to find the curse user now or else it's going to be an endless goose chase. He could be tampering with more dead bodies and hurting families if he's not stopped. You're determined to locate the user and end this once and for all.

After the long 5 hour drive, the sun was out and shining, blazing the world with warmth and light.

You stepped out of the car stretching from the soreness aching in your body. It was very uncomfortable to sit in the car for that long. You couldn't move or really stretch out your limbs without hitting Yuji. But finally, you had space to do whatever to keep your arms and legs from being coiled up.

Ijichi and Yuji got the suitcases out from the trunk, and Ijichi rolled your suitcase to you. "y/n, Itadori, Gojo-san was nice enough to book you two an inn to stay at. I wish you two the best luck!" Ijichi smiled before climbing back inside his car and driving off.

The light wind brushed against your hair as you and Yuji looked at each other. There's no instruction on what you guys have to do next. Your future moves are on you and Yuji.

A deep sigh left Yuji's lips and he turned to grin at you. "Let's head to our inn first!"

You nodded. "Yeah, I don't want to carry my luggage with me anyways…" You just packed a lot of clothes and shoes since you weren't too sure how long this mission will last. You want it to end in 24 hours but who knows. This is your first mission ever since you stepped foot in the school. A part of you didn't understand why Gojo would make you participate when someone else could accompany Yuji, but maybe he wanted you to broaden your knowledge about the world. Either way, you weren't going to let Gojo down because you wouldn't hear the end of it if you failed.

Walking on the streets to your inn, many people and posters were talking about a festival that's happening tonight.

An idea sparked in your head as you turned to Yuji with a brilliant plan. Your eyes were firm and collected just like your facial expression. You knew Yuji would totally agree with your plan. "People and posters are talking about a festival that's taking place tonight. I was thinking that we should attend and blend in to see if the curse user is there. It's a great place to bait and lure victims because there's so many people out with friends and family. Nobody would ever suspect something suspicious happening!"

A big lightbulb moment occurred and Yuji was on board. "Y/n! You're a genius! We can get some kimonos and blend in by having fun! Have you gone to a festival before?!"

You blinked a couple of times, trying to recall the faintest memory you have with your parents but nothing would turn up. "Uhh… I don't really remember." You scratched your head. "Perhaps? I don't know. I lost them when I was really young so even if I did go, I wouldn't have remembered anyways."

Hearing this news, Yuji created a new agenda for today: making sure you had the time of your life since you might've never gone to a festival before. This joy and excitement lit his heart on fire. He couldn't wait to see you smile in pure delight and curiosity. "We're going to have so much fun today! You won't forget it!"

You awkwardly smiled to balance out his radiant glow on his face. You weren't too sure what he meant by having fun because the mission wasn't going to be fun but dreadful. You're not looking forward to finding any of the curse user's creations if you guys were to encounter one at the festival or after capturing him.

After dropping off your suitcases at the inn, you and Yuji went to find kimonos to rent. You guys walked the streets of Osaka, finding good rental places in your budget. No one brought a lot of money since you guys didn't expect to attend a festival and rent out kimonos.

"Yuji…!" You pant, tired from walking and finding rental places around the area. "Let's rest for a second. I'm burned out!" You collapsed on a bench as your arms were sprawled out on the back of the bench and your head was cranked backwards. Your eyes shut out the world and focused on your own fatigue. You breathed hard through your mouth, letting your body take an infinite rest. Most rental shops were either booked or out of your budget, so it was taking longer than you both anticipated.

"You want water?"

You opened your eyes to see Yuji holding a water bottle in his hand. Your eyes flickered from Yuji to the clear mountain spring water which contained the essence of life to revive your parched body back to its original form. "Yes!" You waterfall the water bottle, intaking a small amount in case Yuji wanted to finish it. "Thanks," You handed back the water to him.

"Yeah no problem." Yuji twisted the cap back to his water bottle and put it on the concrete ground. "What if we can't wear kimonos?" He stared at you in the eyes, seeing your mundane face caused by your guys' current situation.

I really want to find a rental place so y/n could have the full experience: to get dressed up with her hair and face done, and see a bright expression when she looks at herself in the mirror to reveal a new person before her eyes. I want to witness that. Yuji's heart beated loudly as his face turned red from the sudden realization that he's thinking about you like that.

