Very proud of how I attempted to portrayed all I wanted in this chapter and plan to for the next chapter. Enjoy the read after the long time since the last.
Echoing in his mind Itadori's scream that rocked Shohei's failing body to possibly his final rest was interrupted.
A faint drip of liquid, shuffling of feet, several steady beeps met his ear. Shohei tried to open his eyes, but blinding light filled one and nothing even less than darkness met the other. Layers of bandages enveloped his head and right side of his face.
Shohei squinted, blinking his left eye open. An electric lantern sat on his bedside stand. An IV drip hung over him, snaking into his arm. Wires sprouted from a Holter monitor, keeping track of his heart rate on the screen nearby. Shohei's eye scanned the room around him, catching sight of Shoko making her rounds tending to her patients in her medical tent.
Shohei tried to sit upright, but his body reprimanded his pitiful attempt. Trying to lift his head off its pillow even for a split second cast searing shooting pain down his face, neck, and shoulder. Shohei slumped back into his cot, panting as stars freckled his vision.
Shohei instead looked with his infinitely more extensive vision. Shohei scanned the room and surrounding mile for anything familiar or threatening, fearing they were still in the heat of the mass chaos in Shibuya.
Something like a dozen sorcerer's scuttled around Shohei's range, none of which looked to be in combat or any sense of danger. Yaga's cursed doll's patrolled the medical tent on guard. All remaining Kyoto students, except for Todo who joined Sho in the infirmary, were gathered nearby and possibly just talking. Panda and Kusukabe made their way over and joined the students in conversation.
At the entrance of the tent was the Cursed Womb: Death Painting Shohei previously spotted amongst the spirits attacking Satoru. Shohei posed no concern as Itadori was harmlessly talking to it on the edge of his own cot. Principle Yaga was looming within earshot of them, possibly still on guard of the stranger.
As for those under Shoko's care, Itadori sat talking to the Cursed Womb. The cot beside him was Aoi Todo, asleep or unconscious, Shohei couldn't tell, and his left hand was missing and soul slightly contorted. The next cot was Toge Inumaki, several substantial seals and bandages radiating with cursed energy wrapping the stump that was the remains of his left arm. Takuma Ino, Kento Nanami's understudy sorcerer was also unconscious on a cot beaten within an inch of his life, but steady.
Kugisaki's condition was more pressing. She was tiptoeing the line between life and death with how her cursed energy was more faint, meek, and dwindling around her seemingly lifeless body. When Shoko wasn't swiftly patrolling between those on cots out in the front of the tent, she and Arata Nitta, a first-year student at Kyoto and younger sibling of the auxiliary manager Akari Nitta, were pouring all their efforts, medical seals like Inumaki's, and revered cursed technique onto the girl.
Kugisaki's stagnant and glum condition was no reassuring sign of her recovery. Her being kept alongside several deceased auxiliary managers, Naobito's corpse, the remains of Nanami, and even some of the cursed users discovered through the night was no more comforting.
As for the cot's by Shohei, there lying unconscious at his right hand side like always was Maki. Shohei willed the strength to look at Maki, slumping his head and ignoring the jarring pain in his skull. She was in as critical condition as ever, but returned to her respirator, IV drip, and extensive machinery. As far as Shohei could see, Sukuna did no more than lay a dirty, vile, sickening finger on her to threaten him.
That was right. Sukuna now had Shohei under contract of a Binding Vow. A Vow to die protecting Megumi until whatever Sukuna wanted with him came to fruition. Where was Megumi?
On the other side of Shoei was a still unconscious Ijichi, both his hands and feet restored, but possibly more nub like from the powerful attack and dire frostbite. Akari Nitta was the next cot over, simply sleeping on her stomach with several stab wounds to the thigh, buttock, and back.
Shohei scanned more, and there Fushiguro was lying directly to his left. Shohei lulled his head around. The pain resurged at full throttle, but Shohei had to see for himself if his little brother was alright.
Megumi had even more thick wrappings around his head and was still unconscious. The bottom half of his pants and shoes were missing, but his feet were listing except for the burn scars stretching across them. His legs must have been either damaged or partially lost, more than likely in Sho's own Maximum Technique's explosion.
Sukuna needed to shorten his Domain's radius to avoid harming Megumi, but Singularity Ignition was as large as the pool of cursed energy it targeted, and Mahoraga was the most powerful shikigami in possibly all of jujutsu history.
If the damage done to Fushiguro was the work of Sukuna's Domain, his legs would still be lost like Inumaki's arm, Sukuna's technique being too brutal and precise for Shoko to fully restore with her own reversed cursed technique.
Shohei felt tears pooling in his left eye knowing his reckless last ditch attempt at sparing his own life and interfering with Sukuna hurt Fushiguro.
