It's a sweltering day when she arrives in Tokyo, and she wraps Gojo in a familiar hug when she sees him before they take the car to her apartment in one of the quieter parts of the massive city. She texts Nanami to meet her and Gojo at her apartment. She ignores Gojo's salacious insinuations, despite the flush in her cheeks.

"So what!" She protests as they pull up to the small midrise nestled between a laundromat and a restaurant. It's one of the rare quiet streets in the city, almost an alley. Gojo struggles to understand Roxanne's American idioms at times, but he has heard her describe it as "up in the cut" when giving directions.

"Nanami agreed to house-sit for me while I was away," Roxanne explains, "and Ichi loves him to bits so it was an easy ask." Ichi being the fat tuxedo cat that waddled into her apartment through her open window one day four years prior and has been there ever since. Gojo pouts.

"Ichi likes me too…" he mutters and Roxanne laughs.

"Only when you've got treats in hand," she says, checking her phone as it buzzes. Nanami is here, and she wonders why her heart skips a beat seeing his name. That's not true: she doesn't have to wonder. They wait outside her door as Nanami ascends the stairs, clad in a tan suit, tailored to his fit frame. He looks austere as ever, and Roxanne cannot help the easy and relieved smile that curves her mouth when she sees him. He joins them, brandishing her keys, nearly lost amidst a sea of various keychains of cute characters.

"Roxanne," he says as she takes the keys, "you'll be pleased to know there were no issues. I did take the liberty of strengthening one of your wards, however."

Roxanne smirks slyly as she unlocks the door and they remove their shoes to enter the apartment.

"Oh did you, Nanamin? How'd that go?" She flips on the lights, and before Nanami can answer there's the sound of high pitched meows, frantic and excited, and the heavy pitter-patter of paws as Ichi comes waddling full speed around a corner to greet her. Roxanne crouches down, not hesitating to take the cat into her arms and nuzzle him, cooing like a mother reunited with her child.

Gojo watches Nanami closely, marveling at his patience with such behavior from her when he barely tolerates a joke or two from him. He also notices the lack of tension when Roxanne addresses him by their pet name for him.

"It was…" Nanami considers his words carefully, "...challenging. Your warding is very…elegant and refined."

Gojo does not disagree. He sees more than either of them and he knows that for all her relaxed ways, Roxanne takes her role as a sorcerer quite seriously. He also knows she takes on the missions dealing with curse users as much as cursed spirits and it is the former that sometimes pose a greater threat than the latter. Her wards are as tight-seamed as the seals over Sukuna's Finger. He also knows Nanami is more than capable of keeping up when possible. That he does not push himself toward special grade work is a waste of his talent, but he plans to pair him with one of his students anyway.

"So," Roxanne says, setting Ichi down and heading towards the kitchen. They join her as she checks the fridge, smiling as she realizes it's been recently stocked. "What are your plans for Sukuna's vessel?"

The mood shifts almost immediately, like cloud passing before the face of the moon, darkening the atmosphere as if the very mention of the curse's name could summon him. None of the assembled sorcerers fear the name, but the implications of him being alive and incarnated are heavy to consider if they fail to contain the threat. She knows Gojo has thought of all of this, knows without needing to ask that he is willing to do whatever is necessary to exorcize this specific curse, and has already deduced that he has a contingency plan.

When he tells them, Roxanne feels the blood drain from her face, and she stares at him. Gojo stares back.

"I don't plan to fail," he tells her, not to reassure her, but as an affirmation, "but Sukuna at full strength could be a problem for me. It's why I need you, Roxy. You and that very useful ability of yours."

"Satoru–" Roxanne begins, but Nanami holds up his hand, pointedly ignoring Ichi's insistent weaving in and out of his legs with aggressive affection.

"Gojo, if the levels of Sukuna's cursed energy are what you say they are, this could pose a threat to Abaza as well," he nods toward her in a subtle apology, and she invites him to continue. "Think: if the cursed energy proves too much for her to contain, it can backlash and kill her instantly. Sukuna wouldn't even need a domain expansion to ascertain victory."

