It was odd seeing Nanami smoke. The last time he saw him, he was just a slender wimpy kid, always wrinkling his nose whenever Shoko's cigarette smoke would get in his way. Now, however, he stood tall. His broad shoulders and his sharp, scarred face gave him the look of someone who had seen way too much, but was holding his ground regardless.

Some things didn't change, though. He still was a man of a few words.
"Sit down," Nanami muttered, pressing a smoking cigarette in between his lips. The stubborn match flickered a few times until he lit up a candle.

"So," Suguru said, looking around the kitchen. The dishes were neatly hung in the rack, the towels were folded. Even the floors were swept. As if everything was normal. Untouched by the hellscape outside.
Suguru continued his sentence only after sitting down by the table, resting his cane on a nearby chair. "What happened?"

Nanami took a deep puff, exhaling slowly, letting the thick cloud of smoke settle on the table. "Shouldn't I be the one asking that?"

A hot flush flooded Suguru's cheeks.

"It's a joke," Nanami said in a cold, deadpan tone, "I don't care."
"Oh," Suguru exhaled, taken aback by his boldness. He had missed it. Missed him. "So… what happened to Tokyo?"
"Not just Tokyo."

"What..?"
"Listen, I know as much as you do," Nanami paused and squeezed the cigarette butt into an overflowing jar. Then, using the same candle, lit up a new one, "Shoko and a few youngsters headed south to inspect the damage."

"And?"

"They should have been back two months ago."
"Is there a way to contact them?"
"No."

An unsettling silence filled the room. The flickering candlelight briefly exposed Nanami's distant gaze. It was momentary, but his eyebrows slightly tensed, betraying a lingering worry. Or was it fear?

He took another puff, and quickly exhaled. The room was drowning in smoke, making Suguru's eyes water, but he didn't say a word.

"I'm not blaming either of you, but it's kind of your fault," Nanami said out of the blue.

Suguru flinched in his chair.

"I understand why you left. But the fact you never contacted any of us, messed with Gojo's head."

"I'm sorry."
"Doesn't matter now."

Suguru squeezed his cane firmly. "So, how did he… die?"

"He didn't."

His heart skipped a beat. "He didn't?"

"Gojo's alive. But he's as good as dead."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll show you in the morning."

That night Suguru didn't sleep a wink.


The morning greeted them with the usual dose of gloom, and a light drizzle. It made Suguru's long hair stick to his face and neck, and his bones ache.

They had been walking in complete silence, yet his mind was buzzing. Satoru was alive. And he probably hated him. But it didn't matter, did it? As long as Satoru was safe. But was he?

A six-legged cursed spirit, not larger than a dog, suddenly jumped from behind a dried out tree, snapping him to present moment. It was growling quietly, its crooked toothless mouth foaming. Nanami stepped forward, but Suguru caught his wrist, making him come to a halt. "Let me do it."
Nanami nodded, stepping aside.

Suguru didn't even have to move closer. The cursed spirit charged towards him, and froze mid-air as his hand pierced the creature's core. Transforming it. Turning it into a brief blinding flash.

"What did you do?" Nanami asked calmly, his words coming out with vapor that soon dissolved in the chilly morning air.
"I set it free."
"I didn't sense any cursed energy."
"It's not a cursed technique. I'm not… I'm not a jujutsu sorcerer anymore."
Nanami nodded and continued walking without saying another word. Suguru appreciated how he didn't push him for answers. How he slowed his pace to match his.

When they arrived at the abandoned office supply store, the drizzle had turned into an intense shower.
"Follow me," Nanami commanded, stepping through the rubble into the building. But as he saw Suguru struggle, his cane slipping over the wet cement, he quickly marched back and extended his hand offering help. Suguru accepted it.

Inside, it wasn't nearly as damp, but the air smelled of mildew. Nanami led him all the way back to the warehouse. With every step, Suguru's chest tightened harder and harder. It was getting difficult to breathe. They stopped by the shelves filled with stacks of paper and office utensils.
"Wait," Nanami gestured and stepped forward, removing a few concealed nails from under the shelves.

As soon as the nails were gone, a wave of cursed energy flooded the room. It was so intense, Suguru felt slightly nauseous.
"Here's your friend," Nanami said, taking out something from one of the boxes.
A small item appeared in his palm. The cursed energy grew even stronger, making it difficult to move, his right leg beginning to twitch in pain. But he stepped closer anyway.
"Monk Genshin… " Suguru muttered under his breath, as soon he saw the cube, an army of closed eyes plastered all over its walls.

"You recognise it?"
"Yeah, I've… read about it."
"Gojo's inside."
"Have you tried getting him out?"
"No."
"Why?"
Nanami's left eyebrow lowered dramatically as he gazed at him with such severity, Suguru felt like he was the dumbest person on earth. "If you know what it is, then you should know that it's impossible to get anyone out without the back gate," Nanami said.
Suguru bit his lip. He didn't mean to insult Nanami. He still wasn't used to being around jujutsu sorcerers. This was as new for him as it was familiar. "Well, yeah, you're right. It's impossible to get him out with cursed energy, but… can I?" He reached for the cube.
As soon as it touched Suguru's skin, the numerous eyes opened wide, shaking, wandering aimlessly, sending vibrations through his entire body. He could swear that the cube got heavier as soon as those eyeballs began moving.
"How?" Nanami asked.
Suguru sat down on a pile of boxes, extending his right leg. It was now pulsing in agony, both from all the walking and the unbearable cursed energy. But he couldn't care less.

"It's rather ironic. You can make the most powerful and invincible cursed tools from the bodies of transcendent sorcerers, dead or alive," he paused, gazing at the cube, letting its cursed energy flow through him. Cursed energy now was spread throughout entire Tokyo, but it's been years since he felt it so profoundly concentrated. He felt it the day he saw Satoru last. When his eyes were full of it. Blazing.

"But," he continued, "it's always going to be just a matter of time before another transcendent sorcerer finds its weak point."
Nanami sat next to him, quietly waiting for him to continue.

"I can see its core. I could try and reach it. And hopefully grasp and pull out Satoru, but…"
"But?" Nanami asked after a minute of silence.
"But I don't know how this will affect him."
"Affect him?"
"He might be just fine. But he might also lose a finger. Or two. Or the entire arm. Or one of his six eyes. I don't know. I've never done this before."
"I don't think he'd care if he lost a finger. But I doubt he'd ever forgive you if he lost one of his eyes."
"I know," Suguru sighed.

"You should do it, anyways."
Suguru put the cube on his lap, and faced Nanami's expressionless eyes. "What if I fail? What if…"
It was the closest to a smile that he'd seen from his friend ever since he met him in this hell. "I'd love to see that fucker trying to fight cursed spirits one armed,' Nanami grinned.