Chapter 26

Meanwhile…

Suiryu was getting antsy.

He has been pacing the floor all morning, wondering around the dorms and waiting for Yuuji to return. Fushiguro was rather taken back by his actions. Sukuna would have gone about his day without a care in the world. But Suiryu is the direct opposite. "Any word?" He heard Suiryu asked of him.

"Sensei hasn't seen Itadori since yesterday," He explained.

Fushiguro even got concerned for Yuuji, it wasn't like him to just disappear. Suiryu was a little more concerned that someone may have gotten the drop on them and caught him for the bounty. After all, there are bounty hunters out there with no curse energy of their own, they can avoid being detected by him.

"Shit…" Suiryu said with a sneer. Suddenly he made a hand gesture, and summoned a pack of wolf shikigami! When the wolves appeared, Suiryu gave it orders. "Find Yuuji!" he stated.

The wolves rushed about the dorms, curious, the two followed them as they went about Itadori's room. They sniffed about but then came to a stop, lied down and covered their noses!

"I've never seen wolves do that before…" Megumi whispered.

When he turned to Suiryu, he was at a loss for words. "Impossible…"

"Suiryu?"

"There is no scent these wolves cannot find on earth!" he protested. "Which means… Yuuji isn't on this plain…"

"What?"

Suiryu began to pace once more, walking back and forth until he paused. "Unless this is part of becoming a dragon…"

"What? Vanishing into thin air?!"

"No…" Suiryu paused. "When one is elevating their soul and also celestial being, they reach a stage of enlightenment. Your mind, body and soul are removed from the world temporarily as you adjust yourself to accommodate what is to come next."

Megumi was at a loss. He tried to follow this as best he could but couldn't wrap his head around it. Yuuji was taken from this world, so he can return to it in a different form? Is that what Suiryu was explaining?

"Is he going to be okay?"

He was silent.

Not even he knew by the looks of it.

Suiryu unsummon the wolves, he sighed aloud as he began rubbing his fingers through his hair in a frustrating manner. "WHY DOES THIS PISS ME OFF!" he suddenly shouted.

Megumi backed away slowly as Suiryu began fuming for an odd reason!

"Suiryu, calm down…"

"HOW THE HELL CAN I? MY BROTHER NEEDS HELP AND I CAN'T DO JACK SHIT ABOUT IT!" he protested. "WHY!... Why does this make me so angry?" he asked suddenly.

Fushiguro paused, that's why he was upset? He didn't know why he was angry?

"Are you upset that you have no answer to this?" Megumi asked offhandedly. "You said so yourself, Sukuna liked to be in control of everything and know everything… you're upset since you don't know what is going on with Itadori, you're angry since you can't help him."

Suiryu paused as he began nodding his head. "Yes," he whispered. "That's the reason… I cannot understand what is happening to Yuuji, for Sukuna has never seen it before… I keep depending on the bastard's own memories as to what to do, how to go about doing it… Perhaps I need to consider this notion myself and not rely on his knowledge…"

He still appeared upset with it all, at the same time. Suiryu was calmer. He took a deep cleansing breath and settled himself down. He then appeared to have spaced out for a moment, only to snap back to reality. "He's not in danger of bounty hunters… he has been taken away, but for his own benefit…"

"How can you tell?"

He shook his head, not knowing himself. "I just… have this feeling he's okay, and he will return to us soon."

"If you believe so…" Megumi paused as he looked at the odd hoard of pillows, towels and blankets on the floor in Itadori's room. "I wonder why he made a nest like this…" he muttered.

"Leave them for now, there has to be a reason why he brought these to his room."

#

Gojo wondered to the dorms that evening. Yet before he even entered, he peered up and saw him sitting on the side of the roof with great vigilance. "Going to wait up for him?" he asked aloud. "You really think he is going to come back, don't you?"

Suiryu sighed as he peered down. "Wouldn't you believe such a thing?"

With a shrug of his shoulders, Gojo jumped up and came to stand next to Suiryu. "I don't think I have ever seen you worried before," he said offhandedly. "I mean, except when Yuuji was going through his elemental phase or something like that, but this… this is full out brotherly concern… it's nice." He said with a grin.

Suiryu merely nodded. "It is part of what it means to be human isn't it? To feel suffering and anguish about those you care about… I never thought pain like this could hurt so much… again, it explains a lot of things about Sukuna… when you don't feel anything or care about anyone, nothing will harm you."

Gojo took a seat. "Yes, and no," he said offhandedly.

Suiryu peered over, curious to his words. "Yes and no?" he asked curiously.

"Let's say you are right, you don't give a damn about anyone, anything, all you care about is yourself, sure, nothing emotional will harm you in a sense. At the same time, look at Itadori. The kid feels on so many levels, and yet, despite the suffering through emotions, the pain he has endured… he's become stronger for it."

Looking to Suiryu, he wanted to see if his words made sense. He appeared to be pondering them now. "Another example. When you have something worth fighting for, you tend to go all out and summon your greatest strength. Sometimes, despite being as powerful as one is, true strength can come from those around them."

A nod came from him. Perhaps he does understand it. "I worry though, what he is going through, this isn't something for him to do at such an age." He said offhandedly. "I am slowly finding things Sukuna remembered about this, he has seen other sorcerers attempt to become a dragon. None of them succeeded."

"You're worried Itadori won't,"

He nodded again. "This isn't something that can be spoken so casually about, a dragon is a pinnacle of being, for they say all power, jujutsu, life, energy resonates from such creatures in the purest form. Yuuji never asked for this, he wasn't seeking this kind of power. Hell, he would have been happy if there was a way to lower his own strength!" he protested. "How… how do they expect him to become a dragon when he doesn't fully understand his own influence?"

