Welcome back to another edition.
I apologize for the delay. I've been job hunting, and my days are spent doomscrolling LinkedIn to send out applications, so you probably know how that goes.
Anywho
I want to wish Duka, a Discord member, a belated but very happy birthday.
Let's get into this.
BetaReaders: BFTyrant, Chris, Daki, Rockmean, Luxutor, ReallyRey, Hackerman27, Chepatard, Jasonzzldude, Tupjunk, and Megadumbo.
...
For Yuji, the world was a dull haze, his senses refusing to cooperate, drifting along a sea of blank thoughts.
His ears rang as voices echoed inside his skull.
His eyes looked in random directions, with several occupants trying to focus their gaze-
His stomach churned as Sukuna raged inside of him.
There was a faint taste of copper and metal in his mouth as he ground his teeth, unable to stop shaking no matter how hard he tried.
He could feel bits of flesh stuck underneath his fingernails.
Yuji didn't need to look at what was left.
Neptune-
Penny-
Qrow-
They were dead, and it was all his fault.
...
...
Itadori blinked and-
'Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer, do!~'
'I'm half crazy, All for the love of you!~'
'It won't be a stylish marriage. I can't afford a carriage,~'
'But you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for two!~'
The vessel slowly realized he was staring at an old radio, sitting atop an old wooden picnic table covered in plates of freshly cooked food.
The sun shined down through a layer of green treetops above, appearing as gentle beams while the breeze flowed through, washing over him like a soothing embrace, and all the while, the birds chirped-
It made him feel something, an emotion he couldn't hope to place with words alone...like those long-lost childhood memories of spending hours at the park with his grandfather, getting pushed on the swings, falling on the woodchips, and getting ice cream after.
It was-
A perfect day
Yuji could hardly formulate a thought, but despite all of that and everything that had happened, his very essence seemed to recognize this all too familiar place-
Itadori's lip trembled, reaching out a hand to grip the wooden surface, feeling it buckle beneath his hold, "This..I...it can't be...I-"
"Can't be what?"
"...huh?"
The sorcerer looked to his left, his stare meeting a set of pink hidden within a layer of dark black sclera-
That tan skin-
The tuff of black hair atop his head-
Wearing a collared white shirt and dark pants, hands folded as his elbows rested on the table.
The man tilted his head, a calm smile on his face, "Food's getting cold, ya know? You're not gonna grow if you don't eat up."
A fork and knife slammed down across the table, followed by a guttural, yet somehow childish, "Food-food-food!"
Yuji looked to his right-
The green skin-
That giant mouth on his torso-
The lifeless head with bleeding holes on top-
The man chuckled, clicking his tongue, "Tch-tch-tch, you're always so impatient. You really ought to set a better example for our little brother."
He turned, facing the vessel directly, "Isn't that right, Yuji?"
...
...
Itadori stared at them for a long time, his brown eyes dulled into near oblivion, "You're...Eso-"
The man smiled, hitting a small pose, "The one and only. Who else could have such striking beauty?"
Yuji slowly turned toward the other as his giant mouth smiled at him, "You're...Kechizu."
The half-curse clapped, "Yay-yay! He knows our names!"
Eso shook his head, "You know he does, goofball. We can see his memories."
"Well...yeah, but...-"
The green being pointed its fingers together as blood trickled onto them from above, "I wanted to make him feel better..."
...
...
Yuji looked to the sky, "Oh...I get it now."
They both looked at him in confusion as he dully continued, "I must have lost my mind, huh?... My friends are probably all dead, and Sukuna is off doing whatever he wants."
Tears welled at the surface of his eyes, trickling down the sides of his face as he looked down at his reflection strewn over his plate, "...Sorry, Gojo, Nanami...everyone."
A shaky smile crossed his face, "You all put your faith in me, and all I did was make things worse, living some big dumb lie, not able to take the truth for what it was all this time."
Yuji twitched, "I knew...I knew from almost the start that something was wrong...that I was dead a lot longer than I thought, but...I-I didn't wanna think about it...If-"
Itadori swallowed, nearly falling into a coughing fit, "If I let it get to me, then...I woulda...woulda gone crazy, and he would've gotten my body and done-"
He closed his eyes, "I guess it doesn't matter, now...does it?
...
...
For the first time in ages, Yuji Itadori broke down crying, and his mind stuck on the one man he knew could've fixed all of this without trying, six eyes or not, Gojo was just better than he ever could be-
"Why did you have to die instead of me?"
He raised his head and slammed it down hard, letting his anger out, "IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!"
*BANG
"I WAS READY!"
*BANG
"WHY DID YOU TRUST ME WITH YOUR WILL!? TO MAKE A BETTER WORLD! I'M NOT YOU!"
*BANG-BANG-BANG
"I'm-"
He sniffled, "I'm not you-"
The vessel curled into himself, "...I'm not you."
...
...
"...I can't do this anymore."
Yuji's head rested against the table, almost lifeless, and soon, a hand dropped onto his hair, slowly ruffling through his pink locks-
Eso sighed, "You aren't crazy, Yuji...can you look at me, please?"
...
...
When the vessel didn't budge, the older sibling stood up from his seat and moved in front of where he was staring, crouching down to be at eye level, "You might feel weak, but believe me, what you're seeing here isn't some delusion brought on by yourself...this is the one place in the world that our kind...our family, can feel safe without being judged by others."
Eso raised a hand, catching a leaf as it fell from a tree, "This place is fickle and can change at a whim, but it only exists when we do too. You're here because we are here."
The vessel mumbled, "...We killed you...Kugisaki and me...both of you are dead."
He gave a very Choso-like smile, unbelievably awkward, "We...got better?"
...
...
Eso cleared his throat, "...Sorry, this sort of thing was never a strong suit of ours...talking and all that."
Kechizu bobbed his body up and down, "Not like we could talk back then, even if we wanted to."
Yuji made a humming noise, "...Why are you telling me this?"
He turned away, "Just lemme fade away already. I'm done."
Kechizu's mouth closed a bit, his giant teeth half covered, "Done with what?"
"...All of it."
Yuji dragged his feet through the dirt below, pushing tracks along the grass as he stared down, "Everything happened because I kept lying...to my friends...to the people who cared about me...even myself...all because I couldn't take reality for what it was."
"I've never been a good liar, ya know? I get this awful sinking feeling in my stomach whenever I do, even for the little stuff I know I can get away with...and that's all I've done lately, living some fake story and life when the one I had is so far gone, there's nothing left to see of it-"
Yuji gripped his stomach, feeling the King of Curses still thrashing around inside, "All except the worst parts about it."
The sorcerer shuddered, "I know thinking about the past doesn't do much for the now, but I'm stuck on the maybes."
"If I told Gramps about Sukuna from the start, maybe this wouldn't have happened."
"If I just admitted that I couldn't be like Gojo, no matter how hard I tried, maybe this wouldn't have happened."
...
...
"If I never existed, maybe none of this would have happened in the first place."
Itadori sadly laughed, "You'd still be alive...my friends would be alive...Sukuna would never have a host and would spend the rest of his days rotting inside those fucking fingers."
Yuji looked Eso in the eye, his face completely dull, "I already tried to end myself once, and if I didn't know for a fact that Sukuna wouldn't let me die, I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
The older sibling did not frown. Instead, he...smiled, "Even when I can see your memories as clear as day, you're such a strange one, aren't you, Yuji?"
...
...
A slow but steady confusion crossed the vessel's face, "What?"
Eso looked down at his hands in thought, "You're really that concerned about us after we tried to kill you and your friend? I just...find it odd. You always put people you hardly know before yourself. It's so-"
Kechizu raised a hand, "Un...unnatural?"
The older brother nodded approvingly, "To us? Yeah, I'd say so...doing anything for anyone outside of our little family felt that way, but things have always been confusing for us."
"Well, it's not like we got a guide or somethin'."
Eso scanned their surroundings, smiling at the vibrant greens and colors of the forest, "It's funny how clear things have gotten since it ended, like a fog lifting over my eyes."
