The train's steady stop awoke Yuji Itadori from his nap. The announcement named the station they arrived at. Just a few more stations to go, and he'll be arriving at his destination – his new life. Not the sort of holiday plans he had in mind. In fact, it wasn't even a holiday. His routine has been completely demolished ever since swallowing that cursed finger in order to save those around him. Now his own life – and death – has been set in stone.

He probably should have second-guessed himself before doing what he did. Although it was to protect his friends and that Jujutsu Sorcerer who was just trying to do his job, his own fate was declared once he obtains the rest of the cursed fingers. Knowing his own impending demise, he should either be wallowing in his bed depressed or make a break for it out of this country.

But he refused to do either, because while his grandfather's last wish hangs over his head it might as well be his noose, he'll do whatever he has to and help as many people as he can with the time he has left. To give humans a chance to embrace a proper death not done by curses.

"-Wait, wait, wait!"

The train was about ready to depart when Yuji heard a girl's voice shouting through the closing doors. His head perked up.

"Don't go-!"

Yuji lunged from his seat and stopped the doors with a press of his bare hands. Blue hair ducked under his arm, brushing against his sleeve. He noticed her head flinched upon feeling his suddenly appeared limb before she entered the train cart successfully.

Yuji released the train doors, a dent on its edge before it sealed completely. The girl breathed out a sigh of relief as the train began to move, gasping as she placed a hand over her green bow on her chest. A purple bag carried over her back. She must have sprinted all the way just to get on board.

Yuji eyed the exhausted girl curiously, noting her school uniform. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, holding onto the nearest pole as she regained her bearings, "That was too close. I'm so glad I made it."

She adjusted her black-rimmed glasses with a press of her fingers, and her head picked up to Yuji. "Um. Just now, did you happen to stop the doors for me?"

Yuji simply nodded. "Yeah. I did."

"Ah. I see..." She gave one last sigh, catching her breath finally.

And then the girl jolted, "HUH?! Seriously?!"

She looked at him with disbelieving incredulousness, and her gratitude swiftly changed to a lecture, "You shouldn't do that! You could have crushed your hand!"

"Oh. It's fine though," Yuji stated, raising his hand and clenching his fingers to show it, "See?"

"It's not fine! It's dangerous!" The girl continued to berate, her voice clear and firm as if she hadn't been exhausted a moment ago. She then made a sudden approach towards him, "Let me see. You could have been hurt without realizing it."

She took hold of his left hand first without waiting for his answer and started closely examining it. Her glasses lowered as she looked down. Deep blue eyes wearing concern as she checked for any injuries. With fair skin touched by the sunlight, she looked to be about Yuji's age. Her blue hair cut short and split bangs slightly disheveled from the run she did earlier. He simply watched as she acted as if she was a medical examiner of his.

Does she go to school around here? Yuji wondered, observing her figure. She had a nice frame fit for someone who must have been a track star – pretty good width of her hips too. No wonder she thought she could get on this train right before it was about to leave.

She's kind of cute.

"Hmm. I don't see any injuries," Ciel assessed, checking his other hand and holding his fingers.

"I told you, I'm fine," Yuji assured, as if there was no legitimate consequence with his impulsive decision. "I'm pretty tough as it is, so it's really no big deal."

"Really?" The girl asked, suddenly drawing closer to Yuji's face in assessment. It takes him by surprise as her eyes full of contemplation stared into his.

Is there something on my face? Was she looking at the scars under his eyes? They were essentially "second eyes" of Sukuna, the King of Curses, and which Yuji currently has suppressed inside himself. He really wouldn't know how to explain them if the girl was wondering about them, though he'll probably be honest about it.

The girl then finally released his hand and pressed hers together, offering a pleasant smile. "Hm. Yes, I suppose that's true."

She giggled slightly, wrapping her arms behind her back. "You would be pretty tough, wouldn't you? Tiger of West Junior High."

Yuji did not expect that title granted by his old school (old being that he stopped going since a few days) to be said by the girl. Was she from his hometown? He blinked at her, all the more curious now. "You know me?"