"Quite the fiasco tonight, huh?" a playful voice spoke to Shohei. Shohei's eye flicked to the foot of his bed, where a woman sat atop a stool staring at him.
The stranger had long blonde hair that fell down to the small of her back. Even sitting down, she was very tall for a lady, simultaneously both slender and athletic. Almost as tall as Shohei who had just reached six foot one inch from a recent growth spurt.
Her wide brown eyes didn't waver from meeting Shohei's own. Her thin eyebrows curled curiously at him. Her gorgeous eyelashes probably were able to fan a breeze his way if she fluttered them. She tucked her black vest reminiscent of a chinese martial artist into her high waisted jeans, and tucked those jeans into dark heeled boots.
"Even with one down and out, those eyes sure are prying huh," the blonde jabbed playfully at the unamused boy who was breaking her down. "Take me out to eat first, why don't you."
"Whoever you are, I'm not particularly keen on talking about tonight," Shohei muttered, uncharacteristically forward. His voice was horse and low from the endless screaming.
"Who blames you," the woman admitted, leaning back in her stool and raising her hands harmlessly. "Just a bit of small talk before we got down to business."
"What business? Who are you?" Shohei grunted, trying to sit further back on his pillow. His body failed him again and he crumbled onto his back.
The woman rose from her stool and waved Shohei down.
"Later. Later. I was a little too eager. I can wait for you to get some rest. I'm Aoi's mentor and simply a hesitant ally reaching out a hand in dark times. Satoru Gojo and I had a deal, you see. A deal to train you. We'll discuss the fine details later, for now, I'd like to know what your type is for myself. My boy Aoi shared with me what you liked before, but maybe it's changed. Stew on that while I go get Shoko. She'll be glad to know you're awake."
Shohei could never have wrapped his head around all that before, so didn't bother then. His mind was trying to be a million places at once, but couldn't be decisive enough to save his life, so he let it race all the time he was awake.
Shoko made her way over, looking as exhausted and drained as any one of her patients. She had already administered an emergency procedure to treat his head wound when he first arrived. She checked Shohei's vitals, replaced his bandages already, and ran a few tests on him.
As for how Shohei arrived in the care of the others, Yaga and his cursed dolls recovered him. Sick of waiting and to the pleads of Shoko, Yaga went looking for injured allies and found not just Shohei and Maki, but Inumaki. The boy had been caught at the edge of Sukuna's domain and just escaped Shohei's blast radius before getting knocked unconscious by the flying debris.
"Did you hear that?" Shoko inquired, having dug up an ancient looking machine from a bin and placed a headphone like instrument on his head and ears.
"No," Shohei denied, testing the hearing in his left ear by planning progressively higher and higher pitches. He sipped a glass of water, giving him some strength to sit up for the test.
"That's not bad. Little to no hearing loss in your left," Shoko chided, trying to look optimistic after the long night. "Now your right."
Shohei barely heard the first pitch, and he was half sure it was the beep of another monitor in the room. Shoko tried again. Nothing.
"Well," Shoko chirped, removing the headphones and burning the machine back in its tub. "Not the best in your right. At first glance you've lost almost all hearing in your right ear."
Shohei almost chuckled, "I'd expect as much with the ear missing and a gouge taken out of the side of my head."
"You never know," Shoko countered. "Any headaches or more severe pain anywhere. How about your neck or maybe the base of your skull?"
Shohei told her of the shooting pain, blurry vision, and weakness in his body. Turning his head was strenuous, but not unbearable.
Shoko half dismissed certain pains and prescribed resting as still as can be for the others. She could heal him progressively with the others, but with all her patients, it would take some time. So much time that there was no merit in moving all of them to a real facility, as she had to keep a vigilant eye on so many and couldn't take the risk.
"Anything else?" Shoko asked one last time.
Shohei's thoughts hadn't reigned in, but instead all the ones of him sustaining injury after injury all night rotated to the forefront of his mind. Sukuna might as well have made a welcome stay in Shohei's mind from all the harm he'd done.
Shohei's left arm with all the spiraling burn scars didn't hurt, but simply felt simultaneously more numb and sensitive than the rest of his skin. He expected the burn scars to remain. His healing from Bountiful Horizon didn't heal, and reversed cursed energy output was halved when used on someone beside yourself.
His ear rang and ached terribly at all times. The remains of his eye had been removed by Shoko to not spread infection, but the socket still stung like Sukuna's slash was constantly raking through his head again and again. Making any facial gesture stretched the wound uncomfortably, and sometimes partially reopened many of the remaining scabs under the bandages.