Eso bit his cheek, looking at his youngest brother, "Yuji...I...we...back then, we were very angry...so angry, at times I hardly even knew what I was so frustrated over... like the world was just too much, and I wanted others to feel what I felt, but it never made me whole and I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, that rot festering in the deepest parts of your person, not knowing who or what you truly are and how maddening it is to live as a human and a curse-"
Itadori shifted, staring up at his sibling with lifeless eyes, "You don't owe me a talk like this. I don't blame you for what you did."
Kechizu kicked back in his seat, "You don't?"
"I used to think things were so simple, humans versus curses, good guys...bad guys...it just worked in my head like some kinda movie logic...I only started questioning things after I saw how much you two cared about each other and Choso."
Yuji curled up a bit more, "No matter how much time passed, whenever I thought about him, I always saw that image of Choso's face when I told him about you two...how angry and sad he looked, and I felt so-so guilty about how I could never give back what I took."
"He does nothing but help me, and I do nothing but bring more burdens. You matter to him...and from how I see it, that gave your lives a worth I didn't even consider that day."
Eso moved to the side, dragging a chair over, sitting backward, his forearms resting on top of the piece of furniture, "We hardly considered your worth either, ya know? The connection was always there, but we were so blinded by everything else, it just slipped by...but that's always been a weakness of ours."
"What is?"
Kechizu scooted even closer, "We don't trust too good, 'cause for a real long time when we floated around in them jars, we didn't have anything but each other."
Eso hummed in agreement, "There wasn't even darkness. Our senses weren't nearly that developed...sentient minds stuck in those worthless husks for over a hundred years, unable to experience a single flicker of life, sustained only by this place and our innate link with one another. That was the fate of our entire family until you were born and Kenjaku had his great success...then suddenly, we had worth."
Kechizu poked Yuji's head with a finger, "Testin' you."
"We didn't know that at the time. We just...had a long time to think about these things after it all ended, and we were stuck in the Cursed Realm."
Yuji hardly blinked, "...You don't gotta explain Kenjaku to me. I know that bastard never cared about any of us."
"Did you want her to care about you? Kenjaku was your mother, after all."
"I don't care either way. A blood connection doesn't mean a thing when there's nothing else to say about it-"
"But you love Choso, don't you?"
"Yeah...but it's got nothin' to do with us being siblings. He might be my big brother, and we might be tied to this place, but I love him because of the kinda person he is-"
Yuji's eyes lit up, "Choso is Choso, and I care about him because he's Choso. Us being related is just...a plus, I guess, but-"
The vessel crossed his arms over the table, leaning his head against them, "I kinda hated him at first, ya know? I mean, what was I supposed to think? The guy who went after me wanting revenge, who killed lots of people who had nothin' to do with it, we fought, I lost, and next thing, he's tellin' me we're family. It was just a lot to take in at once...that whole day was just-"
Kechizu hummed, "The worst?"
"Yeah, but I bet you guys know about bad days, too, huh?"
Eso took in a slow breath, fiddling with his hands, "It comes with the territory of being Kenjaku's kids, but...we always had each other, and if you'd like-"
...
...
The older sibling slumped into his seat, "Ahhh, I'm no good at this! Choso always dealt with emotional stuff like this. It's not me!"
Kechizu laughed, "You're actin' like he was good at it!"
"No, he was terrible at it, but better him than me!"
"This is why he called you dramatic! You're such a middle child!"
"Then what does that make you!?"
"The youngest, which means I'm the favorite!"
"Who...whose favorite!? WE DON'T HAVE PARENTS YOU IDIOT!"
Eso pointed at Yuji, "And besides, he's the youngest now! You're just another gremlin middle child like me!"
The green creature was taken aback, putting a hand over his mouth where his chest should be, "No...no...NO! I am not a-"
Yuji cleared his throat, getting loud for a moment, cutting them off, "Oy."
The sorcerer closed his eyes for a moment, "Look...Eso, Kechizu...I'm not the kinda guy that dodges around these things, so I'll just ask-"
He looked up at both of them, "Why are you back?"
Kechizu tilted his torso, his head dangling uselessly above, "What kinda dumb question is that?"
Eso smacked his brother, "Don't call him dumb! He was raised differently!"
"Raised human, more like."
"Hey, we've been over this. We're done with that."
The tan man crossed his arms, "That's just the cursed part of you talking. Be better than it."
Yuji looked between the two, raising a brow, "What are you talking about?"
Eso put his hands on his hips, looking down at him for a second, his mind somewhere else, "...Choso really was a cruddy teacher, huh?"
"Eh?"
The taller man laughed, waving him off, "Sorry-sorry, I was looking through your memories, and wow...he really didn't like talking about what makes us tick...the death paintings and all."
Kechizu made a guttural sound, slurping down some pasta with his bare hands, "You'd think he'd-"
*Gulp
The half-curse swiped away some sauce from his giant mouth, "You'd think he'd say somethin', considering he asked you to eat us. I was pretty mad about that for a while, but it's why we're back, so...yeah..."
Kechizu went back to eating despite the context of the conversation.
Eso grumbled, "What he's saying is that because you digested us, our souls had something to latch onto once the Cursed Realm opened up...regardless of how it happened, I-"
He leaned closer to the sorcerer, poking a finger into his chest, "I'm grateful you made a sacrifice like that for us, Yuji...not just because we're back, but because you gave our unborn brothers a chance at life they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. They're happy to be part of you, and I want you to know that."
Itadori slumped further, "I did it for Choso."
"We both know that's not the only reason."
"It's the only reason."
"...It's okay to be angry, you know that, right?"
...
...
Eso bit his cheek, "You wanted to get stronger...strong enough to kill Sukuna, and absorbing us was a way of getting there."
Yuji hissed, "I didn't want to do it."
"Why do you refuse to admit what you are?"
"I know what I am."
"And what's that?"
"Human."
...
...
Eso frowned, "Yuji-"
"I don't wanna hear it. I might be half-curse, but that doesn't mean I'm any less human than I was before. I'm not...I'm not one of them."
"You're not like anything that's ever existed before. Just...try to understand, okay?"
Eso stood upright, putting a hand to his chest, "What we are, the death painting wombs...we're the first and only of our kind, mixing two things that have no right being together, organic human and Cursed Spirit, night and day, it's like putting bleach in someone's veins, and somehow, they don't die. That's us, and that's you."
"We have all the instincts of a Curse and all the problems it brings for a normal person. From the way we look to the way we act, it's unnatural because we aren't natural. I'm sure you've felt it in the back of your head since you became one of us, this...terrible clawing feeling like you need to fight someone or do something dangerous to make your heart race-"
"Cursed Spirits are naturally chaotic, and so are we, but we're stuck with the conscience that comes with being a human. Most of the time, it feels like you don't know what to do, and that confusion... makes you angry. It's so easy to slip and say you're a Curse stuck in a living body, and you act like it.
"Kenjaku made us because he wanted to create a new Sukuna, from the mouth on my back to the one on Kechizu's stomach. But after so many of us failures were made, you were born and were his great success, so he abandoned us to swoon over you. I won't make excuses about what happened. I wanted to kill you, not because I was told to get that cursed finger out of you, but because I was jealous...I only realized it once I was dead and separated from those toxins flowing around my head...and I knew I needed to set this right."
Kechizu pointed a thumb backward at nothing in particular, "Ya know, while we're talking in here, that human with her legs cut off is bleeding out in the real world, and I'm getting bored, so...can I go like...deal with that?"
Eso stared at him, "I don't want you hurting the humans."
"Why would I hurt 'em?"
"Because you're a brat sometimes."
"Am not!"
Eso shook his head, "It's still not a good idea."
Kechizu twiddled his thumbs, "Why not?"
"After everything Sukuna just did, you really want to ask our brother to control his body? Think for two seconds!"
Yuji raised a hand, "You guys seem like you're bein' honest, so...I wouldn't mind...but there's no way my friends would be cool with me doing anything after what just happened...they'd probably freak out if I even breathed."
Kechizu hummed, tapping a foot along the grass, "Ohhhhhh...why don't I just...ya know?"
He dumped a glass of water on the table and made his hands rise above it.
Yuji just stared at him blankly.
The green entity did what could only be a deadpan, "...Choso really didn't teach you shit, huh? Kinda makes me wish you merged with us before we died so you'd have our memories and whatnot, but then again, I'd be like...fully dead so-"
...
