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ZERO: THE FOOL
Yuuji isn’t stupid. He’s going to die at the end of this – once they find the 20th finger and he consumes it, he’s dead.
He’s a dead man walking, and yet – he can’t help but yearn for a life beyond this, for a future where he just gets to live without a guillotine hanging above his neck. He’s not of the privilege to think he gets this, but sacrifice is always needed in the grand scheme of things, and it’s not like he hasn’t done this before.
Once: He was Robin – or maybe Reflet? – either way, he was a tactician that had slain the dragon that lived inside of them for the betterment of others. He was Minato – or Minako? – who had held the universe in their hands before using their soul to seal Nyx away.
He was a girl that lived in the remote parts of Tokyo once, who died to save their friends once. And now –
And now what? He’s an orphan again, and again he will die for the betterment of others. This has always been his fate. And it always will be.
---
ONE: THE MAGICIAN
Nobara watches as Yuuji pokes around in the kitchen, finding things to restock for later runs to the grocery store – whoever’s turn that may be – and she sighs before saying “Hey, Yuuji,”
Yuuji hums his acknowledgement, softly shutting the fridge as he notes they need more eggs, and Nobara takes it as a sign to continue.
“So, why did you swallow that finger anyways?” She asks, her gaze searching.
Yuuji pauses, thinking on the answer. “I suppose that I just wanted to save people. Give them proper deaths, and all.”
“How noble,” she replies, frowning. “And stupid.”
Yuuji hums his agreements, and cheerfully tells her that they need more eggs.
---
TWO: THE PRIESTESS
“You don’t turn up as often as your friends,” Shoko Ieiri notes, marking her observations down for the latest physical. “That’s a good thing, if you aren’t aware.”
“Well, Sukuna probably doesn’t like the idea of his vessel dying early,” Yuuji jokes, and Shoko snorts a bit at that.
“Fun joke,” Shoko says, setting the clipboard aside. “Just make sure you don’t lose your friends in the process.”
---
THREE: THE EMPERESS
Maki hunts him down again a second time, her hand out. “So where’s Slaughter Demon?” she asks, frowning. “Because Gojo-sensei doesn’t have it.”
Yuuji comes clean this time, telling her it broke against a special-grade curse. Her eye twitches a bit, as if she’s going to yell at him, but she pauses and then asks “From the time you died?” she asks instead, and Yuuji only nods.
Maki sighs, long and dramatic but not at all as pissed as he expected her to be. “I can’t stay mad at you,” she says, a hand on her hip. “I’ll just be glad that Slaughter Demon was of some use to you.”
---
FOUR: THE EMPEROR, REVERSED
Sukuna sneers from his throne of skulls and blood. “So brat,” he says, staring at him with the same languid ease of someone who has won. “Do you really think this will end with you dying?”
Yuuji stares up at him, silent for a while. “That’s how it normally goes,” he says quietly, breaking gaze with the King of Curses and staring at the ribcage that line his domain. “I don’t really know how else it should go by now.”
Sukuna is silent. Yuuji is forced out of the realm, but not before Sukuna says “Don’t die before the 20th finger, brat.”
---
FIVE: THE HIEROPHANT
Once, before the world went to shit, Nanami Kento took Yuuji to the bakery he once enjoyed, and told Yuuji to get one thing, and they could share.
Yuuji gets a bun, filled with custard, and Nanami only nods his approval as he pays and they split the bun in half between the two of them. “I could make these,” Yuuji mumbles, tearing apart the bun and popping it in his mouth. “I’ve never baked bread before but I’m willing to try.”
Nanami smiles, small and rare but Yuuji doesn’t call it out. “Really?” Nanami asks, giving Yuuji a fond look. “Then I’ll look forward to it when you get them right.”
Yuuji grins, big and full of joy. “Then that’s a promise!”
---
SIX: THE LOVERS, REVERSED
Yuuji kneels down at the grave, and gives it a long, hard, stare.
“Hey Junpei,” he says, quiet and grieving. There’s been a lull in missions, so Yuuji’s found the time to properly pay his respects.
Yuuji remains silent for a while, staring at the smooth, unblemished stone, warmed by the sun. He can’t waste all his time trying to find the words to say, but really – he can’t find anything to say at all.
He wants to apologise, mostly. But for what? He doesn’t really know.
So there Yuuji remains, at the grave of one Junpei Yoshino, and he stares and stares and stares.
---
SEVEN: THE CHARIOT
“Itadori Yuuji!” Toudou Aoi yells across the field a second time, just a day after the Goodwill event, and Yuuji fights down the urge to start sprinting in the opposite direction. “My best friend!”
“Todo I swear to you we have never met in middle school,” Yuuji says, defeated, as Toudou picks him up in both hands and swings him over a shoulder. “What’s happening now anyways?”