Your eyebrows rose after noticing how red Yuji's face turned. It's like he threw himself out in the blazing sun to get sunburn, that's how red he got. "Hey, drink some water 'cause it looks like you're burning up!" Grabbing his water bottle you lightly tossed it to him as he snapped out of his thoughts and caught it in a blink of an eye. His hands fumbled just a bit but managed to keep it from falling to the ground.

He was scared that you were going to press questions about his tomato face but you didn't. You just thought he was dying from the heat or something. "Y-yeah!" Yuji hastily agreed while his voice cracked, evidently covering up his flushed appearance.

You and Yuji resumed your search until you guys finally found a rental shop and decided to go with it.

The women in the shop helped dress you up, draping the lovely and high-quality fabric on your silky skin. You've been moisturizing day and night to keep your skin from getting ashy and dry. No matter the weather, you want baby smooth skin.

"Miss, does everything feel good?" One of the workers asked, wrapping and tightening any loose ends of the kimono before finalizing your outfit by doing your hair and makeup.

You viewed yourself in the full body sized mirror, turning side to side as you admired the plum kimono decorated with maple leaves and white loose swirls. It complimented your skin tone and made you look like a girl who's wanting to find her true love at the festival.

"Wow… This kimono looks so good on me!" You absolutely loved it. You felt so different. This was your first time wearing any type of traditional clothes. Your heart swelled from your outlook, but you knew it's gonna get bigger once your hair and makeup was done.

"I'm glad to hear that! Now let's finish everything off!" The worker clapped in delight, gently taking you to a different room.

Meanwhile with Yuji, he sat in the waiting area after he got dressed. He was set and ready to go, but he had to wait until you were done.

The shop was pretty busy with families, friends, and couples coming in and out as the sky darkened. By the time you're done, the lantern would be on and the place would be jovial with everyone in a good spirit.

Yuji's right knee jumped up and down, wondering when you'll come out. Ahh, I can't wait to see what she looks like! I bet she's going to be so excited! He smiled to himself, imagining your child-like expression when you present yourself right in front of him.

Then something snapped Yuji from his thoughts.

"Hey you brat," Sukuna appeared on his face, talking to him for the first time in forever.

Yuji bared a disgusted look on his face, rolling his eyes as he didn't want to deal with Sukuna. I don't know what he wants but I don't want to hear it… He only comes to threaten me or annoy the hell out of me when he's bored. Even I don't know what he does inside my body. I want to hope that he doesn't pop up again when I'm enjoying my time with y/n…

Yuji contemplated whether he wanted to answer or not, but he chose to reply in case he comes again when he's with you. He doesn't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation when you don't even like Sukuna or want to be around him.

Sighing, Yuji's body slumped forward as he brought up his phone to make it seem like he's on call with someone. "What do you want, Sukuna?"

A toothy grin appeared on Sukuna's lips as his eye was rolled up to view Yuji's face. "I want to talk to my sweet y/n." Sukuna said in a pleasant tone like he's trying to convince his parents to let him out of the house after doing something terribly bad. He knew he didn't want to step over the line that Yuji created for him.

A scowl furled on Yuji's face, fueling confusion and contempt against Sukuna. He was taken aback by Sukuna's desire to see you while his heart was enraged. That dangerous demon was also the person who let Junpei die in his arms. Why would Yuji let Sukuna even talk to you?! Who knows what Sukuna's plotting? And you don't even like him either so why would Yuji put you in that situation?

Yuji swiftly gave Sukuna an obvious answer. "No… Just no! You're insane to believe that I'll let you talk to y/n! I think not!"

Internally, Sukuna wasn't pleased by this but it didn't discourage him because he had other things set in motion. Yuji was the barrier between him and you. He had to get rid of your wallflower in order to get to you.

Sukuna decided to retreat to prevent his future plans from unraveling. "You're no fun. Fuu fuu~" He chuckled sinisterly, causing Yuji to stiffen up and be alerted. "I'll talk to her one day, just you watch out!"

Yuji bit the bottom of his lips after Sukuna disappeared and his eyes stared off into the distance. I know I shouldn't think too much about what he has to say but it bothers me. It's eerie and it adhered itself in my head. What does he have planned for y/n? How should I protect her?

A few moments later, you finally came out to show your new self to Yuji.

"How do I look?!" You couldn't contain your excitement as a big smile stretched your cheeks and your eyes twinkled in curiosity. Your whole body felt jittery to know his opinion about your appearance. Of course you don't need his validation to make you feel beautiful, but since he's going to be with you, you wanted to hear his honesty. If he said you looked like a sore thumb then you're not going to hang around him.