...
Kechizu gave a prideful smile, pointing a thumb at himself, "But don't worry! Your best big brother is gonna teach you some cool stuff! And with your big ass Cursed Energy reserves, it should be easy! Watch and learn!"
The green being crossed his arms over his torso, rolling backward, phasing through the ground and out of sight.
...
Back in reality
Only a few seconds had passed since Sukuna's attack had come to a crashing halt, but the effects were undeniable.
Ruby was in hysterics, screaming and crying in front of the puddle her uncle had turned into, with Yang standing over her, trying to keep it together but failing miserably.
Weiss was in a similar state, trying fruitlessly to keep her sister alive as Blake used whatever medical know-how she picked up during her time in the White Fang, having sent a grieving Sun running off into the facility to look for some kind of equipment to help.
The remaining members of PYRN stayed where they were, just...staring at Itadori, who hadn't so much as moved an inch since the vessel regained control.
No words were spoken, just sheer and utter shock and despair, but-
"HRR-"
Everyone winced as Yuji suddenly moved, his body spasming as his stomach churned, a lump quickly traveling up his throat, his mouth opening wide before-
*BLAHHH
To their horror, a torrent of blood erupted from the sorcerer's mouth, forcing Yang to pull her sister back, only for the red liquid to refuse to spread out, rapidly pulling itself into a cohesive mass, taking shape within moments.
A pair of long arms shot out of a pool of blood, with a figure pulling themselves out, a head with empty eyes and an opened mouth, followed by a torso with a giant jaw of jagged teeth across its stomach stretched into a disgusting smile, ending with a pair of frog-like legs, the color soon shifting from red to a sickly dark green.
A thread of blood connected the new body to Itadori, seemingly fueling its existence.
It was a moment of sheer horror, with the few able-bodied fighters raising their weapons, eyes wide, expressions of terror abound at whatever abomination this was but-
The half-curse lazily bowed, stretching a hand to the side, his smile growing wider, "Hello, humans! And...whatever cat-creature you are over there! I'm glad to finally meet some of you!"
He raised himself upright, putting a hand to his chest, pointing the other at the unmoving sorcerer, "We haven't met, but I've been watchin' ya through his eyes since I died, so we're basically friends already! I'm-"
Despite the sheer shock at how jovial this abomination was, Blake recovered first, her yellow eyes studying the half-curse intently, "You-"
Her face contorted into shock, "You're...Kechizu, right?...Yuji's...brother..."
The green monstrosity smiled wider, "Ohhh, you remember me from his memories, don't you? Yeah! That's me! All but one of us are inside of him in some way, shape, or form..."
Kechizu gave a thumbs up, "'Cause he ate us!"
Pyrrha shuddered at the wording, her hold over her rifle not shifting, "But... you're...dead."
"And now I'm not, but your friends sure are. That sucks for them."
The half-curse chuckled, scratching his lifeless face with an elongated finger, "Yeah...their souls are in the Cursed Realm now...it's like this place where all of us go when we die, and it's all dark and full of monsters, and all you can do is think about how much your life sucked...maybe I went to hell. Now that I think about it, maybe it's better for good people?"
...
...
He tilted his head, "Were your friends good people? Guess it doesn't matter too much 'cause they're dead."
Yang all but growled, her teeth clenched so hard it drew blood, "...Are you fucking serious?"
"What?"
Her head shot up, her eyes shifting from purple to red, stomping toward the half-curse, "We just went through a living fucking nightmare, and you're MAKING FUN OF US!?"
Ruby tearfully tried to grab her sister's leg, "Yang, please don't!"
The blonde launched off the ground with an explosive blast, rocketing toward the green creature, tears flowing free, "HE WAS MY FUCKING UNCLE!"
She threw a right at Kechizu's head, sending off another round as her elbow bent, explosively increasing her speed at the last moment, only for the entity to raise a hand, letting it slam into his palm with a resounding shockwave blasting the remaining glass around them to bits-
*BOOM
She screamed again, "HE WAS MY FAMILY!"
His grip was iron-tight. She had no hope of breaking it.
The fist-fighter crashed to the ground, using her right foot to spin. Her left crashed toward what could only be the monster's temple, just for Kechizu to throw her upward, back-first into the ceiling, bashing through an overhead light as sparks rained down, setting off a fire alarm as water rained down from the sprinklers.
Yang recoiled, bracing to kick off the ceiling back into the fray, but a burst of motion flickered to her right, catching her gaze as Kechizu flickered out of sight, reappearing and defying gravity as he stood beside her, his feet anchored into the ceiling.
He crossed his arms, "Family's a weird thing if you think about it-"
"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW!?"
Yang roared, her hair shooting straight up, shooting toward the half-curse, only for him to lean back, letting her fly overhead, his hands suddenly shooting to the side, grabbing her by the hips and hurling her straight into the floor, forming a crater on impact.
Kechizu dropped down with a thud, "What don't I know? I got a family, too, ya know? You ain't special."
Yang shot into the ground, hurling her left for an uppercut, firing a spray of shells from her gauntlet, only for him to slap her wrist to the side, sending them careening into nearby shattered screens-
"I KNOW!"
She lunged again, only for Kechizu to catch her by the neck, raising her high as she struggled to breathe-
Off to the side, Pyrrha could only look to her teammates, "Do we help her!?"
Nora grabbed her hammer-
But Ren-
Ren stuck out a hand and shook his head, "I...I don't feel any bad intentions coming off him...not like before with-"
They all looked at Yuji, knowing exactly who was trapped inside of him.
Kechizu stared into her angry eyes, the mouth on his stomach moving about with each word, "You know...I killed a lotta humans back when I was alive...ate 'em too...I didn't really have a reason. It just...felt like somethin' I should do-"
He watched her struggle for air, "I wonder what made me the kinda person to not recognize my own brother, and forced him to kill me on some nowhere road...and now I'm living in his head, causing more problems..."
Seconds passed, and he smiled, "Heh...maybe I really did deserve hell, didn't I?"
...
...
Kechizu dropped her, but the blonde didn't move, her eyes seeming to register something unseen.
The fist-fighter shook in place, "...Why?"
"Hm? Why what?"
...
...
Yang stared down at her shaking hands, tears falling free as her hair dropped and her eyes returned to normal, "Why can't I stop it from happening?...People leave, and I can't-"
She screamed, throwing another jab at the monstrosity, but this time-
Kechizu let it impact against his forearm, not even budging an inch
The blonde cried, "I tried so hard my entire life to be better...to not be like my fuck up of a mom and...and...Uncle Qrow was one of the only people who got it, who knew why I had so many issues...it was just me...him...dad...and Rube, and now-...and now I'm talking to whatever the FUCK you are, and I just want him back-"
She punched him again, and the green entity just took it.
The fist-fighter fell forward, her forehead thumping against his outstretched palm, "I just want my Uncle back."
Kechizu stared down at her, "...Can I tell ya somethin' from one mess up to another?"
His lifeless eyes gave no tells, "Remember when Yuji told you he was related to Noritoshi Kamo?"
Despite the grief, Yang did remember that offhand conversation on a sunny day.
She nodded, and the half-curse continued, "He was our dad...and Yuji's mom...that pretty lady he keeps a picture of with the scars on her forehead...both her and him were dead when we were born a lotta years apart...the real parent is the one hidin' under those marks and stitches...a body stealing sorcerer named Kenjaku, putting their brain in different hosts to keep livin' for who knows how long-"
Kechizu hissed through his giant teeth, "Our mom was a woman I don't know the name of...she was just...' patient' in my dad's notebooks, but she was special...that lady could have kids with Cursed Spirits, and Kenjaku had his way with her and put a Curse into the mix and...out pops me and all the others and all we had were each other, stuck in those jars...eventually, I got a body, and you know how I died-"
The creature's giant lip seemed to quiver, "I really was dead for a long time, but the screwed-up part was that because of my connection to my baby brother, I got to see how things played out after I was gone...I had to watch Choso grieve for me, and I couldn't even show him I was there, watching through Yuji's eyes from the Cursed Realm."