“You haven’t sufficiently rested, my best friend!” Toudou tells him, hauling Yuuji towards the dorm rooms. “As your senior and your best friend, I am obligated to make sure you get sufficient time to heal!”
Yuuji hums, exhaustion suddenly flooding him. “Do you mind if I just…pass out on your shoulder then?”
“Not at all,” Toudou tells him, adjusting his grip slightly so that Yuuji wouldn’t fall.
---
EIGHT: JUSTICE
Higuruma watches as Yuuji picks his way out of the ruined theatre, and he calls out to him “Itadori-kun!”
Yuuji pauses, and then turns around. “Yeah?” he asks, unsure.
“Do you remember what I told you?” Higuruma asks, hands in pockets as Yuuji stares at him. “as far as the law is concerned, you’re innocent.”
Yuuji frowns. “But…I was weak. I did let Sukuna out and kill all those people.”
“Did you let Sukuna out on purpose?”
Yuuji shakes his head, and Higuruma smiles at him, shaky and unsure. “Then, you’re innocent, as far as the law is concerned.”
---
NINE: HERMIT, REVERSED
“Hey Mechamaru,” Yuuji asks the device, having long since powered off and won’t be responding for a while. “Did you really know this would all happen? And why did you know?”
The communication device does not answer. Yuuji mutters “Go figure,” and shoves it into a pocket. There are other things to worry about.
---
TEN: FORTUNE
Panda finds him making tangyuan on a winter morning, the coming chill calling for warmer desserts. Yuuji hands him a cooked glutinous rice ball – asking what he thinks of the flavour.
“It’s very nutty,” Panda tells him, after a moment of chewing. “Did you stuff these with something?”
“I was trying out sesame seed paste,” Yuuji says, removing another batch from the hot water. “Are you not a fan?”
Panda shakes his head. “I approve of the taste,” he says, grinning.
Yuuji grins back. “Would you like a whole bowl of them? They’re getting served with ginger syrup.”
Panda nods, and Yuuji laughs.
---
ELEVEN: STRENGTH
Inumaki finds hm once, sat on the stairs to the dorms, staring up at the sky, in the middle of the night. “Sujiko” he calls out, and Yuuji turns his head to see him standing in the doorway.
“Oh, hey, Inumaki-senpai,” Yuuji greets him, with a wave and a wavering grin. “What’s keeping you up at this hour of night?”
Inumaki mimes drinking from a glass, whilst saying “Tsunamayo,”
Yuuji nods. Water then. Inumaki tilts his head slightly, sitting down next to Yuuji, before pointing right at him. “Takana?”
Yuuji stares. “Just some bad thoughts, that’s all,” he answers. “Nothing to worry about.”
Inumaki frowns. “Okaka,” he says, eyes narrowing. “Kombu.”
Yuuji falls silent, burying his face into his knees. “I don’t know how to explain it properly. It’s just…bad thoughts. I don’t know.”
Inumaki hums, thoughtful. “Shake,” he begins, and then with a sort of half hug around Yuuji shoulders, he whispers, “Mentaiko.”
---
TWELVE: THE HANGED MAN
Megumi takes Yuuji’s shaking hands in his, gripping tight with callused fingers. “Wherever you’re going,” he says, his grp tightening further. “I’m following. You can’t stop me.”
Yuuji frowns. “Megumi, you can’t just-” he begins, before Megumi interjects with his own protests.
“If you die, I die,” he says, staring right into Yuuji’s eyes. “I’d follow you into hell itself.”
Yuuji presses his lips together. “And if I go somewhere you can’t follow?”
Megumi closes his eyes for a minute, as if thinking. “Then,” he begins, quiet but sure, “I would simply find a way to follow you anyways.”
---
THIRTEEN: DEATH
“Brother,” Chousou says, curling an arm around Yuuji as he buries his own hands into his hair. “I am so sorry that this was the body you were given.”
Yuuji mumbles a “What do you mean Chousou?” and he takes it as a sign to continue.
“A body that hurts you,” Chousou explains, carefully removing Yuuji’s hands from his hair, simply just opting for gently holding them in his palms. “A body that wants to destroy you from the inside out.”
Chousou brings Yuuji’s hands to his forehead, and simply holds them there, unmoving. “You deserve so much better than a curse and an execution, my little brother.” He tells Yuuji, fingers gently curling around Yuuji’s own.
---
FOURTEEN: TEMPERANCE, REVERSED
His grandfather had told him to use his strength to help others, to try and save others.
“Well Grandpa,” Yuuji calls out as he sits in the wasteland that was once Shibuya. “I think I failed your final words.”
---
FIFTEEN: THE DEVIL
“Look at it this way Itadori Yuuji-kun,” Gojo calls out, grinning. “If anything goes wrong here, I’ll just clean it up, easy.”