Yuji's jaw dropped and his eyes widened from your new attire. You looked memorizing in his view. Your hair was done perfectly with ornaments adoring your natural features while your makeup enhanced your gorgeous eyes and smile.

BA-THUMP

Yuji's heart skipped wildly, banging in all directions in his chest. He gulped dryly, lost for words as you literally took his breath away. Right before him was a different you he remembered when he first met you. It amazed him how in a small amount of time, you've greatly transformed yourself into a person he doesn't recognize. "Y-you look beautiful, y/n!" He blurted without hesitation or even thinking twice about it. This truly came from his heart and feelings he subconsciously harbored for you.

Immediately, you malfunctioned while your face turned red and your whole body got very hot like someone turned on the heater in the room. "Oh! I— Thank you! You look handsome too!" You shouted too enthusiastically, fidgeting your hands together to calm yourself down from his compliment. You were very happy to hear him call you beautiful. It brought butterflies in your stomach, and it made you feel special even if he had called other girls beautiful before too.

"Miss, I told you your boyfriend would love it!" The lady who dressed you said out loud, giggling as your face turned 10 shades darker, causing Yuji to stare from you to the lady in surprise. What the lady said shocked him because he doesn't know what went on between you two when he had to deal with Sukuna.

/

After you two left the shop and walked to the festival, you cleared the air from earlier. You didn't want him to misunderstand.

"Disregard what the lady said! She mistook us as a couple even though I corrected her many times!" You flatten out your skirt even though it was already flattened. You just needed to distract yourself to release your nervousness from speaking about this. If you were really honest, you weren't sure why this made you feel all skittish when you had him become your fake boyfriend before. Your anxiety couldn't swell down.

Then a gusty laugh filled the air. "Haha! I mean we do look like a couple, and we were a short-term couple too! So they're not fully wrong I'd say!"

You didn't expect him to reply like that. He played it so cool and carefree. You felt stupid to feel your body react like that. "Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't be feeling weird about it!" You casted your uneasiness aside and focused on why you're truly here. Switching the topic, your voice turned grim and your eyes darted at the crowds once you two entered the festival: lights lit up everywhere; the stalls had food, games, and merchandise; and it was a packed festival as it was hard to maneuver your way around without touching backs against others. "So where do you think the curse user is?"

You knew it wasn't going to be an easy job to find the curse user. Your eyes were seeing many cursed spirits roaming the area but not harming anyone and you couldn't detect any cursed energy either. You didn't want to extend this till tomorrow either. It's better to get it done here and leave.

"I'm not too sure, but we can roam around to find him."

"Yeah. Let's head to the toy booth because his victims are mourning families so we can catch something there."

The moment you were about to march away, Yuji stopped you from taking another step forward.

"Wait, y/n!"

"Yeah?" You turned and looked at him, wondering what he wanted.

"Let's hold hands," Yuji stuck out his hand, leaving you flabbergasted. "Since it's very crowded, it's better not to lose each other." On the outside, he looked very calm and collected with a small tint of red across his face. But inside, he was freaking out because what if you didn't want to hold his hand. He would be placed in an awkward position.

His request wasn't out of the ordinary but it came out of nowhere. He acted pretty bold today, and now he's asking for your hand. You weren't sure what he's on—whether he's being kind or being a complete airhead but nonetheless, it's the best idea out there.

Sticking out your hand which your sleeve covered, you let him take it. Another set of butterflies trickled to your stomach and up to your heart, making it race as you gulped. "Okay…" You meekly said, slowly avoiding his gaze from your shyness coming out.

However, before Yuji was going to intertwine his hand with yours, you instinctively grabbed his sleeve instead. You mentally weren't ready to hold it. You just couldn't. The idea of holding his hand freaked you out and made you feel embarrassed for no reason.

On the other hand, Yuji didn't expect you to even take his offer to begin with. He just said it because he didn't want to lose you in the crowd. Of course you're not tiny to blend in with kids, but it wouldn't be easy to find anyone when it's fully packed in here. Also, it made Yuji internally laugh at how you chose his sleeve over his actual hand. By doing that, it reminded him of a child. This made you look so cute in his eyes. You're shyer than he expected.

"L-let's go!" You didn't look him in the eyes, running off with him.

