Chapter 4: Hisako Awakens

As the sun was setting in Harajuku, the three sorcerers regrouped in an alleyway nearby the car Kotori crashed into, the Divine Dog sitting patiently by its master. Their mission had hit a roadblock because Sukuna not only had the Beads of Hisako on hand, but he had also captured Kanao, which was the greatest fear of her best friend.

"Damn it!" Kotori snapped, slamming her fist against a brick wall. Tears of frustration welled up in her eyes and they fell to the ground in front of her feet as she wept:

"I wasn't able to save Kanao from that bastard Sukuna! It's my fault I let him get away with her!"

"Don't worry," Nobara reassured her, placing a hand on Kotori's shoulder. "Fushiguro and I will help you search for her."

"Problem is, we don't know exactly where Sukuna has taken her," Megumi explained to the girls. "And he has the Beads of Hisako, so he will carry out his plan to use her as a vessel."

Kotori's eyes widened in great horror, as hearing that only added fuel to her anxiety about her best friend.

No… if he does that…, she thought with deep worry. Then Kanao will go down the same path as Yuji! She'll have a huge bounty on her head because of Hisako's status as a special grade spirit! This isn't what she wants for the rest of her life!

Her worry soon shifted to a fiery determination, as she declared:

"Then this is why we have to hurry and find her now! Sukuna will pay for taking her away from us! Kanao means everything to me, and I'll be damned if I lose her to him!"

Megumi and Nobara were left stunned by Kotori's impassioned speech. They could tell that she was stressing the importance of rescuing Kanao, and for that, they would agree to pitch in on the impending rescue mission.

"Whoa. You've got some fire burning in ya, girl," Nobara commented bluntly.

"Then we'll use your ofuda and my Divine Dog to track any presence of Sukuna's cursed energy," Megumi suggested. "The stronger the cursed energy becomes, the closer we will get."

Kotori nodded in concord, and she pulled out her Spirit Caller ofuda as she replied to him:

"Okay. Hopefully they will lead us to where Sukuna and Kanao are."

Kotori channeled her cursed energy into the talisman, and it lit up blue as she incanted:

"Ofuda Technique: Spirit Caller!"

"Let's go, Divine Dog!" Megumi called to his Divine Dog, and the shikigami barked as it followed him and Kotori, with Nobara pursuing right behind them.

Don't worry, Kanao, Kotori thought of her best friend. We're coming to save you, and wherever you are, please do not let Sukuna use you as Hisako's vessel!

Meanwhile, in Roppongi, a derelict apartment complex stood tall among additional buildings in the area. It was built as a three-story building that had rooms where its original residents once lived. Now its only residents were mice and insects like spiders and cockroaches. The walls were decrepit, and some of its interiors were exposed as a result of their age. The rooms had wooden floors that were creaky with certain steps one would make, whereas the corridors were covered in cracked tiles.

In a room located on the third floor, Kanao was roughly thrown onto the wooden floor by Sukuna. It had a king-size bed that had plain white sheets and two wooden dressers standing on each side, as well as a large oakwood mirror that was covered in dust. There were also two windows that gave them a grand view of Roppongi from above.

She groaned in pain as she recovered, and she swiftly turned to Sukuna as she shouted at him angrily:

"Why did you bring me here?!"

"As much as I would enjoy seeing the horrified reactions from those foolish friends of yours, I would rather carry out the plan when it's just the two of us," Sukuna answered her, as he held up the Beads of Hisako in front of her. "That's why I brought you here, Kanao. This is the opportunity for me to make you the perfect vessel for Hisako, with her beads in my hands."

"How do you know Hisako!?" Kanao asked him.

With a malevolent grin, Sukuna answered her in his usual deep tone:

"How, you may ask? Hisako was my wife."

Kanao's violet eyes widened in astonishment, and a shocked gasp escaped her mouth as she repeated aloud:

"Your wife?!"

"Yes. She and I were deeply in love over a thousand years ago, and together we lived our life as a married couple specializing as sorcerers. We were also proud parents of two children, who we raised to learn jujutsu sorcery. When I was defeated by sorcerers in the golden age, Hisako was left gravely heartbroken and she took her own life, becoming a cursed spirit just like me. She is sealed within these beads, and in order for her to awaken, I want you to wear them for me."

Kanao growled lowly at Sukuna, strongly opposed to his order. She would never take orders from someone like him, and she would never throw her life away just to become a vessel for Sukuna's bride!

"Me? Wear these beads and become Hisako?! Never to the likes of you!" Kanao snapped. "As for you, Sukuna, I want you to switch back to Yuji right now!"

"I'm afraid I won't do that, because he's not coming back," Sukuna said, shaking his head. "The brat and I made a Binding Vow when he died, and I agreed to revive him under two conditions: one was to switch with me for a full minute, and two, completely forget about the agreement. Apparently, he hasn't paid clear attention to them, and I'll have a serious talk with him later. If you decline to wear the beads once more…"

His eyes soon bulged out insanely, glowing bright red as he finished in a sinister tone of voice:

"I'll rip out his heart again, but this time, I will crush it!"