Roxanne frowns. He is right, of course, but it stings her pride and ego just a little to hear it. Gojo isn't smiling but she can see the intricate and labyrinthine clockwork of his mind working.

"We all stand to lose in the attempt," he says after an uncomfortable silence, "and she's not the only trump card we can play. Finding the rest of the Fingers is a whole thing on its own, and her abilities will prove vital as Sukuna gets stronger. And as he gets stronger, so does she."

"Gojo," Roxanne says, "I appreciate your confidence but Nanami's right: if his cursed energy overwhelms me I'll be the one you're cleaning up with a mop and bucket, not him."

Nanami leans against the island counter, pensive.

"If you can trap him in your domain, you can immobilize him," he suggests, and Gojo strokes his chin in thought. "Is that not what your domain does?"

"Both of ours immobilize our opponents," Gojo says, "mine with Infinite Void, and hers with…"

"Atlas Singularity," Roxanne provides. "Yes, but to perform the exorcism I need to be touching him, and there's no telling if my domain can contain him."

Gojo snaps his fingers, a symbol of a lightbulb coming on over his head.

"Why don't we test it out?" He asks. Both Nanami and Roxanne look at him, visibly incredulous.

" What ?!"

Gojo holds up his hands in a reassuring gesture, laughing nervously.

"We draw Sukuna out, make a pact for no killing blows, and test his strength," he says, and then goes back to his thoughtful pose. "Although it risks revealing you to him. Sukuna is cunning, he'd have to be to have survived so long. We can't give him time to figure out how to bypass you."

Roxanne rubs her temples. "I need a shower. It was a long flight, and you're clearly insane."

Gojo pouts. "It'll just be a little spar. Like…a minute, tops.

Nanami says nothing but both of them can feel the deep disapproval in his aura that has little to do with cursed energy and everything to do with wanting to ensure he loses no one else to this bloody, thankless work they seem divinely tasked to do. He feels the tension in his jaw return. Gojo of all people should know that burden, but this is a grave matter and they cannot afford to lose their strongest sorcerers for an exhibition match that at best could give them a measure of their abilities, and at worst, give Sukuna someone new to plot against.

"No." Nanami says firmly, and the word drops like a heavy weight between the three of them, a finality that cannot be challenged.

"Nanamin," Roxanne's voice is soft and he meets her gaze, unyielding. "Please, it'll be alright, I promise."

"This isn't some mindless special grade curse, Abaza," he says, "this is the special grade curse. Yuji may have control of him now, but who is to say he can retain that control during a fight? What happens if you lose this bout? At best, you're injured and Shoko can tend to you or you can heal yourself. At worst, he kills you and we lose you as an asset in this fight."

"Not if we pact him into not killing me, or harming anyone else. And Gojo will be there if things go south." Roxanne surprises herself with her protest. Part of her is afraid of the outcome of this bout, and she runs through the archives of her memory. Sukuna is cunning, and any pact made with him will need to be as tightly bound and unbreakable. A minute is not so long, but when fighting for one's life, she knows all too well how slow it can feel. There have been rare instances where she has been pushed to her limit, usually against other curse users trying to kill her, and she thinks about how Nanami does not want her to do this thing.

He won't say it, but he's scared too.

"And after?" Nanami asks. "Gojo, must we do this now?"

Gojo makes a gesture. "We can always wait until he's at full power," he doesn't miss the twitch in Nanami's temple. "My point is: if we get Sukuna to agree to the bout, we can grow her power alongside his own. By the time he's at full power, she'll be as strong as me, if not stronger."

That silences them. Satoru Gojo is oftentimes idiotic and deeply unserious, but he does not say such things lightly, nor does he lie when it comes to measuring the strength of his allies and enemies alike. Nanami is similar, but even his insight cannot compare to whatever Gojo sees with those eyes of his. Roxanne, for her part, opens her mouth and then closes it. She cannot argue with him, even though she wants to. She also realizes that she has been doubting herself more than she originally thought. If Satoru thinks she can expand to his level and surpass him, then who is she to say that she cannot?