The most pressing matter was Stygian Void. Like the void itself, something felt empty and missing in Shohei. Sukuna had grown tired of Shohei, but still wanted to use him. "Be thankful. Hopefully it teaches you a lesson," Sukuna had said.
Shohei pulled the pen from Shoko's jacket pocket, charged it with cursed energy, and flung it above his head, crashing down to stab his forehead.
"Shohei!" Shoko reprimanded firmly.
His creeping suspicion was confirmed.
Shohei rubbed the stinging prick on his forehead. "I can't use Stygian Void anymore."
Shoko conducted another series of varying tests on Shohei. He was poked, prodded, and scanned, and all results came to the same conclusion. Shohei couldn't activate his former technique.
"I don't understand," Shohei grimaced, feeling like he not just lost an eye and an ear, but an entire aspect of his being was missing. "My techniques don't originate from my eyes. Just because I lost my eye shouldn't mean Stygian Void should be gone forever."
"There's a lot we don't know about how techniques operate alongside the biological aspects of sorcerers," Shoko explained, rummaging around a folder and pulling out a diagram of a brain. "But we do know the prefrontal cortex is the section of the brain that the technique is controlled by." Shoko gestured to the very front of the brain. "Your brain may have been partially damaged when you lost your eye and ear. You received some very powerful healing immediately after the damage was administered, and your brain was assuredly fully physically healed by me if it wasn't already. There may be some psychological aspects attributing to the loss of your technique. The horrors of the night or Sukuna's powerful display maybe. You suffering a dire and painful injury like you very rarely have before. In the end though the brain is very complex and sensitive on its own, let alone when adding cursed techniques to the mix. I'm afraid to say no amount of healing I can provide can restore your technique even if we understood the brain and your initial injury better, if it is a physical barrier to overcome at all."
Shohei couldn't muster anything to say. Shoko gripped Shohei's shoulder one last time, then left him to sit in his silence.
He hadn't ever felt untouchable, Mahito had made sure of that, but Shohei felt confident in his strength to step up to the plate nine times out of 10. Of course Sukuna was the exception. Now he was under Sukuna's thumb, bound to do his bidding after he tore him apart all night and ripped his eye out and technique away.
Feeling helpless and lost, but physically less terrible as time went on, Shohei remained sitting up. He studied the other sorcerers, eternally lost in thought.
A few hours before sunrise, Itadori slipped out of the tent with the Death Painting without a second goodbye to anyone and did not return. The only ones to notice this were Yaga, Shoko, and Shohei. The three of them traded glances, but returned to their business, saying nothing.
With Gojo sealed, Sukuna several fingers more powerful, things were not going to look bright for Itadori, and despite the damage Sukuna wrought in his body, none of them held Itadori accountable. They knew he was as much a victim as anyone else in Shibuya, and if that Cursed Womb: Death Painting could help him, why not let him go.
The sun was rearing its head when Shoko welcomed the unscathed sorcerers when Todo, Inumaki, Fushiguro, Ino, and the surviving auxiliary managers regained consciousness. Shoko did however draw a curtain around Maki's bed and asked them all to refrain from being too loud. Mai was the only one permitted to visit Maki's bedside.
"Are you both alright?" Noritoshi Kamo asked both Shohei and Fushiguro.
Fushiguro seemed uninterested, scanning the room for either of his classmates."As fine as can be. Thanks for your concern."
Shohei agreed, "Thank you for your concern Noritoshi-kun." Shohei himself was distracted by the chitter chatter of the new dawn.
Panda, in his gorilla form as his Panda form was damaged, and Toge were as nonchalant as ever. Uncharacteristically bland and formal, they talked about the night's events while skirting around the subject of Toge's arm. Panda seemed to want to comfort the boy, but Toge was guiding the conversation to avoid it, still in shock.
Todo was surrounded by Utahime, Nishimiya, and Miwa learning of how his hand and technique was lost forever, as his soul had sustained the damage from Mahito. Todo was still rather boisterous, cheering at the downfall and consumption of Mahito, but Shohei saw that the sparkle of madness or glee in the boy's eye had severely faded.
Yaga was simultaneously getting a brief report from Ijichi of his night before he was attacked, updating Ijichi on the night after his attack, and dismissing it all to appreciate Ijichi was more than alright.
Arata and Akari Nitta were hugging and shedding a few tears together, thankful they both had skirted and survived several dangers of the night. They didn't let go of their hug their entire visit.
Kusakabe and Ino shared only a brief and somber word before Kusukabe helped Ino walk to the back where the corpses were being kept. Shohei heard Ino's choking sob as he crumbled over Nanami's remains. Kusukabe offered no words of support and only a firm hand on his shoulder.