Enraged by Sukuna's threat, Kanao swiftly pulled out her fans and opened them halfway, countering with a threat of her own:

"And if you do that, I will slice you in half, for Yuji's sake!"

"Ah, ah, ah. You wouldn't want to harm your poor friend's body with those fans of yours, would you?" Sukuna taunted, wagging his finger back and forth like a metronome.

Kanao's rage soon dissolved into fear for Yuji's safety, standing still as she recalled the good times she had with Yuji and the others. He had meant so much to her since their first meeting, and she would be damned if Sukuna were to kill him right in front of her. She finally shook her head in response to Sukuna's question, and she could hear him chuckle right afterward.

"Then, I suggest you put them away," Sukuna ordered her, smiling deviously.

Kanao complied, lowering her fans at her sides just as she was ordered. She then witnessed Sukuna approaching her and lifting her chin up to his face as he then crooned to her:

"You care so much about that brat, don't you? Well, if you wish to see him alive, you will become Hisako's vessel."

Kanao was left in a state of silence, and the longer she fixated on Sukuna, the more she could see Yuji within him. She believed that he might be still in there, and as much as she would try to convince him to switch back once more, Sukuna would flatly deny, same as before.

Yuji…, she thought of him. He has died once before, but if he is killed by Sukuna for the second time, Sukuna won't revive him, and I'll never see Yuji again! But if I do choose to wear the beads, then he and I will both have bounties on our heads because of Sukuna and Hisako! I… I…

She suddenly snapped out of her doubtful thoughts when she heard Sukuna say to her:

"Why are you hesitating, Kanao? I'm running out of patience here, so are you going to wear the beads or not?"

Kanao's eyes glanced down at the beads in Sukuna's left hand, and she gulped apprehensively as she could feel the pressure get to her. As much as she wanted to save herself, Yuji was more important to her, and she was afraid of losing him for good if she were to refuse.

If that's the only way to save him, then I have no other choice.

Kanao deeply inhaled and exhaled, and she opened her eyes and stared directly at Sukuna, ready to make her decision.

"Alright, Sukuna…," she finally said to him, dropping her fans onto the floor beside her feet. "I'll do it. I'll wear the beads, if you promise me that you will spare Yuji's life."

"Excellent. I knew you would comply with my command, Kanao," Sukuna crooned to her, gently releasing her chin. "You've made the right choice. And in return, I'll agree to keep the brat alive, for you."

All Kanao could think about was the people who meant the most to her in her life, aside from Yuji. Her friends, her mentor, her grandparents and her twin siblings Kazuki and Anzu… even her deceased mother, Ayano.

Tori… Megumi… Nobara… Gojo-sensei… everyone… I'm so sorry. There is no going back to my old life once I go through with this. Please, exonerate me for what I am about to commit will change me forever.

Sukuna held up the beads in front of her, a terrifyingly sinister smile forming on his face and his four eyes widening insanely as he declared out loud:

"Now… let begin thy incarnation, Hisako!"

The moment Sukuna placed the Beads of Hisako around her neck, Kanao collapsed onto her knees and clutched her head as she could feel a storm of pain splashing inside of her head. It was unbearable, like a ton of bricks were weighing her down. It was much more painful than a typical headache, and her grip on her head became tighter in an attempt to ease it, to no avail.

It hurts! she thought, the pain throbbing throughout. This incredible amount of pain…! I can't bear it! Someone, please help me! Make it stop! Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!

All of a sudden, her eyes widened as she felt a strong wave of cursed energy flowing throughout her body, and she threw her head back as she screamed in agony. Sukuna was observing her from nearby, delighted to see the incarnation coming into play.

"Yes…," he snarled deeply. "It's working! Hisako is accepting the girl's body as her vessel, just as I predicted! Now… COME TO ME, HISAKO!"

No matter how hard she tried to resist, the pain and immense amounts of cursed energy flowing inside of her were becoming too much for Kanao to handle, and it was no use for her to break free, as she let out one final scream before her body slumped over. The flow of cursed energy had finally stopped, and Sukuna approached her carefully to see if he was correct regarding the incarnation.

"Are you in there, Hisako?" he asked the girl's limp body. "It's me. Your beloved, Ryomen Sukuna."

The moment she slowly opened her eyes, her vision was blurring at first, but then it became more clearer once they were fully open, and Sukuna was the first person she could see. Her purple eyes may had remained the same in color, but her eye shape had drastically changed, having become more narrow than Kanao's. Slate swirled markings appeared on her forehead and her cheeks, and the way she chuckled sounded darker than the girl would.

As she finally rose up from the floor, Hisako answered in her deeply feminine tone of voice:

"I am here, Ryomen Sukuna."

At long last, the incarnation had completed, according to plan. Sukuna's eyes widened once more, and a Cheshire Cat smile plastered across his face as he broke into a gleeful cackle that echoed throughout the apartment complex and into Roppongi.

Hisako finally makes her actual debut, in Kanao's body!

You will get to see how she will react to seeing Sukuna for the first time in over a thousand years, in the next chapter. Keep an eye out for it!