Chapter 26
"He's going to embarrass himself…" Nobara said.
She believed it so much, she took out her cellphone and got ready to record. Megumi however was more focused on his teacher who was waiting for the spectacle of it all to start. The monks got the stage ready, they lit the lanterns and the people fell into a stunned silence.
He appeared.
Yuuji came out onto the stage rather calmly, before he started to move his arms… The sound resonated to the masses as the first jingle came from the movement. Megumi froze as he stared into the face of his friend. He wasn't all there, in fact, he appeared as if he were in a daze.
"Sensei…"
"Shhh,"
He kept silent as Yuuji continued on, he danced as if he had done this before. His movements timed with the music, he never fumbled or miss stepped. He finished the performance with a massive leap into the air, the crowd was in aw as he moved in such a way, that the bells sounded like falling rain, until he came to land on the stage once more.
They erupted into cheers!
Nobara was disappointed. "Damn, I thought he would mess up."
Yet as the dance finished, the light returned to his face. He blinked a few times in confusion before realizing he was on the stage! He waved awkwardly as the monks were quick to escort him off, but they sung his praises!
"No one has ever done a perfect dance before. It truly was!" one stated.
"Oh… I already danced?" Yuuji asked in confusion.
By the time they reached him, he was all smiles. "I knew you could do it! See, you are a quick learner!" Gojo said proudly.
He laughed it off and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Thanks Sensei… but… I don't remember doing the dance…"
"You did it, here it is," Nobara said as she revealed the video on her phone.
Yuuji watched with great interest when it finished he froze and looked to his friend. "I… I don't remember doing any of that," he said awkwardly.
"Sensei… I think I should go back, if I am blacking out like this…"
"You haven't harmed anyone, I think you're okay," said Gojo.
"For once, let's air on the side of caution," said Megumi. "He doesn't remember, this is serious considering what we have been through."
He sighed aloud. "Fine… but after some moon cakes!"
Megumi sighed, there was no stopping sensei anyways. So they waited for him near the temple entrance at the top of the stairs.
#
Yuuji was trying to see where he needed to go to change out of the kimono to get his hoodie back, when something caught his eye.
He froze and stared at a small statue. It looked like a narrow dog with a white body and red markings. "Wait, I know this…" he muttered.
One of the monks had walked by. "Oh, you were a great dancer tonight…" but paused as he saw him enthralled with the statue. "Do you like it? That's Kitsune!" he explained.
"Kitsune?" he asked.
"Indeed, a special type of magic being also called an ayakashi." He explained. "They can be messengers to the gods and spirits,"
The more he stared at it, the more it looked like the fox he sees in his dreams. "Do Kitsunes help people?" he asked awkwardly.
"It depends on the Kitsune, sometimes they do. Sometimes they play tricks on people too, but they are usually held in high regards." The monk explained. "Why, have you seen one?" he asked jokingly.
But Itadori was silent.
The monk however was silent too, as a stunned look came over him. "You have, haven't you?" he whispered. "Has a woman appeared before you in a red kimono and white trim?"
Suddenly, he turned to the monk oddly. He was stunned to hear someone else has seen her too! His head nodded.
Silence befell the two of them. "Perhaps I need to look into this another time, Uh, where do I go to change?" he asked meekly.
"Oh, right, you wish to change to your regular clothing. Follow me,"
He followed the monk, yet went in the opposite direction from the last time he changed. Oddly enough, he was brought to a different side of the temple. He didn't know what was going on, yet the monk suddenly turned and then… shape shifted!
The woman in the red kimono reappeared!
"You figured it out?" she asked, she shook the suzu before him. The sound of the bells made his body go numb as he fell back into the trance like state. "You did well in doing the dance, but now it's time for the other part, the dance wasn't meant to repel spirits, but attract them." She cooed. "You have called upon many good ones, but the evil ones… well… they are gathering down blow as we speak… I think you know what to do with them, don't you?" she whispered.
#
"Hm…."
Gojo paused as he felt it, a massive gathering of curse energy at the base of the temple. It startled his other two students who appeared at the ready to go down and fight, but, he knew he couldn't, not just yet anyways. "Sensei…." Megumi began to say.
"Well aware, but they are not going to make it up here. They know I am here, as well the grounds have an odd energy to them, they won't survive the last step." He said without worry.
Then the three jumped.
As quickly as they felt and sensed the energy, it vanished!
"What the hell!" Nobara demanded.
"Now we can go see." Gojo said with a smile.
They began to walk down the temple steps, the aura was gone completely from before, and there wasn't a curse to be found or dispelled to say the least. Yet, passed out at the bottom of the temple step was Yuuji.
He was sound asleep like before, yet still wore the white kimono from the dance he did earlier.
"Wait, how did he get down here? I thought he was changing!" demanded Nobara.
"Not to mention the change in his energy again…"
"Now, now, sometimes things happen that we aren't sure of, but let's just get him back home. Perhaps he just got over stimulated from the day…"
"We've only been here for two hours…" Megumi muttered.
"You two carry him back home, I will do a quick sweep of the place before I leave to be sure."
They sighed aloud, it took the two of them to lift Yuuji from the ground, from there dragging him back to the compound was another issue.
But the moment they were out of sighed the smile on Gojo's face vanished, he turned to his right and said. "Are you there Kitsune?" he asked. "Tau warned me of you to say the least…"
There was no answer, but as he fully turned around, he saw the woman standing there in the red kimono. She hid her face under a fox mask, but he could see her mouth as she smiled rather mischievously. "Oh, the great Satoru Gojo knows of me?" she asked in a teasing tone. "I'm honored…"
He sighed aloud. "Is there a reason why I was warned of you? Also, I just want to make certain that my student isn't in harms way under your care. So, what have you been doing to him?" he asked.
Her smile didn't vanish. "You ought to be thanking me you know. Not everyone would have taken care of a demon vessel like this… but, he isn't a demon vessel anymore now isn't he?"
Gojo nodded. "So will you tell me why you are doing this to him?" he asked. "I am concerned for his well being, as well, with what he has been taking into himself is beyond human limitations."
She paused to consider her answer. "Very well then, I'll permit you to know the answer to a single question… I am preparing him for his battle against Sukuna… it's not over just yet."
This, got his full attention. "What do you mean?"
"That's all I can say," she said. "So, I suggest you continue to train him. You do so, and I will continue to feed him."
"Why does he have to feed so much off of cursed energy?" he asked.
"Ah-ah." She scolded. "Only one question, I promised to answer. You haven't earned the right to know the rest just yet. But, I may explain as long as you continue to train him. Understood?" she asked.
Gojo smirked and nodded. "Of course I will, but promise me, you won't make him overdo it!" he demanded.
"I have strict orders and how to go about doing this, I will ensure the boy is not harmed under my care… he hasn't been so far has he?"
Despite the odd mornings Yuuji wakes up to, he cannot fault her on not taking care of him. He went to speak again, but found she vanished without a trace. Not even he could see where she went to or how she disappeared.
"Yua, you were not kidding in warning me about this…" he muttered.