The visitors and patients shuffled and conversed for several hours as Shoko made her final touches on her less mangled and brutalized patients.
Panda eventually joined Kamo, Fushiguro, and Shohei trading thanks to their survival.
"So Suguru Geto was alive, but it wasn't Geto. It was Noritoshi Kamo, but not you?" Shohei muttered, failing to connect the dots in his current state of mind. Apparently this imposter had access to Cursed Spirit Manipulation and set thousands upon thousands of curses loose in Japan.
"It was some body swapping curse or curse user," Panda clarified.
"I was named after the Kamo Clan's biggest disgrace. Noritoshi Kamo was known as the most evil sorcerer in history, but maybe that was due to that entity's actions."
Fushiguro nodded along, actually understanding the intricacies. "So it was this Geto and Kamo impersonator that allied with all those curses and curse users. Together they were behind Gojo's sealing. Undoubtedly the Goodwill Exchange, the resurgence of the Cursed Wombs, and the attack on the Gojo Clan Estate too."
This body hoping atrocity was undoubtedly the root of Shohei's misfortune in all the recent time. Hell, Shohei wouldn't be surprised if it was this Pseudo Geto's fault Sukuna's fingers were made relevant again this century.
"Good job tonight Shohei," Yaga began, joining his bedside as the other sorcerers visited other bedsides. The tall man patted a heavy pat on Shohei's leg as he stood at his bed's foot.
Shohei opened his mouth to protest, but Yaga waved his hand.
"I know it may feel like a train wreck, but you must look on the positive side. Look at all you accomplished."
Shohei sighed, his head falling back with a thud on his pillow. The negative of the night dwarfed the positive.
"You saved Ijichi, prevented several casualties in the grand scale of lives lost tonight, stepped up in many sorcerer's time of need to be a pillar of strength, enacted justice on the unjust, and most importantly, you did your best."
"Thousands dead," Shohei countered, almost muttering to himself. "Gojo sealed, Maki clinging to life, and my classmates mutilated, dead, or dying. A city in ruins. Curses running rampant ready to expose our world to the normal one. Sukuna bounds more powerful. Yuji missing. Jujutsu society and politics bound to be turned on its head. Our world is crashing down around us, Principle Yaga. The positive isn't even a spark of hope in this vast sea of deep shit we are in."
Yaga adjusted his glasses, tapped his foot, scanned the room, and let out a deep sigh. "And that's exactly how you can't see it. If you live seeing it all like that, then your mindset will kill you before our job does. There is no strength or peace in thinking like that. You must see what little of the peace and prosperity remains, focus on it, give it your all, and make do with it what you can. Only then can you take a step forward to progress and make your world actually worth living in with due change."
Shohei couldn't stand a speech then. He haphazardly heeded Yaga's words and clocked out of the conversation.
"Well," the large man sighed, patting Shohei's leg one last time. "I know you had a long night. I'll let you rest. Thank you again for your effort. I know Satoru would be proud. I know I am."
Of all people, Shohei least expected Utahime and Miwa to visit his bedside.
Utahime Iori got straight to the point. "We have some news about the manhunt for Kokichi Muta. We knew how invested you were in this case."
Kasumi Miwa who stood behind her, her eyes red with tears, stepped forward. She held out a small earpiece device that resembled Mechamaru and his design.
"Kokichi Muta indeed was a spy for this Pseudo Geto and his faction that sparked tonight's events," Utahime confirmed. "But he also was attempting to be a double agent after he fulfilled a Binding Vow with Pseudo Geto and the special-grade curse Mahito. He was attempting to get information about the upcoming attack on Shibuya and the ploy to seal Sartoru Gojo to us before he was killed."
Shohei studied the ear piece, now inactive and void of any cursed energy.
"He left several of these devices behind revealing this information and even assisting those like Yuji Itadori through the night."
"He was innocent!" Miwa interrupted, a tear spilling down her face again as she clutched the device to her chest. She must have been closer to Muta than Shohei thought.
"Yes," Utahime confirmed, Miwa beating her to the point she was trying to make. She was possibly just as upset at the news of her former students dying for the greater good.
Shohei glanced between them, biting his tongue. He wanted to scream and protest his innocence. Muta still worked with and vitally assisted the people who endangered his friends endlessly, but also attacked his home and got his parents killed.
"Thank you for telling me," Shohei mustered through gritted teeth.
Miwa, still distracted by her sobs and tears, was led away by her teacher, sensing this didn't bring the comfort or peace they hoped it would to Shohei.
Shoko, drained and exhausted, made one final round for the day between her patients before resigning to the back of the tent, her cursed energy spent.
With Shoko's final effort, many of the patients were able to stand or walk again, except for Maki.