He lifted a giant green hand, dropping it on her head like a claw, "Your uncle ain't coming back like I did...I just happened to have a body I could latch onto, and you either need that or something to draw the soul in...so, take it from me, even if you don't wanna listen right now...even if you hate my little brother for the rest of your life, just hear me out-"
"My dad ditched me for bein' a failure, but sticking with the family I had, the brothers who loved me when I looked like this...it made me feel like less of one."
Kechizu blankly stared down at her, "The dead don't wanna hold you back, so treasure the family you've still got and try to feel like a winner by having them around...that's the most that small fry like us can hope for in a world like this."
The green creature walked away toward Winter and Weiss, mumbling, "It's something to think about."
...
...
As the half-curse walked past a still catatonic Ruby, the Huntress could only stare at the blood-soaked floor, "...You shouldn't talk like that."
She slowly looked up, her face coated in muck and tears, "You sound so sad."
Kechizu gave a low laugh, "Sad?"
He paused, turning to face her with that dead face of his, "I had one chance at life, and I looked like this...if you humans didn't know me from my brother's memories, you'd shit your pants and cry seeing me walk down the street. So, yeah, I got plenty to be sad about."
The half-curse turned back, but as he did-
Ruby looked back down, "I don't care what you look like."
That brief comment made him pause, and at that moment, the scythe-user closed her eyes, continuing, "You don't need everyone to like you...no one's life is like that...you just need a few people who really matter and accept you no matter what."
"You've already got that...and it sounds pretty human to me."
...
...
Kechizu stopped moving for a brief moment-
Never in his or Eso's life had they ever tried to interact with regular humans. It was always just...an assumption that they'd be rejected, and maybe that was what they were really afraid of-
Not of humans-
But not being accepted as one of them...why did that thought bother him so much?
Why is it that when he looked over these scared and terrified children, huddling together, trying desperately to keep each other alive, he felt...jealous?
Jealous of what they had-
A bond not forged by blood but...simply mattering to each other, making a connection instead of having one.
...
...
The half-curse walked toward Winter once more, mumbling, "I get why my brother has so much faith in you."
Seconds passed as he approached, seeing Weiss desperately trying to freeze her unconscious sister's bleeding stumps for legs while Blake tied them up with bands.
The heiress screamed, her face pale, eyes bloodshot, "It's not stopping! What...what do we do!?"
Blake looked down, "She called in reinforcements, right!? We just have to get her until then!"
"She won't last that long! We need to-...need to-"
A shadow loomed overhead, with the Schnee looking up to see Kechizu's frog-like form looming overhead.
He put a hand to her forehead, "Move."
Kechizu pushed Weiss, and she tumbled out of the way, soon taking her place, stretching his hands to crack his giant green knuckles, "I've never tried fixin' one of ya before, but since you all matter to my brother, I'll try somethin'."
Blake shot out a hand, looking at Itadori's unmoving form, "Can you heal her like...like he does!?"
The green entity shook his head, "Uh-uh."
"What!?"
"Well...I could get it from his memories or somethin', but you can only use one Cursed Technique at a time, and if I drop the blood manipulation, this fake body of mine's gonna fall apart, and if any gets in ya-"
He seemed to smile for some reason, "You die a slow and rotty death."
Blake sighed, "Then...wake him up!"
Weiss shook off her stupor, "N-no!"
They looked at her, seeing the terror-stricken across her face, "I...I don't want him near us, okay? Not after-"
While Blake's ears twitched and lowered in understanding, Kechizu blankly stared at her, "That was Sukuna, not him. My brother ain't gonna hurt you, he's like, crazy about you...for whatever reason-"
The Schnee wasn't convinced, backing away as the half-curse sighed, "Eugh, first Choso gets a woman, and now this...nothin' but trouble..."
Blake smacked the green creature upside the head, "She's a victim in this, you ass! Do you have the emotional sensitivity of a fucking five year old!?"
Kechizu blankly stared at her, "I'm a hundred and fifty...plus like...the few million I was dead."
The half-curse sighed, glancing over his shoulder, "Eugh, fine...since you all wanna make this a lot harder-...Oy, Yuji! I'm borrowin' your eyes for a sec!"
Like clockwork, the vessel's unmoving body snapped into motion, his eyes shooting open, staring at Winter from across the room without so much as a blink.
Kechizu nodded, "That's what I thought...her legs ain't just cut, it's her soul, sliced right below the thighs...even if we managed to reattach the limb, they'd just rot...m'kay-"
He rapidly began rubbing his palms, with a sudden burst of steam making Weiss rush forward, "What are you doing!?"
The green entity's flesh seemed to boil and hiss as the surrounding temperature continued to rise, a dark black line shooting beneath his eyes and across his face, hardening into a darkened scab, "Flowing Red Scale."
As steam shot out of Kechizu's flesh, the half-curse grinned, reaching out his almost evaporating hands toward the wound, "Our family's specialty is manipulatin' our blood. I'm just heating mine up so high it'll force her wounds to scab over!"
Blake dove for Winter's head, ripping off her bow and shoving it in her mouth between her teeth, screaming, "Weiss, hold her down!"
With an excited grin, Kechizu's palms met flesh, and there was a scream as the wound rapidly cauterized.
Moments ticked by before it was over, and Winter had finally stopped bleeding and eventually gave out from shock, passing out in silence once more.
Kechizu let out a sigh, "Honestly, if I knew bein' a big brother would be such a pain, I woulda stayed dead."
Meanwhile, Blake quietly put her bow back on soon after as if it were second nature.
...
...
Pyrrha couldn't help but stare at her partner's unblinking face, her green eyes narrowed, "Hello...Mr...Kechizu...Is Yuji...okay?"
The green creature hummed, "Huh? Oh, yeah, he's talkin' to Eso in his head right now, so he's not really here-"
Ren looked to his team leader, "Why do you even care, Pyrrha?"
The redhead looked at him, "What? Why...why wouldn't I?"
"You're...you're joking, right?... Do you actually think anything is gonna go back to normal after this?"
"...What are you saying?"
Ren ran a hand through his hair, "You...you're serious? Holy...am I gonna have to be the one to spell this out? It-"
He tried to yell, but it hardly came out at all, his throat closing as emotions ran high, "It's over, Pyr...people are dead, and Yuji has...I...I still can't believe it, I...he...it's...inside of him...and he-"
Nora shook in both anger and fear, her goofy demeanor nonexistent, "They're gonna hunt him down...all the kingdoms...until he's dead, there's...there's no way around it...why-"
Tears pricked at the corners of her blue eyes, "Why did he lie to us!? Not just about this but...but...EVERYTHING!"
Kechizu shambled across the room, dropping one of his lanky arms atop Yuji's head, "Not everything, just the bits he can't accept for himself...but don't worry about him-"
He smiled wide, his misshapen and discolored teeth reflecting what little light remained, "We'll take care of him from here on."
Yang shivered at his words, "What...what the hell does that mean?"
"What do you think it means?"
"I...I don't...I can't fucking think right now, so just say it!"
He raised his hands indifferently, "Humans are predictable...fearful of things they don't understand, so of course they're going to try and kill him now that the risk is worse than how useful he is. It happened before when he became a sorcerer with that execution order, and it's going to happen now-"
Kechizu spoke clear as day, without any trace of concern in his voice, "But I'm not gonna let some humans hurt my baby brother, even if he's a threat to everyone involved. You should get that feeling, right? So, try and understand it-"
A pressure washed over the room as he snarled, "When I kill whoever comes down here."
...
...
Blake was the first to recover, "Then...then why don't you just...go...while you still can?"
Weiss paled more, seemingly knocked from her stupor, "Go? What do you mean 'go!? And does he really think I'll let him kill my own people!?... That I'd-"
She looked to the vessel and recoiled, not saying a word.
The Faunus looked at her with sad eyes, "Running is the only option to avoid even worse things from happening...this situation is already a ten, any further and-"
Kechizu raised a hand, "I'm not leaving without Yuji's say-so-"
Ren took a step forward, "But...what are they even talking about in there!?"
The green entity bristled, "Look, time works differently in our connected space...minutes out here might as well be hours in there, and Eso needs every second he can get to talk him out of-"
He stopped, going quiet.
...
...
