Wow…so these guys are Jujutsu sorcerers. Qian admired in awe as she regarded the three in front of her, demurely taking another bite of sushi. The real deal…

Said "real deals", meanwhile, have been gobbling up every dish that came their way on the sushi conveyor belt. They fortunately reached the restaurant right before closing, and the exhausted sushi chefs were sweating profusely as they continued operating in the back.

"U-Um, beloved customers…" This was the second time the manager had come around, the poor man wringing his hands nervously. "We're closing soon so we can no longer provide any-"

"GIVE ME A SPICY TUNA ROLL. ASAP." Nobara barked as she shoved her chopstick up the man's face, almost poking his eyes out.

"Y-YES. COMING RIGHT UP!" The poor man squeaked in terror before scurrying away.

Qian let out a sympathetic smile at his fleeing figure, reminding herself to give him a big tip later.

"Alright, so tell me. Why did you blatantly ignore my advice last time?"

She turned to face Megumi, who appeared to finally be done with his meal. The other two were still inhaling the various plates of sushi that had piled up next to them.

"W-Well…it's a bit of a long story." Qian chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "B-But I do apologize, I don't mean to offend you by being here."

The boy shook his head. "It's not about offending, it's just…" He paused, trying to figure out how to phrase his next words. "The Jujutsu world isn't really…meant for people like you. It's highly dangerous and, no offense, do you even have any cursed energy?"

"N-Not that I know of…" Qian admitted shamefully. "B-But I do want to be here! I…I need to be here. I have so many questions that I need answers for."

"Qwefions? Wike wha?" Yuji asked with his mouth full, spitting out rice with each word. Nobara grimaced in disgust besides him and elbowed him disapprovingly in his ribs.

Qian forced a smile, "I-It's hard to explain…"

Megumi wordlessly continued staring at her and she sighed in defeat, placing down her chopsticks softly.

"W-When I was 10 years old, my best friend passed away." She began, gazing at the empty bowl in front of her, eyes clouded in sorrow. "I-I saw his house on fire, and then I saw…this…this creature…appear in the flames. And worst yet, everyone around me suddenly got caught in the flames as well… it spread so quickly..."

She folded her hands together, gripping her fingers tightly to stop the trembling that had begun as she remembered the screams. "W-We had no idea what was happening, or why it was happening. But my brother and I kept running. The fire department even came to try to quench the flames, but it was hopeless, they caught on fire too. We only managed to escape because there had been an abandoned car nearby.

"S-Since then, I've been able to see these cursed spirits. And I had a feeling that these same things are what killed Hayato…" Qian squeezed her eyes shut as tears began to well up. "B-But I couldn't do anything for him. Not while he was alive, and not even after he died…I was scared and kept avoiding them as much as I could."

"What do you mean, while he was alive?" Nobara questioned curiously, taking a sip of tea as Qian responded.

"I-I'm not sure but…he was never happy. He looked like he was constantly in pain but when I asked…he would just tell me he was fine." Qian murmured regretfully. "B-But no matter what, he always kept me company when my brother was busy working and played with me."

She stared at her hands grimly. "I-I had a feeling that…he was struggling, and I should've asked him more, or been there for him more…but I didn't. And to this day, I never forgave myself. I was a coward and always running away, until one day, I was saved by your teacher."

"Whoa really!?" Yuji finally swallowed his food and grinned proudly. "That's Gojo-sensei for you!"

Qian nodded with a small smile. "I-It happened two years ago. It was the closest I came to a cursed spirit…and it almost killed me."

She was curled up in a ball, cowering in fear behind the frozen food section as another one of those creatures tore down another aisle nearby, emitting an ear-splitting scream. People had already abandoned the grocery store she had been in, but her body wouldn't move.

Her hands shot up to cover her ears as tears streamed down her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, hugging her body tightly as she was unable to control her shivering. This is it, this is how I'm going to die. She peeked one eye open and inadvertently saw the broken remains of a corpse scattered around her. She shut her eyes again in terror, knowing she couldn't outrun that thing if she tried; it was just going to kill her like the others.

"Get up."

Her eyes shot open and she looked up to see a tall man with unusual silver-white hair, his broad back facing her. In front of them, the creature roared in pain, it's back leg amputated as blood spurted out from the wound.

"I-I can't…" Tears blurred her vision and dust had covered her broken glasses, preventing her from being able to see anything.

"Then stay behind me, and shut your eyes." She immediately obeyed. A deafening screech pierced her eardrums before she was thrown back by a surging gust. She raised her arms to shield herself as the roaring wind buffeted her skin.

Soon, everything turned silent and she felt warm hands clasp her forearms. She was roughly pulled to her feet. "Alright, you're safe now. But you should get out of here, it's not safe."

He turned around to leave, yet she couldn't help but grasp the back of his shirt with trembling fingers.

"T-Thank you…for saving me. I-I'm sorry I was s-so…pathetic." She murmured between sobs, hanging her head down to face the floor. Tears kept falling down her cheeks as she clenched her eyes shut, feeling ashamed of herself once again.

Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her head. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. You're safe, you're alive."

"B-But I shouldn't be!" She protested, remembering all the bodies scattered around her, how she always seemed to be one of the only few to be alive every single time beforehand. "I-I just got lucky…especially today… thanks to you."
"And what's wrong with that?" She opened her eyes in shock at his words. "So what if you're one of the lucky ones? That's nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, keep living because you are. Do it for those who couldn't."

His words struck a chord and she shot her head up to face her savior, but he had already disappeared.

Her eyes widened upon seeing the collapsed creature a few feet in front of her with its head smashed into the concrete rubble, the remainder of its body fizzling away.

She reached her hand up to feel her head, reminiscing the faint warmness he left behind.