Inumaki strolled over to Shohei and Fushiguro who had pulled on his shoes, ready to leave.
"Mustard leaf?" Toge asked, concerned.
"I'm fine Toge," Shohei comforted.
"I feel much better. Only a headache now really," Fushiguro said.
"If anything," Shohei began. "I should be apologizing." He looked between Inumaki and Fushiguro. "I got you two caught in Sukuna's crossfire. Even my own crossfire with you Megumi. I'm thankful Yaga found you Toge, but I could have stopped that bastard from hurting you. But you Megumi, I almost cost you your legs."
Shohei felt tears welling up in his one eye, but both Inumaki and Fushiguro turned down his apology.
"Bonito flakes!"
"It wasn't your fault Shohei. I brought my injury upon myself. You're the one who kept me alive. Who cares if my feet got a little burnt. They're fine now anyway."
"Not even just that," Shohei denied. "I left my post with you, Toge. We could have evacuated all those people hiding to get them to safety, or moved all those people out of Sukuna's devastation. I saw you fighting that Toji guy too Megumi. I was busy trying to save Maki, which I could have prevented her injuries if I had just kept my head in the game. I could have stopped trying to chase down her attacker and helped you fight him off. Instead I destroyed the city even more trying to kill him and avoid getting butchered by Sukuna."
"Cod roe," Inumaki beckoned, placing his one hand on Shohei's shoulder. Shohei looked up at him. "Bonito flakes," the boy chidded.
"You did your best," Megumi said. "Nothing else could be done, and in the moment, you did what you thought was best. Everything was crashing and burning that night anyway."
Shohei ran a burnt and unscathed hand over his face and bandages. He shuttered and sighed, trying to catch his breath and halt his creeping tears.
"I wasn't strong enough," Shohei thought. "They say I did my best, but my best wasn't enough. I hurt so many people and let even more get hurt."
"Hey." Megumi rose from his seat, gripped Shohei by the back of his arm, and forced him to look up.
"Stop beating yourself up. Self pity and dwelling on the past isn't gonna get you anywhere." Fushiguro gently let go and stood over Shohei, hands on his hips but face as neutral as ever, like a coach giving a redeeming speech after a lost game. "All you can do now is move on, recover, and adapt to whatever is thrown our way. Everythings has gone awry. Yuji's missing, Noabara's gone, the Zenin head is dead, and Gojo is sealed. If you don't have your head on straight, then you're gonna spiral all over again. If you're not pull it together for those that are still hereâ" Megumi gestured at the other Tokyo high students in the room, the sorcerers, the managers, and the Kyoto students. "... then pull it together for those we lost and those we are still waiting on." Megumi nodded to the back where the lost were resting and at Maki's curtain.
Fushiguro didn't do a damn thing to stem Shohei's tears, but instead repurposed them into ones of pride. Shohei looked back up at Fushiguro.
"Since when were you all grown up and an optimist?" Shohei chuckled.
"Huh?" the boy said.
"The little boy that used to buckle at the slightest bump in the road is here preaching to me about persevering."
"Don't call me a little boy. You're barely a year older than me," Fushiguro turned on the spot. "I'm leaving now that I've recovered for the most part. There's people I need to see and things I need to do."
"Okay. I won't stop you," Shohei dismissed, smiling endlessly at his friend. Sukuna may have his life balanced on a string if Megumi gets hurt, but Shohei had endless faith in this new man standing before him. "Keep me updated. I'll be there in a flash if you need me. And be careful. Like it or not, but you're a Zenin and Jujutsu politics are bound to his the fan with Naobito's death and Satoru's sealing."
"Will do," Fushiguro assured, rushing away.
"Megumi," Shohei called after him as he reached the exit. The boy turned back, exasperated that his dramatic exit was halted again. "I'm very proud of you and I love you."
Megumi turned, rushed away hurriedly, and threw a final wave over his shoulder.
"Tuna mayo," Inumaki sighed.
"They do grow up fast. Do you think I sounded like an old ass dad though?" Shohei asked, jarred by his own words in hindsight.
"Salmon," Inumaki confirmed.
Eventually, Shohei haphazardly got to his feet for the first time since he had been recovered from battle. He braced himself for his brief lightheadedness and surge of pain from his wound, but shuffled over to Ijichi's beside, along with Atsuya Kusukabe and Takuma Ino.
Shohei stood alongside the sorcerers and joined in their conversation.
"Too many curse users for comfort just popping out of the woodwork," Kusukabe spat, studying Ijichi's old wounds. He himself looked relatively unscathed except for a few scrapes and missing his trench coat.
"I underestimated how many were minding their business and flying under the radar," Ino said, one of his eyes still half swollen shut, but no longer bleeding.