Weiss stared at Kechizu intently, "...Stop him from doing what?"
The half-curse sighed, "Look, he...he already tried to take Sukuna with him before-"
Pyrrha's eyes shot wide open, "Y-you...you don't mean-"
"A while back, before he could heal himself, Sukuna took over and ripped his heart out, thinking he wouldn't risk dying by taking back the reigns, but he did anyway."
Kechizu raised a finger, "That was the first time...the second was after Sukuna had managed to escape and take over one of his friends. Yuji managed to pull him back inside, and not wanting the risk of it all happening again, he-"
Kechizu made an explosion with his hands, making noises with his mouth.
The green creature grimly nodded, "That's how he was sealed and woke up all these years later to meet you lot. Sukuna just won't let him die...so I'm gonna take as much time as I need to-"
A hand reached up, grabbing the entity by his arm, "Kechizu-"
They all looked down, realizing Yuji had moved, his mouth open as a trail of blood connecting him to his brother pooled from it onto the ground below, his dull brown eyes staring up at the half-curse, "Get back inside."
...
...
Kechizu slowly nodded, "R-Right."
In seconds, the green being dissolved into a pool of blood, trailing back into Itadori, vanishing from sight, and soon, the vessel slowly stood on shaky legs, swiping a hand over his mouth.
...
...
Yuji across at his friends, taking in their cautious and fearful stances, "...I'm sorry it went this far, I...I didn't think I would be able to live a normal life after everything that happened, but...while it lasted-"
The sorcerer gave a sad smile, looking down at his hand, reflecting an image of his old teacher, "I had fun."
The grin soon faded, "But maybe...a normal life was just something I wasn't supposed to have. I used to think I was an average guy, maybe a little good at sports or somethin', I dunno. I had friends. We were in an occult research club, looking for ghosts and spooks. I didn't believe in it, but having people to hang out with felt nice. Sasaki and Iguchi were their names...but it all spiraled out of control the day my grandfather died-"
"That day, I had met a guy with spiky black hair askin' all kinds of weird questions, Megumi...my club was supposed to have a meeting that day, check out some cursed lookin' box, but I was...saying goodbye to my grandpa and...they opened it and found a rotten finger, and it next thing they knew, Curses showed up, and it was up to me and Megumi to fight 'em, save my friends, and I-"
He painfully laughed, "I couldn't do a thing...and when I heard you needed Cursed Energy to fight Cursed Spirits, I just...ate the finger, and next thing I knew, Sukuna was in my head, one in a million chance of it working, they said, only...later on, I found out that Kenjaku made me to be Sukuna's host...makes me wonder if all that was some kinda setup, not that it really matters now, does it?"
...
...
Yuji pinched between his eyes, "I'm sorry for rambling, and I'm sorry for lying... I get that I can't ever make up for what he made me do, and you have every right to spend the rest of your lives hating me. I never wanted any of this to happen, but I dragged you into my mess because I was so terrified of going insane from everything that's happened that I ignored all the risks and kept going around you, and now...I can't fix any of what just happened-"
"But-"
Yuji took a slow breath, "I can stop him from doing worse...and to make sure that happens, I'm gonna have to leave, like Blake said. The guys in Atlas are just gonna throw me in a prison cell if I give up, and if I go mental, Sukuna gets my body, and everyone dies...so-"
Itadori's stare hardened, his eyes spiraling yellow, "I'm gonna fight my way out of the city, and hopefully, this will be the last time you ever have to see me."
...
...
Yuji started walking toward the entrance his brothers had made, with the others watching in silence, uncertain of what could even be said at this point.
Pyrrha swallowed a breath, reaching out a hand, "W-Wait! Just wait a second, please!"
...
...
The redhead took a few steps toward him, but a single glance from the sorcerer made her stop in place, "I...you don't have to go like this! We can still work something out! C...Call Ozpin! He'll know what to do!"
Itadori's face dropped, "...Pyr-"
"I don't want you to go-"
Tears pricked at the corners of her green eyes, "...Please don't go away."
Yuji stared at her for a brief moment, sharing a look with Ren and Nora, his teammates seeming to understand what he meant without words, "Pyrrha, can I give you some honest advice?"
The invincible girl sputtered but slowly nodded, "O-Okay...what is it?"
He gave a forced smile, "I always liked how kind you are, but it's really blocking you from seeing things for how they are. I was screwed even before Sukuna took over."
"What are you talking about!?"
"Back on the streets, when the attack started, I panicked trying to stop one of those blasts from going off-"
Yuji's face dulled, "I cut down a crowd of people trying to kill the guy, and it went off anyway."
Weiss visibly flinched as the others gasped, Nora grabbing onto Ren's arm, "Y-...You wouldn't do that...I know you! I know you wouldn't do that!"
"But I did."
Yuji looked up at the ceiling, clenching his fists, "I didn't even think about it. I just...flicked my wrist, and they got shredded before exploded into bits...and it's exactly what I've been afraid of...not Sukuna...not Kenjaku, but-"
"Me."
The sorcerer shakily laughed, feeling his blood trickle down his palms as his nails dug into his skin, "I'm crossing lines I never thought I would, and every time I do, I step a little closer to that family of mine and the things they drilled into my head this past year...it's like some kind of rot festering in the deepest part of my soul and no matter how hard I try, I just can't shake it off and someday-"
Yuji nearly fell over, his entire body threatening to give way as his mind threatened to crumble, "Someday I might end up like them...acting like Curse in a human body, and it's why I clung to you guys so hard. You all reminded me of where I came from...but that's said and done, so-"
With a pant, Itadori stood upright, sweat trickling down his face as he gave his partner a long, parting stare, "For your own sake, don't you ever come looking for me."
The vessel started to walk away again, "There's a good chance I won't be the same person anymore."
...
...
Yuji soon passed by Ruby and Yang, unable to even express how sorry he was in words, eventually looking down at an unconscious Winter, with Weiss sitting beside her, their stares meeting as she backed away in fear-
Yuji struggled to speak but forced something out regardless, "For what it's worth, I really did like you, Weiss. That part wasn't a lie, and I-"
He gulped, walking away, "I'm really sorry for what he tried to do to you."
The Schnee couldn't even respond, her eyes welling up as she looked away, her mind conflicted beyond belief-
She was angry-
She was utterly distraught-
Words couldn't express how confused and suspicious she was, but-
Weiss couldn't say that deep down, at least part of her didn't want him to leave.
...
...
The vessel crossed through the threshold of broken concrete and metal, facing away from the entire life he had built for himself, "...Hey, despite everything-"
He gave the smallest of smiles, "I hope you guys live long, happy lives."
...
...
"Wait!"
Time seemed to slow as he turned around to see-
"Blake?"
The Faunus stood there with trembling hands, hand over her chest, "I'm-"
She furrowed her brow, glaring at the sorcerer with those yellow eyes of hers, "I'm coming with you."
Ruby was knocked from her stupor, "W-what!?"
Weiss tried to grab the quiet girl's arm, "Blake!? Have you-...what's gotten into you!?"
Yang just stood there, completely aghast, "What the hell are you saying!? Why would you...WHY!?"
To everyone's surprise, Blake...smiled, "Because I don't have another choice."
The cat-girl looked down, her lip quivering, "Ozpin buried my record, but it's still there, and you better believe people are going to start digging into Yuji's friends once this goes public. It's only a waiting game until someone starts blaming the Faunus, and my name pops up...Atlas will need to make an example of someone if they can't get him, and I-"
Blake winced, "I don't want to spend the rest of my life in one of those fucking prisons, I can't!"
Yuji faced her, his expression firm, "Blake, this is a real bad idea...if you wanna go, then go somewhere without me, some place you can lie low until it all blows over."
The Faunus stepped closer to him, her eyes pink from tears as she smiled, "It's like you said...ever since I took an innocent life, mine has been my own-"
"Then be a Huntress like you said! Blake, I don't plan to-"
"I know...I know...but think what this could mean, not for me, but...for my people. I grew up with stories of Ryomen, and so many believe he's a God waiting to save them. This stupid fucking back and forth about religion and what our destiny is has caused so many years of hardship that could've been avoided...and maybe...maybe my part is to expose that for the lie it is! Maybe-"
She sniffed, "Maybe this is how I can show how sorry I am...take a risk and go with the only person who can tell me the truth...It'd be better than hiding in some hole until I'm old and wrinkled...right?"