“And why would you be the one to clean it up?” Yuuji asks, peering up at his teacher. Gojo only grins wider, putting a hand on Yuuji’s shoulder.
“It’s because I’m the strongest there is! Don’t think there’s anything that is a match for me,” he announces, voice smug. “So you’re in good hands, Yuuji-kun!”
---
SIXTEEN: THE TOWER
“Mahito,” Yuuji announces, cursed energy flooding his hands and body. He’s angry, because how dare Mahito make fun of this situation, how dare he. “I’m going to kill you.”
Mahito laughs – deranged and maniacal. “I’d like to see you try!”
---
SEVENTEEN: THE STAR
Setsuko calls him on a Saturday, whilst he’s watching bread he’s attempting to make rise in the oven.
“Yuuji?” she asks when Yuuji picks up the phone. “This is the right number, right?”
“Yep!” Yuuji says happily. “It’s nice to hear from you again Setsuko-senpai!”
Setsuko hums, and then she asks how he has been lately – she hasn’t seen him since the incident in high school after all.
“Ah,” he says, trying to find the right words. “I’ve been…fine.”
The line falls silent. “Is it one of those things where you’re not fine but you can’t tell me about it?”
Yuuji sighs. “Yeah,” he replies, feeling guilty. “Yeah it is.”
“Well,” Setsuko begins, and he can imagine his senior fidgeting with her glasses. “Are you going to be okay?”
Yuuji thinks. “Maybe,” is what he ends up answering, and Setsuko takes it as a cue to change the topic.
---
EIGHTEEN: THE MOON
“Oh, hey, Itadori-kun,” Nitta Akari calls out to him, as they come back to the car after dealing with the curse under the bridge, “Nice job out there.”
Yuuji blinks. “I didn’t really help with exorcising the actual curse though.” He protests, fingers curling and uncurling.
Nitta sighs, and ruffles Yuuji’s hair. “Yeah, but you kept your fellow students safe, didn’t you?”
“Nobara got just as hurt as me,” he retorts, and Nitta grins, wry and crooked, and gives Yuuji a pat on the shoulder.
“And I bet she would have been hurt worse if you weren’t there.” She says. “You’re as important to this team as the other two. Don’t forget that, Itadori-kun.”
---
NINETEEN: THE SUN
“Ijichi-san?” Yuuji asks, holding up a stack of papers that Gojo passed off onto him. “Gojo-sensei said I had to give these reports to you.”
“Ah, just leave them on the desk,” Ijichi tells him, sighing. “I doubt they’re done correctly, but they do…get the job done. Somewhat.”
Yuuji leaves the stack in the place pointed out by Ijichi, and before he turns to leave he pauses, turning towards the Assistant Director. “Ijichi-san,” he begins, pausing only a little bit, as if trying to think over his words carefully. “Can you teach me how to do the reports?”
Ijichi blinks. “Now what brought this on, Itadori-kun?”
Yuuji tilts his head a bit, daring not to make eye-contact. “I guess…I don’t know. I was just curious, I guess. Sorry for bothering you.”
Ijichi shakes his head. “No, no. Take a seat Itadori-kun, and grab one of Gojo’s reports – I’ll teach you the right way to do it, seeing as Gojo might not take the time to teach you properly.”
“Okay!” Yuuji replies with a grin, and takes a seat opposite Ijichi.
---
TWENTY: JUDGEMENT
“Hey Okkotsu-senpai,” Yuuji begins, looking at his upperclassman. Okkotsu pauses in his poking of the fire, to look up at Yuuji.
“Hm? What is it, Itadori-kun?” he asks, head tilting to the side.
“When you do finally execute me – for real that is,” Yuuji begins, and he can feel Megumi subconsciously tighten his arms around Yuuji at the word execute but Yuuji presses on. “Can you make sure it’s quick?”
Okkotsu softens his gaze, and returns to poking at the fire. “I promise Itadori-kun.”
---
TWENTY-ONE: THE WORLD, REVERSED
When the final finger comes into their hands, and, eventually, Yuuji’s trembling ones, he doesn’t eat it straight away.
“Oh,” he says, instead, and he can tell Sukuna’s opened an eye on the side of his face to peer at the last part of his power. “This is it, huh?”
“Self-sacrifice,” Sukuna says, his voice void of any emotion for once. “It’s not that noble.”
Yuuji stares. “But really – what else were you expecting?”
Sukuna is silent for a long while. “Perhaps…more time. Who knows.”
Yuuji falls silent, and then consumes the finger. It’s not long before he is executed by Okkotsu Yuuta’s steady blade. There’s not much else to his execution, in a lone room in the middle of the night – when the blade removes his head cleanly from his body.
Maybe, just, that he’d meet them all again, in a better life.