/

Your plan didn't work out, so you two ended up playing games from the stalls. In all the games you guys chose, you somehow lost and didn't understand why. It frustrated the living hell out of you.

"Y/n, you don't need to pout!" Yuji laughed, enjoying your livid face as you pleaded for him to go easy on you. "I'm trying to let you win but somehow I keep winning!"

"Are you sure about that?!" You threw out your hands in the air and pointed at the stuffed animals he won. "I wanted to win a prize but you keep taking the opportunity to make me look bad." A festival is a place to have fun and rejoice what the event offers yet you weren't receiving any of it.

"Here, take my prize!" He pushed a big stuffed tiger into your arm as you wobbled back from the sudden give. "I don't need it anyways."

This made you feel bitter because Yuji was trying to make you shut up, that's why he did this. It only fueled your stubbornness even more. "No! If I want to win something, I'll do it myself! Take your animal back!" You tried returning it to him, but Yuji started fighting back as he didn't want it either. He was pushing one side of the tiger to you while you were doing the same. You both put strength into it, refusing to take it.

"Y/n, I gave it to you! Just keep it! It's a gift from me to you!"

"No! It's yours!"

After some back and forth, Yuji won the battle as you held the large stuffed animal at the side of your body, walking with him to a site to watch fireworks.

You sighed in defeat. "I can't believe we couldn't find the cursed user… even playing games or eating food, we couldn't resume our mission. What a pain in the ass!" You grunted in annoyance, rolling your eyes back to see your brain buried in stress.

The prizes that Yuji won were seated around the two of you. They circled you like they were about to jump you guys. You never knew Yuji had a competitive side to him, and it amazed you how effortlessly he won this stuff as you tried so hard but still failed at the end.

"Don't sweat it, y/n! We'll find him very soon. We're not going to let him get away with this."

You and Yuji stood shoulder to shoulder, waiting for the fireworks to start. You kept your head up and anticipated the bright colors painting the sky while Yuji took a quick glance at you. His eyes stopped and stared at your side profile, smiling from how excited you look even if it's not showing. He hoped you had a fun night to remember.

"Y/n," he lightly bumped into your shoulder, gaining your attention as you flickered your eyes at him.

"Yes?"

"Did you have fun today?" Yuji had you explore the whole event and all the goodness that was presented. He saw how intrigued you were like a person luring in their prey with perishable items. In addition, at times where you two would have a good break, Yuji noticed how consumed you were with your food at hand. You didn't pay attention to what Yuji was talking about as you tuned him out, not on purpose but because you wondered how and why it tasted so good and if Yuji could replicate it. Regardless, it didn't bother him at all. It caused his heart to swell to see you lively and getting out of your comfort zone.

You placidly grinned with your eyes smiling too, tilting your head to the side. "Yes, I did. I loved it! Hopefully you can make the food we ate too." You giggled, then leaned your head on his shoulder as you closed your eyes and breathed out tiredly.

Yuji's shoulder, that you laid on, tensed up from the touch but slowly heaved down. Y/n must be exhausted from today because she doesn't like to rest on others but puts herself into uncomfortable positions to nap. I don't blame her. We woke up really early for this mission.

"Rest. I'll let you know when the fireworks are about to start."

Once the fireworks appeared, Yuji woke you up and you both watched in awe. No matter how many times you see fireworks going off, it's so beautiful and vibrant. The loud pop bursted loudly in the air as children were crying or excited.

You felt extremely happy from today even if you couldn't end your mission early. You believed your happiness came from spending quality time with Yuji and having a long day figuring things out to see these magnificent fireworks to end the day. Turning your head to look at Yuji, he felt your stare and he glanced at you too. "It's already fall. It's going to be until next year when we see fireworks again…"

Yuji felt his heart drop when he heard the words 'next year' echo in his head. It's mainly because he doesn't know how long he'll live. He knows he has to eat all of Sukuna's fingers and die afterwards. His lips quivered as he sadly thought, I don't think I'll see this with you next year, y/n… I really want to but I'm bound to die. Please don't hurt when I'm gone. I'm sorry in advance.

Yuji fixed his shaking lips into an upward smile, hiding his feelings from entering your radar. He didn't want to spoil the mood with his dreadful thoughts, so he lied to make you the happier person in the situation. If you're happy, that's all he can ask for. "Yes, you're right. It's really beautiful. We should take in the sight before it's gone and over." All he could see was your pretty face merrily staring at him with the colorful lights exploding in the back.