"Ehhh?" The girl briefly drawled, angling her head a bit as she continued to look up at him, appearing visibly hurt, "Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already? Come on, come on! We met just last week at school. Remember?"

No way. Yuji thought to himself, completely in disbelief at this apparent fact of hers. She goes to my school? I definitely would have remembered her.

Though, now that he thought about it…

Nope. Never mind. He doesn't have the faintest idea who she is.

"Uh, sorry. I really don't remember," Yuji apologized frankly. He felt bad by this blank slate of the mind since she looked to be a really nice girl.

"Eh-?" The girl looked stunned for a moment, letting out a startled sound. She recovered quickly, however, adjusting her glasses once more and gave an embarrassed smile. "Ah. Right. We didn't actually meet personally. I was with the crowd congratulating you after your record-breaking sprint on the track."

Ah. Now that, he definitely remembered. There were a lot of people who came together to personally congratulate Yuji, though sadly he still can't seem to recall this girl's face amongst the crowd.

"It was really impressive! I'm honestly surprised that you're in the Occult Club," the girl resumed. "With Setsuko Sasaki and Takeshi Iguchi, right?"

"Yeah. That's right," Yuji visibly perked up at the mention of his old clubmates. "You know them too?"

"I helped with their paperwork in setting up their club – although it was a bit tough with just the two of them as the only members. From what I heard, you really came to their rescue by joining," the girl commended with a gentle smile before posing a question. "I always wondered though. How come you didn't try for one of the sports clubs?"

Yuji shrugged, clutching onto one of the metal poles as he remained standing. "I wasn't really that interested in them, I guess. Sasaki asked me to join her club and said that I didn't have to do anything. It was a nice deal so I jumped on it."

"Oh? Who would have guessed that the strong Yuji Itadori was in fact a lazy student?" The girl teased, and Yuji laughed a bit.

Seriously. How could he not remember this girl? He thought he had a good memory of most students at his school, and while he may not be the brightest, he doesn't usually forget faces. It was a little bothering that he couldn't seem to recall this girl whatsoever. Was she an upperclassman by chance? That would explain it a bit since it would mean he doesn't see her often in any of his classes, being from different grades and such.

There was a shift in the tracks. The purple bag the girl held by the straps over her shoulder clinked, as if something heavy and metallic was inside.

"Do you want to sit down? I can help you with that," Yuji offered and proceeded to reach for the girl's bag. The girl, however, turned away along with her bag, seemingly startled.

"I-It's okay! I can still carry it. Though, it would be good to sit," the girl said and started rounding the pole she still held onto. She looked over her shoulder for Yuji. "Would you like to join me?"

"Sure," Yuji said, accepting the pleasant invite. He crossed the cart and sat down next to the girl on the same bench. He once more couldn't help but glance down at the girl's figure before looking up at the ceiling, trying not to make himself be so obvious.

"Now that I think about it," the girl next to him suddenly said. She glanced at him with peculiarity in her eyes. "Shouldn't you be in school right now? Why are you here?"

"Ah. Well…" Yuji rubbed the back of his head. "I'm going to another school right now."

"Huh? Really?" The girl looked at him curiously. "Whatever for?"

She's certainly a girl full of questions, though Yuji doesn't really mind it all that much and kind of found it enjoyable. "I've got accepted after I just found out about it. I'm moving to Tokyo right now."

The girl pressed her fingers together in an eager manner, "What a coincidence! I'm transferring there as well! It's why I'm riding this train actually."

"Huh? Seriously?" Well. What are the odds?

"Maybe we're heading for the same place? What school are you going to?" Ciel asked.

"Well, it's a Jujutsu school," Yuji confessed. He wasn't entirely sure if he should answer so honestly, but if she's willing to ask directly, he'll just have to respond in kind. Megumi had been pretty straight forward with him too, so it probably wasn't even disallowed anyhow.

There was a hint of brisk understanding in the girl's eyes as she smiled, "Ah. I see! But I thought you weren't interested in that sort of thing?"

"Ah…" Yuji could see the contradiction in that, interlocking with his own fingers, "To be honest, it kind of just happened? They needed me with something and said that joining might be my best option. I wanted to help so I said yes. It was my grandfather's last wish too."