"Satoru Gojo was more than an effective repellent to curse users and any plans they may have wanted to make," Ijichi praised, looking more than anxious at the thought of Satoru being missing. "Now that he's indisposed, any who were indeed lying low, undisturbed or persuaded by this Pseudo Geto might just rear their heads again."
Shohei finally spoke up. "Freelance curse users making a come up again coupled with apparently his thousands of cursed spirits spreading across Japan seems a little out of our league with so few of us sorcerers remaining and in fit shape."
"And he released some seal on cursed objects lying dormant in non-sorcerers to make the people who've consumed them fight each other all for the purpose of understanding cursed energy. " Kusukabe spoke up again. "What a madman. All that talk of ancient sorcerers and other entities and the pacts he made with them for thousands of years. I don't think we're ready for the scale of things about to unfold."
Whatever Shohei missed when he finally was out of action for the night made his brain malfunction when trying to catch up. For now, Shohei decided to take it one step at a time and focus on recovering.
Shohei went to shuffle over to his bed, a headache starting up, but Ijichi stopped him.
"Excuse me Gojo-san," the man beckoned. Shohei turned. "Thank you for your help. Shoko says I wouldn't have kept my hands or feet if it weren't for you getting me here so fast."
"You're welcome Ijichi," Shohei said. "I was just trying my best."
After taking a brief break from his excursion across the room, Shohei was up again, shuffling over to Todo's bed, where his other third-years Kamo and Nishimiya were standing.
"Looks like we both lost a little part of ourselves tonight, eh, Shohei," Todo jabbed, waving his stump of a hand in his direction.
"Be a little more serious Aoi," Kamo chastised, his usual distaste for his classmate almost nonexistent at the sight of his injury. "Your technique is lost and you've joined the only rising number of forcefully retired sorcerers in a time where every able body is needed."
"Who said anything about retiring?" Todo sneered at Kamo.
"He did only need his technique to beat a special-grade at the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. Every other cursed spirit was a goner without Boogie Woogie," Nishimiya countered Kamo.
"Precisely," Todo agreed. He looked back to Shohei. "Now you aren't gonna let half your face being carved away slow your role, are you now?"
"Hopefully not," Shohei said, feeling a little leap in his stomach from Todo's invigorating presence. "Your old mentor said she needs me to train under her as per deal with Satoru. Any idea what that entails?"
"Yuki Tsukumo is a woman who won't leave you living a single dull day under her tutelage," Todo assured, placing a hand over his heart and staring off as if the memory of his grueling training that gave him his scar was only a fond childhood memory.
"Wait," Shohei halted.
He only knew Todo trained under a powerful sorcerer that traveled a lot for a large portion of his childhood. Shohei also knew of the special-grade sorcerer named Yuki Tsukumo who never took up any missions and instead opted to travel abroad. In his fogged and scattered state of mind, Shohei had failed to connect the dots that Yuki Tsukumo was the woman at his bedside demanding he train under her. Yuki Tsukumo, the same special-grade sorcerer who elevated Todo to his level of power as probably once one of the most powerful students at either of the Jujutsu schools.
"One of the four special-grade sorcerers trained you from a child?" Kamo turned to Todo.
"And now wants to train you, an already grade-one sorcerer?" Nishimiya turned to Shohei.
"I don't like throwing around her name like I'm something special from only learning and training under her," Todo shrugged.
"Apparently so," Shohei shrugged. "So if you're not gonna retire, what are you gonna do?" Shohei turned to Todo.
"Well surely any of Takada's events or shows will be canceled with the sea of cursed spirits washing over Japan. So I might as well see if I can thin out all of them. Or if any niche long term jobs need assistance. Maybe Shoko or Yaga need help with anything."
"Well I'm sorry you lost Boogie Woogie," Shohei consoled, clutching his own bandaged eye. "Without Stygian Void I feel like a part of me is missing. And not physically. Mentally. Spiritually."
"I know what you mean," Todo said, a smile still shining bright, but his eyes softened as he glanced at his lost hand. "But," and then he brightened again. "That god forsaken curse got his dues."
"Mahito?" Shohei asked. "What really happened to him? He isn't alive, is he?"
"He got absorbed by that Pseudo Geto and was permanently consumed in a one time use technique," Todo explained. "His technique, Idle Transfiguration, was used to activate the dormant cursed objects in non-sorcerers and spark whatever battle he was ranting about with ancient and modern sorcerers to learn about cursed energy."
"I heard about some of that here and there," Shohei sighed, massaging his temple. "I still can't wrap my head around it."