BA-THUMP

As if time and space had stopped, you and Yuji couldn't stop looking at each other. You guys were in a trance, not even a big commotion could rip your eyes off of each other. It's an indescribable state where it felt tranquil and warm.

Yuji felt fuzzy from the inside as he didn't understand why he wanted to look at you like you were a jaw dropping image he hadn't seen before. Meanwhile, you received the feelings of butterflies roaming in your stomach. But these butterflies made your heart race fast, tangling your thoughts up about what Yuji meant to you. The both of you two had strong feelings for each other, and nobody could fully see it crystal clear.

/

The fireworks ended and it was already dark.

"We should return the outfits now before the rental shop closes." You yawned from the fun experience you had today. "It's too bad we couldn't find the cursed user. I don't want Satoru to come on our asses…."

Yuji patted your shoulder to assure you that nothing won't happen. "Y/n, you need to chill out from this mission. It was a slim chance of finding him when there's so many people—"

"HAVE YOU SEEN MY DAUGHTER?! I LOST MY DAUGHTER!"

You both whipped your heads to a woman calling and crying for help to find her missing daughter. However, what also caught your attention was the cursed energy residual marking her whole body. This wasn't normal at all.

"If you see what I see, let's go check it out." You murmured to Yuji and you guys proceeded to help the wailing mother.

Yuji ran to the woman faster than you could keep up. You had to grab your skirt and run to match his speed.

Goddamn he's not waiting for me! I can barely run in these sandals! You huffed, feeling the straps digging into your sore skin.

"Ma'am, me and my friend can help you find your daughter. It must be hard when nobody's listening, so we can lend you a helping hand until we find her." Yuji said in a soothing tone to ease the mother's anxiety. He knew how scary it is to lose a young child when they don't know how dangerous the world can be. It also doesn't help that this event is very busy with many people coming in and out from the entrance.

CLICK CLACK CLICK CLACK

You finally reached him, heaving heavily as you coughed your dried lungs out. "Don't… run… without… me…!" If you can't keep up with Yuji, how will you survive when you have to go on a morning run with him?

Your tired eyes drifted to the mother who dried her tears and calmed down her rapid and shaky breath. Her hands were placed on her chest, and she looked at the both of you in relief. At least some people have a caring soul unlike others. "Thank you…! M-my daughter… I lost her in the crowd. We both were holding hands… a-and, and I somehow just lost her!"

"Ma'am, it's okay. We're going to help you find her!" Yuji comforted the older lady as best as he could. "Right, y/n?" He glanced over at you, telling you to say something or nod back.

"Mhm," You nodded, still curious as to why you saw residuals on the woman.

I can just follow the residual and see where her daughter is because it might be from her? I don't know, I'm just guessing. However, we have to make sure that we are going to 'find' her by asking how her daughter looks like and stuff… You said to yourself.

"What's her appearance, age, and height?" You cut to the chase so time wasn't wasted any further.

"She's 8, around 4 feet tall, skinny… She has long brown hair. My daughter is also sick so her skin has a gray undertone."

You and Yuji exchanged weird looks.

"That's not normal," You whispered to Yuji as the woman went on about her daughter's description.

"You think she's a part of the dead?"

"Most likely. Maybe that's the residual we're seeing from the daughter. Let's follow that and find her."

Departing from the mother, it was really easy to find the residual as it led you guys to a wooded area far from the festival site. The trees were looming over the two of you as it got very chilly and dark because the moonlight was being blocked due to the high trees.

Feeling a bit scared and on edge, you glued yourself to Yuji so you're also safe too. "I hope there's no jump scare because I might run and leave you behind."

Your statement caused Yuji to stare at you weirdly. "What? That doesn't make sense. We exorcise curses for a living and a jump scare will make you run?" It baffled him to the point where he's laughing. "If anyone heard this, they would be laughing in confusion…!"

"Boy, shut up." You smacked his arm for making fun of you. "I hate suspenseful moments! But when you're on a mission, you're going to expect to meet some ugly ass curse and you can detect them too! It's totally different!"

RUSSLE RUSSLE

"Oh my gosh! Where is that coming from?!" You jumped in your spot, hiding behind Yuji to protect you.

Yuji laughed again, finding it very entertaining to watch. "y/n, you're so funny! It might be a rabbit—!"

"Aaahaggaa…!"