She and Nanami share a look, and while nothing is said, she can see his eyes well enough. It is her choice, now.

"Alright," she says, resolve hardening her voice as she feels something in her chest, like the peak of a roller coaster before the drop. "Let's get the motherfucker."


Gojo takes his leave of her apartment, content in having secured her allyship. Not that he would have had to twist her arm about it, but Roxanne suspects he had a contingency argument ready knowing she would protest. She had not expected Nanami to protest, however.

He lingers, and they stand in her kitchen: her, him, and Ichi splaying his entire length on the floor between them.

"I have faith in your abilities," he says after the silence stretches on for too long. A span he can comfortably call uncomfortable. Roxanne sucks her teeth, looking away.

"It sure didn't sound like it," she retorts. "Gojo himself said he thinks I can do it."

"He doesn't know everything, Roxy," her name alone changes when his mouth shapes it, and she feels her armor loosening. He has stung her pride and ego both, but the hold on her heart is firm. "And I have buried enough friends to know that it's only a matter of time before our number is called. You just landed, why run toward that moment?"

Roxanne knows what this is.

"Is that what you think?" She asks. Nanami pinches the bridge of his nose. "Nanamin, we're sorcerers. Rushing toward death is literally the job. This isn't any different."

Nanami takes off his glasses, and they see each other anew. It's for the first time again. They were younger, he was happier. Haibara was alive, and he did not shutter his thoughts from her behind his glasses like he does now.

"It's different when it's you." Nanami says simply.

And there it is, then.

They hold one another's gaze, and a tension that Nanami has kept carefully hidden suddenly makes the air between them crackle. Roxanne takes a deep breath in and he watches her, studies her face. Like a queen, he told her once, and he remembers pressing his lips to her bare shoulder, tracing the line to the divine arc of her neck. He remembers, months ago, before she left, cupping her face in his hand, beams of sunlight streaked across her face, flaring those dark eyes to a bistre so rich it reminds him of autumn in the countryside, of cinnamon and sienna, and the smell of cedar.

He takes a step toward her, then another, and then she's in his arms again, and it's as if the last four months were no time at all. Roxanne for her part, welcomes him. Asking him to house-sit had been easy, as with most things she asks of him. Nanami buries his face in her hair, smiles as he inhales the scent of jasmine that clings to her.

"Kento," she whispers, and he pulls back to look at her. "You have to trust me, alright? I can do this, and if Gojo thinks I can, then I know I can do this."

Nanami smiles. How can he not? He may not respect Gojo's way of handling things but he knows when it comes down to getting the job done and handling real threats, there is none better-suited to the task. It is hard to admit that he is worried for her. He thought he'd learned to let go of such sentimentality, but aside from Gojo, Shoko, and Roxanne, few of his true friends remain to him. He is in no hurry to lose Roxanne so soon after being reunited.

"I know," he accedes at last, "but it doesn't mean I'm going to be pleased with it. Just promise me you'll be careful. From my experience, even when Sukuna doesn't possess Yuji, the cursed energy alone was enough to give me pause."

Roxanne chuckles. "Nanamin," she reaches up, traces the sharp angle of his jawline, "I'll be fine. Gojo will be there to help, and we'll pack that motherfucker up and I'll be home and smoking a joint by dinner. Preferably before dinner…"

Nanami takes her hand, turns his face to kiss the inside of her wrist. He feels her pulse leap to meet his touch. She bites her lip, and he smiles.

"Your confidence is admirable, Roxanne," he says, "but you've always had a penchant for ignoring practicality when it suited you."

Roxanne tugs gently on her captive wrist, and Nanami yields and closes the distance.

"I know," she agrees, rising up on her toes to place a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth. "That's why I have you."