JUJUTSU HIGH, OCTOBER 21ST

"Remember what I told you before, Itadori?" Nobara says with a pouting face. "We're accomplices. Hand it over. I wanna see."

"That's different! And it has nothing to do with this!" The pink-haired boy clutches a black bag with all his might.

"Hand it over! You said it's not even your bag!"

"It really isn't!"

"Hey hey hey. What's with all the ruckus?" Megumi Fushiguro walks in.

They are in an empty classroom in Jujutsu High.

"Fushiguro! Assist, please?" Itadori turns away from Nobara to protect the bag.

"Don't listen to him!" Nobara now pursues the bag with more aggression.

"Itadori. What's in that bag?" Megumi isn't really interested in what's inside but rather what's inside Nobara's mind.

"Not you too!"

Nobara manages to grab but this proves to be a futile action due to Itadori's abnormal gripping strength.

There was something about the distressed puppy-dog look on his face while completely outclassing her in physical strength that irked her. But at least she knows him well enough to be aware that he's not actively mocking her.

She's about to summon the urchin-haired bystander to her side but she notices that his eyes are glued to her rather than Yuji. And they gleam with irritation.

She lets out a heavy sigh.

"Listen, Fushiguro. I wanna be honest with you. I don't have the slightest idea of what's in that thing."

His eyes seem even more irritated.

"Then why are y-"

"In fact I'm not even concerned about what's inside. Whatever it is can't be worse than his bare hands which are lethal weapons in their own right."

She turns to glare at Yuji once more.

"But I can't ignore the fact that he's hiding something from us!"

"Come on, guys! This doesn't belong to me! I have no secret of my own to hide from you!"

Nobara now tries to pry off the bag using the strength of her entire torso.

"Trust your accomplice!"

"You trust YOUR accomplice!"

"Hey, Kugisaki." Megumi calls out. "I'm placing my trust in the belief that you're smart enough to know you're not going anywhere with this."

She glares at him for a second before releasing the bag and pouting.

"Tch... I know."

Megumi turns to Itadori.

"And you."

"Don't you me! I made it clear that this isn't even mine. This is me protecting a secret."

"Yes, it's all for a friend." Nobara retorts. She pouts again when they both give her heavy stares. "Okay, okay... MAYBE I'm overreacting."

"You are." They respond in unison.

"Yeah! Yeah! I just felt uneasy at the thought of any of us keeping secrets from each other."

"We are all entitled to privacy, you know." Megumi responds.

"That's true, that's true. Both those apply to things that are naturally not anyone else's business. But I shouldn't be spazzing out over a bag I'm holding."

"Hehe. I was kinda spazzing out. Hehehe..." Yuji says with an apologetic smile.

"You're spazzing out too, in your own way." Megumi says this while looking at Nobara. "Why does it matter if he has a secret? What's gonna change?"

"There's a trust we've already established between ourselves and... and secrets are its oil to water!"

"Lots of people who trust each other have secrets. Like I said, privacy. Is a little secret from Yuji gonna change who we know him to be?"

"W-well...! D-do you have any secrets, Fushiguro?!"

"Nope."

"Oh, you don't?!"

"Nope. And even if I did it'd be none of your busin-"

"OKAY OKAY FINE I'LL DO IT." Yuji raises the bag up high. "If you really wanna see its contents I'll be glad to brake Panda's trust if that makes EVERYBODY happy!!"

This silences the both of them. They don't even register him calling mentioning Panda by mistake.

"This is stupid." Megumi says, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We're being both being stupid right now."

"Ugggghhhh..." She breathes with a heavy sigh. "I guess I'm kinda being a little..."

"Hmm?" The annoyed look on Yuji's face softens.

"A... little..."

"Yeah?"

"Er..."

"Huuuh?"

"Li-listen. I'm sorry." Nobara then stares at Megumi with an odd expression that he can't decipher.

"Haaah... Yeah I'm sorry too. To the both of you."

"And I'm sorry if I made you guys worry." Yuji says this and then unzips the bag. "But I'm not changing my mind."