"All I know is I refuse to sit idle and do nothing," Todo insisted, standing up and pulling on his shoes and jacket. "I'm a little upset that my brother didn't say goodbye. I'll see him in due time though. A bond like ours, battle hardened, can withstand the test of time."
Shohei bid Todo goodbye with a firm hug, slap on the back, a punch on the arm, and matching ear to ear grins.
Shohei's grin was wiped clean from his face when he heard a small sob in the corner of the tent. He turned and saw Mai emerge from Maki's bedside.
Shohei dashed across the room, hurdling beds and stumbling up to Mai.
"What is it?! Is something wrong with her?" Shohei asked the girl, gripping her arms. He swayed on the spot, weak and light headed from his sudden movements.
Mai stumbled over her words, gasps of tears interrupting her. Nishimiya joined them, rubbing Mai comfortingly on the back. Kamo joined quickly too, hesitant to speak or encroach on the sensitive subject.
"Calm down would you!" Mai scolded, jerking from Shohei's grip. "She's fine. I just got overwhelmed talking to her."
"She's awake?" Shohei gasped, already turning on his heel.
"No!" Mai barked, stopping Shohei in his tracks. "Sit the hell down somewhere. You're loud and clumsy and hurt. You're also making me anxious. I was talking to her while she slept."
The wind taken out of his sails and stars speckling his vision, Shohei crashed into his cot nearby.
Nishimiya and Mai took a moment, comforting and reassuring each other. Kamo joined Shohei, handing him a glass of unfinished water from his bedside, but mostly to leave the girls alone for a moment.
Shoko bustled out from behind the tent and Yaga poked his head in from the entrance, but seeing it was nothing more than emotions justly running wild, they returned to their business.
"Shoko-san, wait!" Mai called. Shoko returned. "Would it be alright if Shohei joined me in sitting with Maki?"
Shoko agreed and brought them an extra stool.
"I'm good now. Thank you Momo," Mai said, waving goodbye to her and Kamo.
Shohei rose from his cot and joined Mai behind the curtain drawn around Maki's cot.
There was a bowl of water and several wash clothes to wipe down Maki, little by little. Shoko approved and provided it to Mai a while ago, as something to occupy her hands and help Maki in some way. Mai had almost completely wiped away the dead skin and ash from Maki's face.
Mai offered a washcloth, "Would you like to help me?"
Shohei took it, soaked it in the water, rang it out, and gently took Maki's hand in his.
"You had a long night too?" Mai said conversationally, not caring to upset Shohei over his obvious condition.
"Yeah," Shohei said, somber once again. "Could have been better."
"Everyone kissing your ass about how good of a job you did I see," Mai noted casually, now wiping down Maki's neck and shoulders.
"My best wasn't good enough," Shohei admitted.
"I know. Here we are," Mai stung.
"No need for that."
"What? Pointing out you failed to protect my sister. The apparent love of your life."
"You're upset."
"Well obviously," Mai confirmed, still not looking up from her washcloth. "That doesn't mean I can't talk about it or vent my frustration. Are you afraid I'm gonna hurt your feelings."
"I don't want you to say something you'll regret."
"The only thing I regret was leaving her in your hands."
"She never wanted protection or shelter. She'd sooner split my skull open then let me play super hero and damsel in distress."
"Well I wanted her to have protection and shelter! It's my fault!" Mai spat, ringing out her washcloth into the bowl.
"No it's not, Mai," Shohei disagreed, glancing up at her.
"No, Shohei, it literally is. Twins are bound together at all times as sorcerers. Me being weak means she's weak. My little cursed energy means her strength is dragged down by me. All you can think of, it's bound together. Vice versa too. If I wasn't so weak, she could be stronger. Strong enough to have escaped unscathed tonight."
"You don't know what we faced tonight Mai. Even more powerful sorcerers would buckle and fail when faced with what we saw tonight."
"You're here aren't you?" Mai bitterly hissed, ringing and refreshing her wash cloth.
"I was lucky," Shohei dismissed.
"Dumb luck. Not lucky enough to save her from harm though."
Shohei accepted the berating, fully cleaning Maki's hand and moving to her forearm. He felt like he failed Maki himself. He could imagine how Mai, a sister who loved her as much as the day she lost Maki to her own stubborn ambitions, felt seeing her on her sickbed, in dire condition.
Mai sat in silence for a time too, no more bitter words to throw in Shohei's face.
"You match a little at least. She'll think that's funny," Mai muttered, glancing at Shohei's left arm.
She did a quick one over Shohei's body. Shohei's almost nonexistent tattered shorts were replaced with hospital pants and shirt. The burn scars on his left arm could be seen creeping up to the very edge of his collar bone.
"If I remember correctly, I told you not to go earning any more scars," Mai continued.
Glad she was over with being mean, Shohei entertained her banter.