"Your grandfather?" The girl tentatively asked, catching the word "last" in his sentence.

Yuji nodded, barely keeping a positive outlook in his expression as he felt his mourning resurface. He never really did get a chance to properly experience it, what with everything that happened that night his grandfather passed away.

"He died recently. I'm still kind of processing it. He's an… he was an old grump. Didn't really have any other visitors aside from nurses. He was a good guy, though, who took care of me all my life. His last words were for me to help as many people as I can. So that's what I'm going to do."

There was a strong silence that came from the girl, and Yuji wondered if he may have dumped a bit too much on her. He didn't mean to kill the mood. Before he could apologize though, the girl spoke up in a somber tone.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," the girl said, her expression filled with sympathy. "When was your last visit with him?"

"A few days ago," Yuji answered. "I was there when he passed away."

"…It was fortunate that you were with him in his last moments then," the girl said, looking back to Yuji with a kind yet sad smile. "He must have felt loved until the end."

Yuji could feel the tears beginning to well up again, but he forced them back, smiling widely at her. "Yeah. I'm hoping everyone gets a nice ending like that. A peaceful death, I mean." A proper death without violence.

The girl looked taken aback by that statement and glanced away for a moment. Her eyes seemingly focused on nothing but the deepness of her own thoughts. "…Yes. I hope for that as well."

Steering the conversation into something lighter, the girl then proceeded to say, "So someone's taken notice of your strengths and decided to recruit you. How nice! Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Yuji said with a smile. It wasn't really the best circumstances, but he appreciated the conversation at hand that helped lift his spirit. "What about you?"

"Ah. Well, it's not a jujutsu school, I'll tell you that much," the girl chuckled a bit before suddenly looking sheepish, clenching her hands together. "To be honest, I'm a bit nervous. It's a new school and all, and I won't know anyone there."

"You get to make new friends though," Yuji said, a little encouragement to put the girl at ease. Something he would like to get as well. With her attitude though, Yuji has an entrusted feeling that she won't have any problems making friends.

"That is true…" The girl said hesitantly, "It's still a bit nerve-wracking. It makes me feel relieved to see you here. Someone familiar while I'm on my way over there."

He honestly wishes he could say the same to her, though it was nice to hear her thankfulness.

"Although, you don't remember me, it's still nice that we could talk," the girl said with a bit of a laugh. "I am at least a few grades above you, so it only makes sense that we don't run into each other that often."

Ah. Now that does make a lot of sense - just like he figured too. He had a feeling she was a bit older. Man, to think he's actually talking to his senior. He still thought he could have remembered her though.

"Then, why don't we try again?" Yuji decided, offering his hand, "I'm Yuji Itadori, oh but, you already knew that."

The girl looked at his hand in mild surprise. Then a warm smile came to her as she reached out and shook hands with him. "You can call me Ciel. Most people would even call me Ciel-senpai."

She gave a bright yet cheeky smile that made her fair skin appear to glow a bit. Yuji honestly felt good to have this chance to talk with her. It's not every day that a pretty girl would come this close. He had a lot of admirers of every grade for his strength, but nothing that would pull any interested girls his way unless it's something he can help them with. While this may or may not be that case, it was still a great chance to get reacquainted with her – although, since they've already exchanged names, he guessed that they were friends now.

Another shift in the tracks and Yuji heard Ciel's bag clinked again by her bare legs. He looked at it curiously for a moment, though before he realized himself, Ciel noticed his staring. "Itadori-kun?"

"Ah! Sorry!" Yuji apologized, waving his hand urgently. "I was…"

"Oh?" Ciel said and another teasing smirk came to her, "Are you, by chance, curious as to what your Senpai is carrying? You're quite the brave one, aren't you?"

Well, that was better than seeming as if he was staring at her legs – although they are quite nice too. "Y-yes! Yes. That's it."

She held in a laugh at his response, lifting her purple bag a bit. "These are hedge trimmers. I just came from volunteer work before catching this train. I really thought I wasn't going to make it on board in time."

"Oh cool," Yuji said, impressed. "You do volunteer work a lot?"