"Eh?" Nobara and Megumi utters in unison.

"Nobara is gonna see what's inside this bag and she has no choice."

"No, Itadori! It's fine! Didn't you say this bag belongs to someone else?"

"Yep. He made me promise to keep it secret and I'm breaking that promise with you as my accomplice, Kugisaki."

Nobara is blown away by Yuji's treachery. Resounding in her mind is this: was he that bothered by the uneasiness she felt and expressed before?

He shows them the bag's contents. Special items obtained from playing a pachinko slot machine and afterwards these are exchanged for money.

Pachinko parlors do not allowed the underage to enter.

Yuji then proceeds to explain the entire scenario in an almost touristic way while omitting the name of the other person involved, with the hope that they didn't catch the name earlier.

"Itadori... How did you...?" Megumi's eyes are glued to the bag.

"Forget about that..." Nobara snatches the bag away from Yuji, at long last. "You said this belongs to someone else, right?! Who put you up to this?! And how old are they?!"

"Uh... So you guys didn't... uh..."

"Uh!!! Uh!!! Not so bold anymore, huh?!"

"I'm going home, guys." Megumi leaves the room.

"F-Fushiguro! Wait!!" Before Yuji can head towards the door as well Nobara blocks the way as a barricade.

"I'll get whoever's name it is while simultaneously kicking your ass!"

Nobara grabs his face and holds him in an armlock while he pleads for her forgiveness.

She wouldn't show it or say it but she was touched by his concern for her. That particular feeling then manifests as stifled laughter which she suppresses during this moment.

Truth to tell, by mere instinct she wouldn't ever lose trust in the two of them and now she's consciously aware of that unbreakable trust.

"Pfff... Ahahaha! Fine, fine! I'll forgive you!"

...

"Huh...?" Nobara struggles to get up. "I... blacked out?"

She clutches her stomach because of the sharp pain. But an even sharper sensation comes from facing the reality of the face she saw behind the Curse User's mask. The foe currently baring his fangs against Nobara and her comrade.

"Kugisaki!"

She sees her comrade rush to her side.

"Kugisaki! Are you alright?!"

"Yoshino... I'm not alright."

"That makes two of us." Junpei Yoshino looks at the Curse User overwhelming his shikigami, Moon Dregs. With only martial arts. "Itadori has become a Curse User in this world."

"You knew him?"

"The guy that did the best he could to save me in my previous life."

Nobara stands up with Junpei's help.

"Why... We were given a chance in a second life and things get twisted like this?"

"I think we should leave. Itadori's really strong."

The Curse User punches the jellyfish into the side of a building. He begins slowly walking towards the pair.

"You can go. I'm staying."

"Kugisaki!"

"That guy's not Itadori! His entire thing is about helping others!"

"That's not the Itadori we know! Yes, you're right! That's not him!" Junpei grips her arm with the intention of pulling her away. "That doesn't mean we can fight him. There's absolutely no point in being here right now."

"Let go of me. I don't intend to winning nor do I intend on getting killed. But I'm not leaving until I satisfy myself."

...

Nobara Kugisaki wakes up. It was a jolt, fitting for a nightmare scare. It's not that she was just spooked from a nightmare though. At least the case is that she can't remember anything from beyond a second ago.

She can't actually recall anything at the moment. As if a fog is clouding her mind. One thing is certain to her amidst the sudden haze of confusion.

Her mind and body felt like a million bucks. She doesn't need memories to know that this was the best she has ever felt waking up in bed. Aside from the faint sensation of having had a bad dream.

It felt as if she was in a deep sleep.

She tries to make sense of her surroundings but she can't tell if she merely can't recognize where she was or if she genuinely hadn't ever been there before.

Then a familiar face walks in.

It wasn't just familiar. To Nobara, the face's existence seemed to emit an aura of intrinsic annoyance. Then the voice made it all click.

"Oh, you're finally awake." Mai remarks. "One more minute of watch duty and my mind would have been scarred by the sight of your aggressive drooling."

"It's you!" Nobara gets up, aggressively pointing her finger at the Zenin.