Yuji stared at her for a long moment, "I don't know what's best or worst for you, Blake...but for me, life only really started making sense when I gave myself a role, callin' myself a cog in some endless machine-"
Images of long-lost friends flickered past his eyes, "No one knows what it's for. We might put emotions on it, ideologies, beliefs, whatever, but the machine itself doesn't care about any of that. For good or bad, progress just keeps chuggin' along. We can pretend we have a choice in it, but we really don't, 'cause if you don't take the reigns, then someone with worse intentions will steer things the way they want them to go, so we serve our use until we can't anymore."
He looked her square in the face, "Your one choice is you getting to decide when you're done and let someone else take up your spot. So, ask yourself-"
"Can you keep going, or do you want out?"
...
...
Blake looked at her teammates, to the small life she had built for herself-
Ruby, Weiss, Yang-
Humans who unsettled her, people she never thought she would tolerate, let alone enjoy being around, but...she changed, and now, the race that oppressed her people suddenly seemed far more...grey than they had before-
She cared about them-
She wanted to stay and fight for this new life. It wouldn't be impossible.
Weiss could probably help, maybe find her a lawyer, argue their way out of an arrest...definitely possible-
But-
Her mind shifted to that mysterious boy with god himself stuck inside of his soul, the being whose existence shifted the oppression of the Faunus from 'tragic necessity' to 'they deserve it because they want to destroy us.'
Who knows if any answer would come of it or if it would just mean her death-
But didn't her people deserve the truth? Would they even care? They worshipped Ryomen because he was destructive... because he was a monster that tore everything down-
Would this change anything?
...
...
Yang took a step forward, her face weary, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder as the young girls stared at their teammate, "Blake...come on. We-We both know this is crazy...our team is...well-"
Ruby spoke, "We're like a family...family doesn't leave!"
The blonde visibly winced at the comment.
Weiss nodded, "For better or worse, we're together...I know...I know I took time to accept that, but...haven't you?"
Blake could only look them over once more, and with a closed-eyed smile, forcing back a layer of emotion, she rarely showed, "...You're right. We are a family, aren't we?"
...
...
They smiled-
"So, I hope you find a better one someday...one with someone who deserves you."
Blake suddenly turned on her heels, marching out after the sorcerer, painfully muttering, "Let's go."
Ruby tried to run after her, but her sister grabbed her by the arm, "Y-Yang!?"
The blonde stared ahead, "Rube...no-"
"LET GO!"
"No."
"I HAVE TO STOP HER! I...I CAN'T LOSE ANY MORE TODAY. I CAN'T!"
Ruby pulled harder, "PLEASE!"
Yang could only yank her sister into an airtight hug, "I...I'm sorry, Ruby, but...I can't lose you either. I-"
The fist-fighter hissed, "I don't want you ever going near him again, not with...that THING inside of him!"
The scythe-user tried to pull back, screaming, "I'LL USE MY SEMBLANCE IF YOU DON'T LET ME G-"
*CRACK
In the blink of an eye, Yang cracked her sister on top of the head, knocking her out cold.
Blake stopped, reaching out a hand, "Y-Yang!?"
The blonde could only hold her sibling's limp form, refusing to look at her former teammate and friend, "If you're gonna go...then just go-"
Tears trickled down her face as she glared up at them, her eyes burning red, "BOTH OF YOU, GET THE FUCK OUT!"
The Faunus recoiled, her hand going to her chest, trying to say something, but-
Yuji tapped her on the shoulder, shaking his head, "...If you really wanna go with me, we gotta go now. I can hear those troops comin' through the tunnels, and I don't wanna have to kill them."
Blake hesitated for a moment, looking back at the sight one last time, but as Itadori walked off into the unknown, she caught up soon after.
They left their teammates there in the devastation, and they were found soon after by Atlesian forces. Once news broke out of what was trapped inside of him all this time, it wouldn't take long for Yuji Itadori to become an enemy of the world.
These were possibly his last few minutes before everything he had built truly crashed down, never to return.
What do you even do when something like this happens?
Is there even a right answer?
What would you do before the very concept of freedom became a distant dream?
...
Back on the surface
After exiting from a sewer grate, Yuji surveyed their surroundings, from the burning wreckage to the empty streets littered with bodies, the only sounds and lights coming from patroling Atlesian vehicles and military units.
Blake quickly climbed the final step, standing beside him, an odd sense of quiet overcoming them, Itadori speaking first-
"You alright?"
Blake almost scuffed, coming out of what seemed like a daze, rubbing a hand along her arm, "Alright...alright's a word I wouldn't use right now. I...I've packed up and walked out a few times before, it's...what I do when things get bad, but-"
She looked down, "This time was a lot harder than normal."
Yuji reached out, his hand clenched over her shoulder, "You can still go back, you know?"
"And wait to get arrested?"
"You don't know that's how it'll go down."
"But it might."
"You can't base your life on the maybes. You might think it'll put you a step ahead, but it just makes you think the worst of everybody. Can you even call something like that a life?"
Blake forced a smile, "I get what you're trying to do...you're lucky I learned to think that obliviousness of yours is sweet instead of annoying, or I might just get mad."
...
...
The quiet girl grabbed a strand of her long black hair, "It's not really a maybe...stuff like this makes people dig, and they'll pick up on how weird my record looks, and the second they find out I'm a Faunus...well, proof or not, you can probably guess how that goes."
Blake laughed, "I guess I'm tired of being forced to run...from my life...from the White Fang...my own friends... so it's almost liberating to choose to do it myself before it comes to that...it-"
She looked down, a tiny smile crossing her face, "It reminds me of something my mom used to say when I was really young...I'd run inside our dinky little house, crying up a storm, and tell her another one of my friends' houses got destroyed by an Atlesian airstrike, but...I didn't call them that...I thought it was God punishing us for being bad...I won't say the actual name 'cause...ya know..."
Yuji paled, "Y-You believed in him?"
"I was a kid, Yuj...it's just easier to say God did it than for my parents tell me some Kingdom across the world wanted to punish us for daring to want something more than slavery... but is there really a difference if those shackles are real or not? If a Faunus is corralled into a prison labor camp, is it any better to be stuck on some wasteland island? You'll still wish you were free every time you go to sleep."
Blake rubbed her wrist, "I don't know why it's dawning on me just now, but this might be the first time I've ever done anything to address my problems besides run away-"
Itadori tilted his head, "But...you're runnin' away with me, right?"
"Toward the truth, not because I'm angry or even because I'm sad. I just...know this is what I can do to play my part. For the first time in years, I don't feel guilt for what I did-"
She slowly reached up, grabbing the bow on her head, "Instead, I feel-"
Blake pulled it off, staring down at the piece of cloth in her hands, soon tossing it onto the nearby burning wreckage of a car, watching it go up in smoke-
"Free."
...
...
Her extra ears twitched in the breeze, and Yuji could only watch, "I don't really know much about what you're feeling, but-"
Blake hummed, "Don't you?"
"Hm?"
"Neither of us is human. We're just better at hiding the truth when so many can't...ever since I found out about you being half-curse, it just...made me think we're alike, so why wouldn't you get what I'm going through?"
Yuji's hand twitched, "Are you proud to be a Faunus, Blake?"
She made a face, "I don't know about proud...being exceptionalistic about your race is why humans and Faunus fight so much, but, at the least-"
Blake smiled, "I'm not ashamed of it. Are you?"
...
...
Yuji's quiet smile said more than words ever could, his face reflecting a look of deep pain.
Blake took the hint that he was done talking about it, soon putting a finger to her chin, "Well, staying here on the ground isn't safe, especially if we want to be smart about this."
The Faunus nodded to herself, "So if we wanna get out of the city, we're going to need to use every second of anonymity we have left...run for the walls, make a break for it in the wild, travel on foot and find someplace to bunker down...I know a few old safehouses from my White Fang days, so, we might-"
Itadori shook his head, "We're not leaving just yet."
"...Are you fucking nuts!?"