"Of course! It's always good to help out, rather than stay cooped up in your room," Ciel said beamingly, "I suppose that's something we have in common."

Wow. A nice and hardworking girl. She has to have a boyfriend already. Yuji can't imagine anyone not asking this girl out already.

"In fact, I'm thinking of doing some volunteer work at the school I'm going to," Ciel further said, and a hopeful look appeared in her eyes. "Since it'll be my first day there, I want to get used to my new surroundings. I'm even hoping to start up a club. Although, I might have brought too many snacks today, even for after school activities. It's not always guaranteed that people would immediately join."

"Huh. Yeah, that is true…" Yuji said, looking up at the ceiling. Her first day at a new school and she already wants to get to work. She really is impressive.

"If you want, you can visit too," Ciel offered, "I'll share you these snacks, and I can even show you these hedge trimmers too – since you seemed so curious about them. Nothing's set in stone though, so we can meet up at a park or café. I feel that I can have a bit more confidence if someone I know came by."

"Oh. Yeah, sure," Yuji said without hesitation, especially at the prospect of free food being offered. "I can do that. It might take me a while to get settled, but I'll stop by."

Ciel smiled in appreciation, "It's a promise then! Here, let me give you my information so that I can send you the directions. Just let me know when you're free."

Yuji nodded and pulled out his phone, "Hmm. How do I add people to contacts again…?"

After he figured it out, Yuji and Ciel exchanged their phone numbers and email. This peaceful morning becoming a bit more endearing. Yuji wasn't sure what the plan was for him as soon as he arrived at the Jujutsu Sorcery School, but he'll make sure to stop by and visit this girl's club once she sets it up. He didn't know though if her school allowed students from other schools to visit, but he guessed that she could try to make some arrangements. She did say that if it didn't work out, they could set it up at a nearby park or café.

Though, how does that work? He didn't think schools could allow clubs outside their grounds. Maybe a meet up, although it'll just be the two of them.

Wait. The gears in his head slowly turned. Meet up at a park. Or a café...

A boy and a girl hanging out together. Though some would say it was the same between a boy and another boy, and a girl with another girl.

Either way, this meet-up sounds suspiciously like a date.

…

His head whipped for Ciel's direction while her eyes were still focused on her phone. Did she just asked me out?!

And here he had been thinking that he hadn't pulled any interested girls his way, let alone an upperclassman. He was most pleasantly proven wrong.

NICE! Yuji silently fist-pumped the air with gleaming eyes. I have no idea who this chick is but I'm going to savor this moment! Lucky! Lucky!

"Itadori-kun?"

Yuji broke out of his moment when he heard Ciel calling him.

She looked at him quizzically. "Are you alright?"

Oops. She saw him celebrating to himself. Yuji sheepishly grasped the back of his neck. "Oh! Yeah, I'm good. By the way, is Ciel your first name?"

"Ah. Yes. It is."

Yuji pointed at himself with a jab of his thumb, "Then you can just call me Yuji. No need to be formal, since we're friends now."

"I-is that really alright?" Ciel asked, blushing a bit by the casual remark of his request. At his obvious sincerity, her friendly yet small smile slowly resurfaced. The tinge flush over her cheeks still apparent. "Then… Okay. I'll call you Yuji."

She huffed out a quiet laugh, grasping both sides of her face, "Ah. That sounded a little strange. We've only just met, yet we're already calling each other by our first names. You're really bold. No wonder you get along so well with everyone."

She looked at him with a rather sweet expression as she commended him, her smile growing all the more so.

Cute.

Yes. This girl is definitely cute.

He is so going to rub it in Gojo and Megumi's face when he sees them again.

They chatted for a bit longer as the train continued its course, getting into a discussion about certain topics like the city they'll be arriving in. What they look forward to. The school and what their classmates might be, although both sides remained rather vague in the details, which Yuji hadn't really noticed.

Eventually, the slowing train came to another station. Hearing the announcement, Ciel realized it was her stop and stood up.

"This is where I get off," Ciel said, carrying her bag that Yuji couldn't help but think it looked heavy, even if she was carrying it without problems whatsoever. "I really enjoyed our conversation! I hope we get a chance to talk soon."