"Yup, it's me." Mai is somewhat surprised by Nobara's bewilderment. The surprise turns into a mild concern as Nobara frantically moves around the room while stuttering, like a lost pet. "What's up with you? Did the cursed spirit get you in the head too?"

Nobara's most recent memory suddenly replays in her mind in sharp detail.

Mai notices Nobara place a quivering left hand over her left eye.

"Did you really get in the head?" Mai asks, sincerely. There was a report that Nobara and second-year Kasumi Miwa, who were placed on a mission together, were ambushed by a powerful cursed spirit. Neither of them had any injuries from the curse. But Nobara was found unconscious.

"Itadori..."

Nobara quickly walks out of the room as if under a trance.

"Hey! Kugisaki!!" Mai follows her.

Nobara hurries down a hallway with Mai in pursuit, and the former stops in her tracks,. turning around to face the Zenin.

"You're Maki's sister, right? So this is Kyoto?" Nobara is about to ask about Yuji's well-being when she notices the grim expression on her face as she mentions Maki. And the face isn't the kind produced from pettiness but from pain.

"Shouldn't I be asking the questions, here? Why do you sound like that?"

"What do you mean? Sound like what?"

"Did my sister and I switched lives inside your head or something?"

"What the..."

Initially Nobara felt like she was putting the pieces together. It had to be that she was rescued in Shibuya by a Kyoto sorcerer or the like, and she was being taken care of in Kyoto. But Mai's comment took her back to square one.

She decides to cut to the chase. There's only one thing right now that she really needed to know.

"Where's Itadori!?"

"What?"

"He was fighting a special-grade. What happened to him?"

Mai shows a change in facial expression and takes a long sigh.

"I'm not saying anything." She crosses her arms. "At least not until you go back into the infirmary and take a nap for at least another five hours. You're crazy."

"Man you always piss me off." Nobara decides to go find the answers herself by continuing the way she was headed. At this instant her forehead collides with the most muscular chest she had ever seen in person. Besides Aoi Todo.

"A wall...?"

She looks up to see the face of a man with blond hair and a piercing gaze.

Mai chuckles a bit.

"Wow I don't think I've ever been this stressed with this girl before. It's a record." Mai says as she stretches her arms. "Larue, I'm off. I think I'll go destress myself with my cactus collection or something..."

"Your help is deeply appreciated, Mai-chan." The man's piercing gaze disappears as he beams Mai a smile. Nobara fixes her eyes on the Zenin.

"Hey! Mai!! I've decided that our business is unfinished! Get back here!!"

Larue picks her up high into the air. At this point the accumulating confusion makes her mind go blank.

"Now, now. Don't think I'm comfortable seeing one of my favorite people go on into a rambling rampage." His piercing gaze is back. "I'd say that WE... have unfinished business."

"Huh...?"

"Back to the infirmary." He places her over his shoulder. At this point Nobara notices the white lab coat.

She then notices Mai's somewhat amused facial expression as she walks away. This makes Nobara's mind snap back.

"Hey! Mai!! I need answers!"

"Please focus on me from now on." Larue says.

"Ok then! Let me go you large man!"

"Make me."

...

Nobara founds herself back on the infirmary bed with Larue taking her vital signs.

"You're in perfect shape. Completely healthy. Immaculate teeth."

"Please tell me why I'm here..."

"Amnesia? It could be that you were cursed. There are no signs of head injuries either."

"I got cursed alright. Where's Itadori?"

Larue found Nobara repeatedly touching the left side of her face to be curious, but even more so was her question.

"Yuji Itadori?" Larue asks.

"Yes. Yes! Now we're talking!"

Most curious of all to Larue was the way her eyes beamed when he mentioned Yuji's full name.

Her fixation with the Curse User Yuji Itadori was completely beyond him. Perhaps they met on the mission she and Miwa took?

"Nobara-chan, is there anything about Itadori you would like to tell me? You can go on and on. I'm a good listener. As you already know."

"Uh... It's more so that I'm looking for answers, you know. I last saw him at Shibuya."