"I have to do something first...it's not somethin' I can...or even want to avoid. I...I owe it to him, okay?"
"Owe it to who?"
...
...
Blake's stare grew intense, "Yuji...you can't be serious."
He matched her energy, "I am."
"Do you even know where he'll be? The city is on full lockdown, with military patrols on every corner. We can't risk running around blindly looking for him."
"Eso and Kechizu have an idea. They saw him not too long ago. I dunno, they're not telling me the full picture right now, just bits and pieces."
"Those two? Are they just...living in your head?... With you know who?"
...
...
Blake raised a hand, "Sorry, I know it's way too soon-"
"It's fine. You've got a right to know this stuff. I won't drag my feet on the details. Just...think of my soul like a prison cell wrapped around Sukuna's, keeping him submerged. If my brothers were in there with him, he'd have already shredded them, so they're on the outside...so they're more like co-pilots on a plane."
"So, can they...control you?"
"I'd let 'em if they asked."
"Are you sure that's safe? After...what Ryomen did-"
"They're my family."
"But...so is-"
Yuji's stare intensified, and pressure crashed down around them. "I choose who my family is, Blake, and I would sooner die right here and now than ever call that disgusting freak anything but the abomination he is."
Yuji's breath escaped as steam, his yellow eyes spiraling, "We might share blood, but that's where the similarities end...I'm not his nephew, I'm not his son...I'm just-"
He hissed, "I'm just-"
...
...
He looked down, "I'm just not, okay?"
Blake tried to reach out, "Yuji, I-"
The sorcerer shook her off, "It's nothing, just-"
He crouched, "If you're serious about comin' with, hop on."
...
...
Blake exhaled as the pressure dispersed, her arms dangling, soon climbing onto his back for a superpowered piggyback, "I don't like being carried."
Yuji hummed, "Is it 'cause you're part cat?"
She glared into his back, "You're really gonna do that bit now?"
"Sorry, just...this whole day is a nightmare."
"Mhm."
They took off through the streets, soon launching across the skyline as a fading spec against the darkened skies.
...
At the same time, in Haven Academy
Atlesian personnel marched about the school halls, preparing for disaster relief and awaiting an inevitable counterattack on those responsible for the chaos.
Ozpin sat on a military cot in a makeshift infirmary, holding his bandaged stomach as a team of medics looked over various scans of his innards, the sight annoying him more than anything.
The immortal tapped his finger on the edge of his bed, "Is this really necessary right now?"
Ironwood read through one of the reports, "Necessary enough for me to ignore about a thousand calls. You're quite the expensive friend, you know?"
"I find myself to be a delight."
"I'm sure you do."
...
...
The General grimaced, "You were right about needing surgery, Oz...full stomach and small intestine replacement, but it just so happens Atlas has a steady supply of real and synthetic replacements. We'll have you matched with a donor within the hour, and you'll be in surgery the next."
Ozpin's glasses lowered, "James...we talked about you needing to reform Atlas'...organ donations, and I'm not comfortable benefiting from it."
"Then you'll get a metal one like mine. The system exists for just this reason, and besides, we outlawed harvesting years ago...part of a civil rights case-"
"Does that include imprisoned Faunus? Even members of the White Fang?"
"Atlas doesn't allow the harvesting of organs aside from voluntary donors after death on our territory. You have my word."
"...What about Vacuo?"
"Hm?"
The immortal's eyes flickered green, "Do not play coy with me. I know about those shipments coming from their mining camps."
"I don't know what you're implying, but-"
"Does 'organic waste' ring a bell?"
...
...
The General scoffed, "It is not Atlas' place to control the policies of another kingdom-"
"But you indirectly own those mines through SDC and the labor camps involved...do you really consider me so daft to think something that organized can come out of an anarchy like Vacuo?"
"Supply and demand, Oz. Atlesian troops get hurt every day protecting the peace across the world, the peace you established... and not everyone is okay with having metal grafted onto their skin, so I do what I can to make our warriors comfortable. It's all legally purchased and responsibly used, so what's the issue?"
Ozpin hissed, "You do these things and wonder why the Faunus hate your people."
"And I should care what some uncivilized savages on an island think?"
"Every action has an effect. Poke the ground enough, and even a worm will turn. Something you did decades prior always has a way of haunting you in the now, and I guarantee, someday, you'll live to regret the things you've done."
"I'll believe that when I see i-"
*BOOM
The building trembled for a moment as soldiers raised their guns in alarm.
Ironwood grabbed his scroll, seeing an alert from specialist Schnee, but quickly moved it aside, looking over the connected camera feeds across the building, and soon-
He raised a hand, "Stand down."
Ozpin hummed, raising the relic with a hand, "Can I assume we're not under attack again? It would be quite a shame to lose such a valuable piece without getting to use it first."
The General shook his head, "You have a visitor-"
*FWOOSH
The door opened with force, but unlike how the boy usually acted, Yuji calmly entered, his eyes checking every corner of the room, soon locking with Ironwood's for a brief moment as though he were looking for something.
Blake entered soon after.
The General watched them for a second, soon raising his scroll, "I'll leave you to it. I have a few messages to answer anyway."
As the man left, Itadori visibly frowned.
Blake leaned close, whispering, "...You don't have long."
The vessel nodded, pinching between his eyes, smacking a hand against his temple, trying to figure out the words to-
Ozpin scooted forward, making his bed creak, "Yuji? Is something wrong, my boy?"
The sorcerer dropped his hands immediately, looking at the older man, "No, it's...it's nothing, just been a long day, I guess...but I should be the one askin' you that! You're all messed up!"
The Headmaster chuckled, his face contorting in pain as he did so, "Ah...I've had a bit of a day myself, is all."
...
...
It took a moment for Yuji to move again, walking toward the immortal, reaching out a palm, "Here, lemme try and fix it for ya...I might not be good enough to fix organs and stuff, but I can least make it hurt le-"
Ozpin shook his head, "That won't be necessary."
"Eh?"
"I don't mean it in a bad way. I appreciate the offer, truly, but that energy...positive or negative...won't work on me."
"Well, you might not be a sorcerer, but the reverse cursed technique should work the same."
"I'm sorry, but it won't. You'll just be wasting your strength for nothing...and you already look exhausted. Have you eaten anything today?"
...
...
Images of Penny of Neptune flashed through his mind, with the vessel still feeling trickles of their hair brush against his lip, wedged between his teeth.
*HRRR
Yuji violently gagged, lurching forward as the immortal tried to hold him steady, "You shouldn't be on your feet if you aren't well!"
Itadori swallowed down the bile, forcing himself to stand upright, "I...I'm fine, just... please don't talk about food right now...can we focus on you instead? You look...younger for some reason-"
Ozpin looked confused but slowly nodded, subtly kicking the relic beneath his bed, giving an awkward laugh, "What? A man can't age gracefully?"
"Not backward...at least, I don't think."
"I have my ways."
...
...
Ozpin hummed, seeing the boy go quiet, "Yuji...if something's wrong, you can tell m-"
*Pompf
In the blink of an eye, the sorcerer was giving him a hug, and after a moment of confusion, the Director gently patted him on the back, "Not to seem like I'm ungrateful for your concern, but...this isn't like you."
...
...
"Yuji?"
...
...
The sorcerer closed his eyes, "It's me."
The Headmaster raised a brow, "...What exactly are you-"
"It's always been me."
Yuji took a slow breath, doing little to steady himself, "Qrow's dead, and so is Penny."
The immortal's eyes shot wide open, "W-...what are you-"
"He made me do it."
Yuji's hug got tighter, "Sukuna's been right in front of you this entire time, stuck inside my soul. He's been here since day one. I'm his host...I always have been."
Blake peeked out of the doorway, her eyes narrowing as the soldiers seemingly disappeared along with Ironwood-
The Faunus marched back in, "We're running out of time, Yuji. They're up to something!"
Ozpin paled, "Qrow...dead...and you..you're-"
Itadori winced, his eyes burning, "I'm sorry for keeping it from you. I thought...I thought I could handle it...that he couldn't hurt anyone...that putting a burden like that on you...one you couldn't help with if you tried wouldn't do any good, but-"
The teen barred his teeth, putting so much pressure they audibly cracked, "I couldn't handle it. The attack happened, and I went after the guy who did it...Watts, but he...it was all a trick...Raven was there, and some woman I had never met, and their eyes burned up like before and..."