Wide eyed, you and Yuji froze in your spot, wondering where that grunting, moaning sound came from. Gripping Yuji's shoulders, your heart was racing like crazy because it didn't sound human just like what you thought. "Yuji, I don't mess with zombies! I only mess with cursed spirits! You go!" There's no way you're going to approach the thing. You're going to make Yuji do it since nothing scares him.

"No!" He objected. "We're both going! Sukuna will protect us 'cause he's not going to let us die!"

"Huhhhh?! What kind of excuse is that?"

Yuji pulled you with him, taking you to the groaning thing. Getting closer to your biggest fear, you saw the thing crystal clear as it put an unsettling feeling in your stomach. "What is that?" You both shouted in unison.

The 'thing' was the daughter. From the small fragment of the moon casting light to the daughter, it looked so grotesque and patchy. The daughter was resurrected because the skin was so gray and it smelled horrible from where you guys stood. Parts of her hair were gone, you could even see her brain exposed, and even the skin on her body was scraped off too. It seemed like the daughter went through hell to look like this. She looked like a roadkill to sum up her appearance.

Although you were terrified from what you were looking at, you sensed cursed energy circulating in the body to keep the daughter alive. It's the same cursed energy you saw on the mother too. "Yuji, we have to kill her." You sternly said, changing your whole attitude into your fight mode as your eyes were sharp as ever, glaring at the walking dead. You can't let this being walk on this earth because it doesn't belong here.

"...What do we say to the mom?" Yuji hesitated because he understood the circumstances you two were put in. This was a part of your mission, and it's against jujutsu law to have that thing moving since it's going to die anyways.

Honestly you weren't too sure either but you said what's on your mind. "I don't know… All I can say is the mom is in denial. She can't see that thing isn't her daughter but a walking corpse. We don't know if it had harmed others before or what, but I don't want to find out. I want it dead." You shaped your cursed energy into a spear so you could throw at it and kill it instantly; however, that chance wouldn't come because the mom beat you to it before anyone noticed.

"HONEY!" The mother jumped to her daughter, hugging her tightly as she cried again. A sense of relief washed over her because no one harmed her. She was able to find her daughter with your help. If it hadn't been for you two, she would still be distraught and in a hot mess. "I'm so sorry! Mommy didn't mean to lose you! Please forgive me! Thank you so much!" She wailed and rubbed her daughter's back in reassurance.

"Dude, the daughter isn't responding. She's limped inside her arms. It's kind of scary like what if she opens her mouth and chops on the mom?"

A shock expression took over your face from his grand scenario. "Uhhh… I don't know?! I don't want this to be a zombie movie!"

You had no choice but to break the precious moment between the mother and daughter. "Excuse me, ma'am but may I ask what happened to your daughter?" You sweetly hinted, masking your malice within your eyes. You clearly wanted an explanation to why her daughter looked hideous and scary even if you're rude about it.

The mother looked hesitant at first but since she's indebted to you guys, she felt like she must tell you. "A few weeks ago, my daughter was walking home from school and she got hit and run by a car. We haven't found out who did it." Her voice was wavering, trying to find the courage to speak about the tragic and painful event she had to endure. "By the time I got there, she was already dead…! Then came a man who said he could save her. As any worried and hopeless mother would, I took the offer!" You could see the pain she's reliving just by making eye contact with her. The guilt and anguish from failing to protect her daughter spoke louder than anything else and you pity her while understanding it.

"Who helped you? I want him to help me because I also lost someone dearest to me." Your duty comes first before anything else. Even if you deceive the poor woman, justice on the jujutsu end must be served and you'll make sure the mother gets closure too through the legal system.

The mother gasped as she believed you. She doesn't want anyone else to go through her pain, so of course she'll help you. "This man will totally help you! As we speak, he's in Osaka too! I went to him earlier so he could check up on my daughter. This is where he should be!" Once you gained the information, you asked Yuji to leave first so you could handle this matter.

"Y/n, I'm not leaving you behind. We're a team."

You didn't want to fight with Yuji so you let him stay if he insisted. "Fine, but don't get mad for what I'm about to do." You felt like your harshness will agitate Yuji because you sound so mean and coldhearted when you're speaking the truth to snap the in denial woman out from her mourning mind.

"Okay, I won't." Yuji agreed, giving you space.