Silence befell the two.

Gojo sighed aloud but smiled. "Sometimes, I wonder about that kid…" he said aloud. "Itadori is remarkable and not to mention, a great person to be around. I just wish… I wish things turned out a lot better for him than they did…"

"So do I, but if that did happen. I wouldn't be here."

"True…" Gojo said. "At the same time though, would you gladly vanish if he could have a normal life?"

He didn't expect an answer right away, but was stunned when he heard. "Yes," come from Suiryu instantly.

"Oh?"

"Sukuna caused him to suffer, to be abused, mistreated and seen as nothing more than an enemy among the other sorcerers. The elders still don't believe he is on their side, let alone someone who can be trusted. If he could have a normal life if it meant I was no longer in it. I would gladly accept it. After all, I came from the bastard that did this to him. If I could take it away… yeah…"

He was rather stunned to his response. "Sukuna would have never considered such a thing… why do you keep comparing yourself to him anyways?"

Suiryu sighed aloud.

"Let's face it Gojo, there's still a lot of that bastard in me. I am only like this because of Yuuji. Had it not been for him, I don't know what I would have become. Also, I need to keep comparing myself to the rat bastard. So I know I am not going on the same path he went. I refuse to,"

Gojo nodded. "Well, how much longer do you think he is going to be gone for? I can't even see him if it makes you feel any better."

He shook his head on the notion. "Don't know, but I am going to wait for him to return."

Gojo nodded as he took a seat himself and began to lie on the rooftop. "What are you doing?" Suiryu muttered.

"Going to wait with you, after all. Itadori is MY student."

The two fell silent to each other as they stared up at the night sky. "Am I Sukuna to you?" Suiryu asked.

"Huh?"

"Have you ever saw me as Sukuna? Despite Yuuji coming to my defense, would you have believe me if he wasn't there claiming I wasn't him?"

Gojo smirked. "You forget yourself, I was the only one who DID believe you."

"Why?" Suiryu asked. "I look, talk and act like HIM, how could you…"

He reached over and tugged on the chain of his necklace. "That," he said instantly. "For the last time I saw that necklace, it belonged to my friend Yua. It was her family's heirloom, why would someone like you have it? Not to mention, I made sure she was buried with it. After her cremation, I snuck the necklace into her urn."

Suiryu suddenly held on to it rather oddly. "Would you believe she gave it to me?"

He snickered at the notion. "I wouldn't doubt it, how else would you have obtained in?"

A pause came over Suiryu. "She told me… she wanted to get to know me through my own actions and not Sukuna's. She gave this to me, stating never in a million years would she have given it to the curse that killed her family. This was part of my own awakening I suppose. I have to show her that I am someone different, I am not that demonic sorcerer… at the same time, I cannot hide the fact that I am part of him either…"

"You WERE a part of him," corrected Gojo. "Now, you are not"

"If it were only that simple…" Suiryu then leaned back. "I want to change things around here…"

"Change the curriculum?"

"Everything," Suiryu said with great determination. "I would rid the council, change out the elders, and revolutionize the way the schools teach their students. I would tear the whole thing out by the roots and start anew."

Gojo peered over and saw how serious he was. "We have more in common than you think."

"But it's pointless isn't it?" he asked. "If I tore this notion up, if I changed everything… it would cause a civil war. Many would believe that I am Sukuna, out to destroy their very balance of the jujutsu world, when in reality, I want to change it for the better. Yet even if I did take out everyone who opposed me, my ideas won't be accepted or followed."

"Thus, why I became a teacher" Gojo said with a grin. "You learned that too through teaching the students, you see their progress and growth, as well. Your ideas can slowly be introduced into them, and then they decide what they wish to do."

"I see that just by looking at those who come from Kyoto. With the exception of Todo of all people, they blindly follow orders because they were told to. Properly groomed to obey the elder's whims as they are led to believe they are doing the right thing for the world," He sighed aloud to the notion. "I still may attempt it," Suiryu said offhandedly. "It's all going to depend on Yuuji though…"

"Oh? Why him?"

"It will depend on how they treat him, how they act around my brother when he returns and what becomes of him. I know the elders are the ones who put the bounty on his head from a while ago, and it's increased oddly since. It has to be them, for they know his potential. I wonder though… why didn't they put one on me?"

Gojo smirked. "You're too much like me." He laughed. "Look, I got one on my head too, had one since my bloodline ability kicked in. I doubt it got taken down, if anything it probably increased a whole lot since I was six…"

Suiryu snickered. "Even if they brought you in alive, with the way you talk, they would have sent you back and forgotten about the money…"

"And how!" Gojo laughed.

Suiryu began to sigh once more as well as he peered up at the stars. "Life… is interesting, isn't it?" he asked aloud.

"More or less…"

"It's just what the hell do you make of it?" He demanded aloud. "I want to do so many things, but don't know how to go about doing them now…"

Gojo snickered. "That is also part of life too, think about it," he said. "It's a journey not a destination… not to mention you are going to be around a long, long time too. If anything, I say have some fun with it. Do things that you would never consider doing for yourself and go from there"

Suiryu smirked once more. "Perhaps you are right…" he whispered. He sighed aloud. "I hope Yuuji comes back soon…"

Gojo nodded.

They lay there, silently looking up at the sky, yet as Gojo peered over, Suiryu had fallen asleep. He smirked and decided to get him to bed. 'This reminds me a lot of Itadori…' he thought.

He was careful with him, lifting him off the roof and back into the dorms. He placed him in bed, and then checked on Yuuji's room. Still nothing yet. "I hope the kid is okay…"