Yuji leaned back, staring the man dead in the face, "Sukuna got out and killed 'em. I...I killed them, and I just...wanted to see you one last time before-"
Ozpin's mind raced a mile a minute, but soon, the aged man shook his head, "Before...before what, Yuji?"
"Before I go."
...
...
The immortal looked in every direction, soon focusing on the doorway, "Does Ironwood know?"
Blake crossed her arms, "Weiss' sister sent out a message before...well, you can probably guess."
The Headmaster's hands shook, "Is she dead?"
"Dying...Ryomen cut her in half."
The immortal struggled to get to his feet, with Yuji backing up, and once the man was upright, his hands ran through his hair, a manic look crossing his face as he panted, "All this time, Yuji...and you...but you aren't...He isn't possessing you...how can-"
Realization crossed his face, "...That's why she made you, isn't it?"
Ozpin looked down to his ward, "Your mother made you to be his host...that's why she made your siblings, the...the ones who couldn't...it-it all makes sense...but if you can contain him, how could-"
...
...
Ozpin grabbed his chest, nearly stumbling onto a desk, knocking various glass beakers to the floor, leaning atop the surface, "Raven... another woman...the Maidens...you were exposed to them, weren't you?"
Yuji swiped a hand over his mouth, wiping away stray bile, "I don't know what they did...some...energy came off 'em and...everything got all hazy and next thing I know, Sukuna's out of his cage...Gramps-"
He tried to walk closer, "I'm so sorry, I never meant for-"
The immortal trembled, his glasses falling off as his eyes glowed green, "Watts...I know that name...the Atlesian madman...I thought he was...and he used my creation to...-
It was a cold moment for the ancient being-
The maidens were made to destabilize Ryomen's connection with his host, but he never considered it could be used both ways.
Yuji hadn't told him the truth of his existence and the betrayal stung his heart like no other, but...
His ineptitude led to the Maidens drifting away...his years of solitude allowed Watts to get them under his control-
This never would have happened if he hadn't made that fruitless decision all those years ago.
...
...
Ozpin swallowed a breath, "I...I can fix this...I just need to talk to James. He'll...He'll listen to reason, I know he will. Just-
He quickly walked toward Yuji, dropping his hands on his shoulders, "I need you to play along. He might arrest you...try and bring it to military court, but I can use my influence and get you out! I can't say it with current parties present, but you'll have to trust me!."
Itadori gently shook his head, "I'm sorry, Gramps, but...I can't do that."
"You don't understand! There isn't a choice! We're far beyond the pale of free decision-making here!"
The Headmaster shook, "Words can't hope to describe what I feel right now. I'm furious; I'm disappointed, and...I'm almost terrified of you, Yuji-"
The vessel tried to talk, "Then, just let me-"
"Regardless...I promised I would take care of you, and by God...I will follow through with it."
The sorcerer was struggling to keep it together, "Gramps, I...we both know there's no going back from that. I can't...I won't ruin your life because I couldn't stop him!"
"Look at me."
The immortal shook the teen out of his stupor, "You called me your grandfather, and that was both a gift and a responsibility...a parent's job isn't only to praise their children for their successes, but to be there for their moments of weakness. There is no easy answer for this, and your life will change, but...I'll do what I can, so will you please just let me try for your sake?"
...
...
Yuji smiled up at the man, "I know you always want what's best for me, Gramps...you're always like that for everyone, and...it's why I look up to you so much, and it's why...I consider you an important part of my family."
Itadori closed his eyes in thought, "You're the kinda guy that, even after so many years, you're still putting that work in, even if you don't think it'll go anywhere...even now, you're talking about finding a way out of this mess, and I'd want nothing more than for you to give me a hand-"
The immortal nodded, "Right, then we'll have to-"
"But-"
Yuji raised a hand, gently grabbing the man's wrist, "There's something I need to do, and I can't spend that time rotting in a jail cell...You...you don't gotta worry about me anymore, alright?"
Tears poked at the edge of his eyes, "I'm gonna do what I have to and...hope I get to see you again...someday."
Ozpin tried to say something, but the vessel hugged him again, mumbling into his shirt, "I love you, Grandpa...this is goodbye."
The immortal sputtered, but as soon as it happened, it was over, and the vessel was rushing out of the room, followed by Blake.
The Headmaster tried to chase them but could hardly move with his injuries, falling into a chair, a hand covering his eyes.
...
Moments later
Yuji and Blake made their way through empty halls, the former glancing through open classrooms yet finding nothing.
Blake glared, "I don't like this."
Yuji nodded, "You think they're up to something?"
"It just isn't Atlas to sit by and do nothing...it's just...their code is shoot first, ask questions later. There's no chance Ironwood doesn't know by now, so-"
"Maybe he's scared of me...most people are."
"He's scared of everything. That's what makes him a good leader in Atlas terms."
They stopped at a doorway, Blake putting her hand on the handle, "The sooner we get out of the city, the better."
They stepped into the outside world, with Yuji staring up at the traveling lights of several airships stationed above the school, "Those things weren't here when we landed-"
The vessel crouched, "Hop on."
Blake didn't think twice, clambering on as she did before, leaning over his shoulder, pulling up a map on her scroll, "You're gonna want to head north...it'll be wastelands for a while, but with how fast you move, we should reach Wind Path in a day or two."
"Wind Path?"
"Super isolated city in the tundra, kind of run-down, but we should be able to hide out and plan our next move...I never really asked, but...what is our plan?"
"Hang on a sec-"
Yuji hollered, taking off in a running start across the paved pathways, "Oy, Eso, Kechizu!"
Blake cringed as two mouths opened on the sides of his face, a masculine voice escaping, "Do you really have to yell when we're in your head?"
The other yelled, "Yeah! We're tryna sleep!"
Blake raised a brow, "They need sleep?"
Yuji waved his hands like he had no idea.
The sorcerer bowed his head, "Sorry-sorry, just...it never came up when we were talking, but since you guys are back...did you just leave Choso in the Cursed Realm?"
...
...
Eso's eye emerged, blinking once, "We were hoping you knew where he was."
Yuji's mouth hung open, "You thought I knew? What the...but...you have memories, how could you-"
Kechizu gurgled, "Oy, we weren't supposed to know nothin' after we died, but our connection kinda broke the rules. It's like TV with a bad signal; we just got flashes of info here and there. Me and Eso spent a real long time lookin' for Choso, and even with how weird time and space get there, we just...never found him."
"Then-"
The vessel looked at the horizon, "Where is he?"
They didn't respond, and at the same time, they failed to notice the airships moving into position above.
Itadori pushed the thought aside, leaping into the air, clearing over the buildings with ease, "We'll figure it out later! But for now, we-"
...
...
On one of the airships, a command was given, and centrifuges loaded with volatile crystals, with mechanical components roaring to life as armaments dropped.
Ironwood stared at the spec-like sorcerer displayed across an electronic screen at the helm of one of his aircraft, hand raised, mumbling to himself, "...Sorry it came to this, Oz."
One of his attendants screamed, "Sir, magnetic rounds are prohibited in civilian areas!"
His face hardened, "I'll accept full responsibility."
The General's hand dropped as dozens of lights lit up across the darkened sky, "FIRE!"
...
...
At that very moment, a deafening howl screamed through the atmosphere, burning over the devastated city like trails of a blazing sun.
They boiled nearby water droplets into steam-
They burned through derelict buildings, leaving melted holes in their wake, made to destroy enemy fortifications, yet honed in on a mere teenager with artificial perfection.
Yuji could hardly look back before they were practically on top of him, hurling Blake down to the city below, reaching out a hand to slice a beam in half, only to-
Yuji blinked, and his left arm was gone; it was nothing more than a burning stump.
The rest slammed into him at once, the world going red.
...
Enjoy another cliffhanger; I'm getting pretty evil with these, huh?
A few of you said they wanna strangle me, so I guess it's fitting for a JJK fic lmao. Take it easy, and I'll catch you all next time; cheers.
Discord:
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