Taking a step forward, you put a hand on the mother's shoulder and firmly gripped it, making sure she's looking at you instead of focusing on her dead daughter. "Ma'am, even if you had the power to reverse time, we as humans cannot do that. Her life has ended too soon like many others that family and friends have encountered too. You're not the only one! That isn't your daughter," you pointed at the motionless corpse. "Because your daughter is up in the clouds watching you every day of your life. She's making sure that bad things don't happen to you. She's your guardian angel. The corpse may look like your daughter, but it doesn't talk or move. It's a walking dead that's no longer human."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" The woman shouted, grabbing the collar of your shirt as she aggressively shook you with her eyes bulging out. She was hurt by your words because it wasn't true in her head. Whatever she went through with that corpse created a false reality for the poor mother. Denial is a dangerous disease since there's no cure to it, but to accept the new change that your loved ones are gone, yet it doesn't mean they're no longer with you.

You didn't try to pry the woman off of you because you've been through the pain before. "There are other people who went through something similar to you, ma'am." You calmly spoke without snapping at her or making her anger rise higher than it already was. "I lost my parents at a young age. My grandma raised me as I felt at fault for causing their death. I lived with this guilt that I took their lives because I was the only one who survived the car crash. It took me 10 years to accept this and bite down on the fact that it's not my fault. Closure is hard, but I know that your daughter wouldn't want you to be like this. She'd want you to live for the future instead of the past, and I know she was the luckiest girl to be born as your daughter. I bet you treated her like a princess."

The woman's grip on you loosened as she stepped back from you. Her hands were bunched in her hair and her bloodshot eyes couldn't look at you even if she wanted to. She felt too weak to face you and your sharp words of reality.

"You know she'd want you to be happy. Of course that doesn't mean you have to forget about her. She can always be there in your heart, but not like that." You pointed again at the corpse who played with her feelings and altered her perception and reality.

The woman cried again, hiccupping in her hands. You made things easier on her end by knocking her unconscious.

WHACK!

"Was that necessary?" Yuji concernedly asked.

"I'd say so. She's going to throw another crying fit and probably try to stop us from killing her daughter. Ijichi can handle this,"

Yuji didn't fully agree to what you said because the outcome could've been different, but he wouldn't know how to handle the mother once you guys kill her daughter.

In one fluid motion, you stabbed your spear into the dead body as your energy absorbed everything that's keeping the body active.

Then you and Yuji hunted down the cursed user and took him down. It was a quick and easy situation because you turned on your nullification technique and Yuji hit him with one punch. The cursed user didn't fight back because he didn't know how to. He really looked like an amature and he was one. You got a confession out of him saying he thought he had the power of god once he discovered jujutsu as he didn't know it was jujutsu. As stated before, he thought he was god and was gifted to save people even after death so he 'helped' families with those problems. In hindsight, he was 'resurrecting' the dead by putting random cursed spirits to inhabitat the dead bodies. You couldn't really understand how that can work but nothing is ever impossible when it comes to jujutsu.

You rolled the case over to other sorcerers, affiliated with the higher ups, to take care of it since your mission here was done.

/

After returning the rental clothes, you and Yuji decided to stay the night at the inn because this tired you guys out. You wanted to end this in one day, but no one would have thought it would be like this. In spite of it, you're glad it's over.

You guys shared a room but inside had two separate beds. The room was dark as you and Yuji were ready to pass out. Your energy was gone and a good night's rest would do the trick to wake you up the next morning.

Just as soon as your eyelids were about to shut, Yuji spoke in the dark. "Y/n, it amazed me how you were very empathetic with the mother. I got scared you were going to beat her up."

You scoffed from his bad view of you. "Boy, I'm not that cold hearted and mean! Who do you think I am?!" It felt more like an insult than anything else.

Yuji chuckled, changing the topic. "Do you think this would've turned out to be like the conjuring movies?"

"Go to sleep! I don't even want to think about this!"

/

Back at home, you received another cryptic letter. The hairs on your arms were standing up with your anxious heart pounding away. "I'm not ready for this."

Opening the letter it read: 'It's someone close to you who plotted their death. Are you curious to know? Give me a response so we can meet up in person. You don't want to live in a lie for your whole life and regret this opportunity later on.'

Although you had mixed emotions, you knew you shouldn't gamble and dig yourself in a deeper hole but this sender knew something you didn't know. So you had to find out because it's compelling, especially when Kameko cursed you.

"I'll go see them,"

You plucked a red spider lily from your pot and stuck it inside the mail, waiting for the next letter.