"Do you think the matching scars are cute enough to keep her around, or will she be eyeing other ladies on our next dinner date?"
"I don't know," Mai shrugged. "Your first little lip scar isn't as ugly as I remember. It all depends if your new haircut is nice or not."
"New haircut?" Shohei asked, confused.
"Well I imagine your bangs aren't too symmetrical. Prob got cut a little uneven when you lost your ear."
"You're right. Do you think any barber shops or salons are open?"
"Probably not. You'll be lucky to find one before your dinner date. Cursed spirits don't make for good business. I can cut your hair if you can't find one. After you get those bandages off too."
"You cut hair?"
"Yup. Everyone at Kyoto's. Miwa used to cut her own, if you couldn't tell by her bangs."
"Do you braid Todo's?"
"No. He does it himself. He asked me to trim his dead ends here and there, but he actually takes remarkable care of it."
"So you won't just shave my head?"
"Not unless you want. Or piss me off again."
"Well I'll find you some scissors before you go."
"I'm not going anytime soon," Mai assured. "I'm not leaving this tent till Maki wakes up."
"Want to give her an earful like you did me?"
"No. I don't plan to speak with her. And you will not tell her a single word of what I've said to you. I just have to make sure she opens those damn golden eyes once before I leave. I can't sit around being useless."
"You're not useless," Shohei denied, ringing and refreshing his washcloth. "You're tending to her and giving me a free haircut."
"Much use that is. It's all just something to do rather than truly do nothing."
"It's okay you're doing some nice things out of the kindness of your heart. Everyone already knows you're not a complete mysterious serpentine vixen with a tragic upbringing."
"Buzz cut it is."
Shohei and Mai wiped Maki down head to toe, revealing her besmirched and red raw skin only partially healed by Shoko. All the time they wiped her down they distracted themselves from the tragedy of the night and mysteries lying ahead by jabbing at each other with remorseless sarcasm and humor.
"Excuse me," Tsukumo had poked her head in the curtain. Shohei shot to his feet and Mai threw a blanket over Maki's exposed body as they had been applying burn treatment cream on her back.
"You're right. Excuse you," the third-grade Mai spat at the special-grade, fearless and venomous.
"I apologize," Yuki said, retracting her head from the curtain.
Shohei stepped out and asked, "What do you want?"
"Well. You've had almost all day to stew on what you like. Your taste that is."
Shohei looked back at the curtain, and felt a small smile creep into the corner of his lips.
"I'm glad you taught Aoi to ask that question. It might have gotten a friend of mine's head bashed in once, but it makes you think. It's the reason me and him are friends," Shohei explained.
"The Zenin boy. Megumi Fushiguro. I had a word with him outside the tent before he left. I also have to speak with you about that. He was a little hesitant of me when I said I was Aoi's mentor. I don't think they're big fans of each other."
"No. They definitely are not," Shohei agreed. "But one topic at a time please. I'm not good at keeping track of more than one subject."
"Right," Tsukumo said, turning on her heel and silently beckoning Shohei to walk with her. "Your training."
"You said you and Satoru arranged it," Shohei reminded her, remembering that much.
"Indeed," Tsukumo said. "He was very invested in your future, and not too long before he brought you and the Zenin boy into his care, he had a close call. I think that made him really invest more thought and care into his future and the future of those under his care. Not that he was ever worried of being usurped as the strongest, but simply in general."
"So, what?" Shohei asked again, still unsure where this was going fully.
"First," Yuki repeated. "Your type. I heard it was not a very proactive girl. A girl to be your best friend as well. One with a not so shabby bottom half. Hips, thighs, and all inbetween."
"Yeah," Shohei said. "That's the summary."
"No new advancements in your taste?" Yuki prodded further.
Shohei had thought about it. He still liked all that he liked.
"Maybe I don't mind a proactive girl," Shohei admitted, bothering to really ponder this question in case Tsukumo could have a more adverse reaction like Todo. "It'll help me stay on task. I still like hips and thighs and all that, but that doesn't really matter anymore. Don't get me wrong, they're still great, but I think her being my best friend trumps all. Someone to stick through thick and thin with me. Someone to laugh with."
"Don't let Aoi hear you getting all mushy," Tsukumo teased. "He can't stand a dull answer."
"If we fight we fight. He'd come around to that answer. It isn't that boring," Shohei dismissed, knowing he and Aoi have been through plenty together. "Now," Shohei resumed, never having to get someone back on track so often. "Training. Satrou. Planning for the future."
I plan for the next chapter to be largely in the hospital tent still, but more stuff expanded and hinted at. Until then thanks for reading and really fueling this fanfiction with your favorites, follows, and comments.