"Shibuya?"

At that moment, three people walk in.

"Kugisaki!" They all exclaim in unison.

Nobara staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaares.

Kasumi Miwa. She had seen her before at the Goodwill Event and she was 100% sure the sickly pale look on her face and profuse sweating wasn't standard. She's the first person Nobara plans to squeeze an answer out of. Assuming the swordswoman actually stays conscious.

Short boy with dark hair covering half of his face. To her, he looks like the kid that skips school to go watch a movie and whine that society has failed him.

Taller boy with blond hair. Looks like Akari Nitta. His worried face seems like he will approach her inches too close and she's not afraid to use her hammer gripping hand.

Larue sits up from his chair and glares at the two boys.

"I know the looks on your faces. Especially you, blondie."

"Huh? But you're also blo-"

"I know you're both gonna do some cliche teary hugging of my patient BUT my patient needs her space and I take very good care of ALL my patients." He then turns to Miwa, picks her up and fixes her on the bed that's next to Nobara. "I don't recall discharging you, Miwa-chan."

"But I'm fine! Really I am."

"Your face is as pale as the coat on my body. You're not fine. You look like you're about to faint any second now."

"I was gonna walk it off afterwards!"

They begin bickering.

At this point all Nobara could think of is how long she was unconscious. Miwa seemed to have joined the battle and they were all back to their place as if the entire incident had already blown over. All the thinking made her head hurt so she decides to drink the cup of water Larue prepared for her.

She isn't actually sure if it was for her or Larue himself but she knows where it's going.

"Larue-sensei, I'm totally... fine..." By this point her speech becomes slurred by dizziness.

Larue's eyes glint with concern, the glint of a doctor passionate about their job. And of course, concern for Miwa's well-being. He presses an index finger on her lips.

"Bup-bup-bup-bup. I've heard all I need to hear."

"Okay... Maybe I'm not... exactly fine but it'll wear off. You know I'm always... like this whenever Sukuna takes over."

Nobara begins to choke on the water.

"Nobara!! Are you alright?" Arata Nitta asks, keeping his distance in accordance to Larue's warning.

"Huh?! Yeah! Yeah! Next time I won't use my airways to drink water, am I right? Hahahahaha!"

Miwa and Arata are somewhat perplexed by the exaggerated response while Larue and Junpei Yoshino stare at her intently with different things on each of their minds.

...

TOKYO, JAPAN

HOUSE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE STAR (ABANDONED AFTER THE ANNIHILATION OF THE TIME VESSEL ASSOCIATION AT THE HANDS OF SATORU GOJO FOLLOWING RIKO AMANAI'S MURDER)

A young masked man enters inside. Making his way down the main corridor he expects to see somebody but to his surprise he's alone.

They were all present before he went out on his assigned mission.

"Hello???" He yells. "Is anybody here? Fushiguro??"

He walks into an empty room.

"Maki? Inumaki? Panda?"

He goes into another empty room.

"Choso???" He scratches his head. "I guess they were all in a rush to go home...?"

"You're back, Itadori." The sudden sound of Megumi Fushiguro's voice sends a chill down Yuji's spine.

"Dude, you scared the crap outta me!"

"Sorry." Megumi fixes his eyes on the black bag hung over Yuji's shoulder. "So? How'd it go?"

"I will say it again. I dunno why you trusted me with a sophisticated task like that but I managed to pull through." Yuji opens the bag to reveal several cursed objects.

These are the remaining eight of the nine Cursed Womb Death Paintings.

"I picked you because you're probably the only one of us who could dodo it."

"I still don't get it. But it's kinda funny that you seem to know me more than I know myself."

"Think of it as new knowledge coming from a parallel point of view." He picks one object and studies it. "Disgusting."

"Hey, hey. These are Choso's brothers, you know!"

"Doesn't change the morbid history associated with these." He glances at Itadori. "You don't remember, do you?"

"Nope."

Megumi sighs.

"Never mind that. Uraume should be here soon."

He raises the cursed object in his hand high. "Which one of these shall be the next to stand?"