Yuji nodded. He felt a bit sad about her leaving already. It was as if time had gone by so quickly. Reminded of being given her phone number, however, he felt uplifted and was looking forward to chatting with her another time.

"Yeah! Same here!" He waved at her as she stood by the doors, "Give me a call when your club's up and running! I'll stop by for sure!"

"Of course! You'd be an honored guest of mine," Ciel assured, standing rather proudly with hands on her hips. Yuji softly laughed at that expression.

"I'll send you the details then. Take care, and good luck on your first day!" She said as the train doors opened, giving one last wave of goodbye before stepping out and proceeded to walk across the train station.

As the doors closed, Yuji found himself still smiling. Taking a deep breath as he relaxed against his seat and closed his eyes, he felt that today just got a whole lot better.

Occupied with his happy thoughts, and mulling over sending a text later to see if Ciel made it to her school on time, he barely noticed the scar underneath his left eye slightly open, menacingly peering after the trailing girl.

"Yo! Yuji-kun."

Meeting Yuji while the new sorcerer walked up the stairs, Gojo Satoru greeted him with a wave of his hand.

Yuji briefly wondered just how good the man's senses are even with his eyes covered by a black bandana, but he paid no more mind to it. Instead, still feeling endeared by his interaction with Ciel, he waved back at his new teacher enthusiastically. "Hi! Sensei! Good morning!"

"Hoh? You seem peppy for a teen who's going to be executed in the future," Gojo bluntly stated as he peered through his black bandana-blindfold, holding his chin in thought. "Did something good happen?"

"Well…" Yuji started. He lifted both hands to the back of his head, elbows pointed to the sky as he answered with a sheepish yet immensely proud smile. "I kind of got asked out by a girl today."

"Ehhhhh?" Gojo admitted his surprise, his upper body hunched forward as his hands slipped into his pockets, "Really? You stud! What's she like? Was she pretty?"

Yuji nodded eagerly. "Super pretty! I only caught a glimpse but…"

Commenting on what was in fact the most important detail of his meeting with the blue-haired girl, Yuji placed both hands around his hips and parted them. "She definitely had a good shape."

Gojo nodded swiftly – despite his eyes being concealed - in complete understanding, holding his own chin in thought, "Hm. Hm. Yes. I see. That's a catch alright."

"She's such a nice girl too!" Yuji added with fist-clenching triumph. "With pretty blue hair and eyes. She had glasses also. I wonder if she's an otaku?"

Gojo's playful smile fell. His mouth opened slightly in surprise. He looked at Yuji through his blindfold and repeated what was mentioned, "Blue hair?"

"Ah. Yeah."

"What else does she look like?"

Yuji thought for a moment, not realizing the change in Gojo's tone. He crossed his arms and tried to recall the girl's appearance again. "She looked Japanese, but also kind of foreign?"

"Did she have a name?"

"Oh. Yeah. She said her name was Ciel," Yuji answered, holding his chin as he looked away, "She said she knew me from school and that we 'sort of' met last week? It's weird though, I don't remember her at all. I feel like I would have seen her around if she went there."

"…You don't remember." There was a faint humor in Gojo's slight smile as he whispered this. Looking down in pondering, "I see…"

"Huh?" Yuji asked curiously, looking back at Gojo. "What's wrong?"

Gojo idly waved his hand in nonchalance assurance, "It's nothing."

He smiled as he turned around and started to walk, leading Yuji as the new young sorcerer followed behind.

"Nothing wrong at all. She sounds like a real nice girl, Yuji."

Author's Note: I wanted to write this fic after seeing so many parallels between Ciel and Itadori. Chapters might come sporadically and stagnant, but hopefully this will be the start of something new. Might post this chapter on too. Please let me know what you think!

I'm squeamish with writing the graphic depictions presented in the Nasuverse, and I'm too nervous to leave this story under Teen Rating. I'll try to keep things vague regardless, but if things seem to go down a "dark" scenario, I'll write a warning at the start of every chapter.

Tsukihime is a DARK series, although its world is fascinating. Jujutsu Kaisen has its own fair share of dark moments even as a shounen series. I'll do my best to balance the two. Enjoy!