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“Good work Okkotsu.”
The praise meant nothing to him, it washed over him like the breeze that had blown when he, or rather Rika, exorcised that last curse. Meaningless words spilling from the lips of self-centered old men who couldn’t give a shit about him, or Gojo. Yuta could barely hold back a scowl as he spoke.
“You don’t really intend to thank me… so let’s just get to the main event. Now you know I will obey your commands.” He felt viscerally sick forcing those words through his chapped lips, and it took every muscle in his body to prevent his lips turning up in a snarl. The higher-ups made him sick.
“No matter how many cursed spirits you kill, it’s proof of nothing!”
Then why the fuck do you keep sending me on these meaningless missions? Why was I sent away from my friends after mere months of knowing them? Sent away overseas for your fucking pleasure, was what Yuta wanted to say but he knew he couldn’t.
“Should I enter into a binding vow or something?” Yuta wasn’t stupid, he might not be the smartest sorcerer, but he was far from stupid. He knew they were baiting him into this, baiting him into doing their dirty work for him. “I don’t care if he’s Gojo-sensei’s pupil. He cut off Inumaki’s arm in Shibuya.”
The special grade would not deny the rush of anger that burned through his veins when he had first been told about the state of his friends. About Toge losing his arm, and Maki being burnt almost beyond recognition, along with one of the first years being practically on the brink of death. He wouldn’t deny the rage.
“I will kill Itadori Yuji myself.” He gritted out, jaw set and a fire blazing in his dark eyes.
While he couldn’t deny the brief rush of anger he had felt, he knew it wasn’t Itadori’s fault. He knew the younger shared his body with none other than Sukuna. That was where his anger was directed, at that vile monster who expanded his domain without consideration for any innocents who were caught up in it, without any consideration for Toge. He would kill Yuji, sure, and then he would bring him back to life.
He was Gojo’s pupil too, and the disdain for the higher-ups translated over. He would carry out his sensei’s request to watch over the first years. He had specifically mentioned Yuji, making sure Yuta knew how similar they were, both sentenced for execution, and both saved from it by Gojo.
“If you could keep an eye out, I’d appreciate it.”
Those words rang through Yuta’s mind as he gazed down at the body curled up on the ground before him. Yuji’s body. The one he’d applied reversed cursed technique to not too long ago to heal him. Itadori Yuji was now officially “dead” as far as the higher-ups were concerned and he had not broken the binding vow he swore. He killed Yuji yes, and then simply brought him back.
When the first year woke up, he explained everything to him; from Gojo’s request to how he’d convinced the higher-ups he would kill Yuji.
“Why are you doing this?” Yuji asked, a curious tone wrapped around the words.
“Because you’re important to people who are important to me. I, too, once bore a power I couldn’t handle. I thought it had been forced on me, but I had invited it upon myself. But not you. The power you bear isn’t your own. You aren’t to blame.” Yuta said gently, meeting Yuji’s eyes from the other side of the flickering flames that separated them.
“It’s not about that.” Yuji denied softly, shaking his head and looking down.
“It doesn’t matter what it’s about. This is a power no one but you can handle. You can’t expect it to come easy. It has hardships, I know that more than most would. But you have people who care about you, people who will help you. They helped me too. You…” Yuta trailed off, more hesitant now, as if he was afraid of overstepping some sort of boundary. “You have me. I can help you.”
“Okkotsu-senpai…” Yuji trailed off, lifting his head to meet Yuta’s determined gaze with wide eyes. “I –”
“You don’t have to say anything.” Yuta dismissed.
“Hey… you know Maki-san, right?”
“I’d say I know her pretty well, yes.”
“So, you’d know some funny stories, wouldn’t you? Inumaki-senpai and Panda-senpai refuse to tell us anything, but I think it’s just because they’re scared of her.”
Yuta felt a little disoriented at how quickly the pace of this conversation changed, but he wasn’t one to deny bringing up brighter and lighter topics. “I’d prefer not to. Maki is… scary. She’d gut me if I spoke a word about any of those stories.”
“But you’re a special grade!” Yuji exclaimed incredulously.
“And she’s Maki Zenin? I don’t see your point. It’s irrelevant if I’m a special grade, she will beat my ass.”
“That sounds like her. Is she… is she okay? Do you know?” Yuji asked. “Do you know about anyone? How they’re all doing?”
“Maki got burnt bad. Really bad. But she’s always been superhuman, so she’ll be fine but not without the scars,” Yuta sighed. “Toge lost an arm to Sukuna’s domain expansion. He’ll live. Panda is fine. Megumi-kun is fine. Kugisaki-san... well… you were there when she –”
“Yeah,” The pink haired boy nodded grimly. “I was there. Is she alive?”
“She’s alive. They don’t know when she’ll be up. Ieiri-san fixed her up as best she can. I can try pouring some cursed energy into her, reversed cursed energy technique. But… it’ll have to wait until we’re back.” He finished.
“Okay. They’re all alive. That’s all that matters,” Yuji nodded. “Are we… are we going back to the school? Can I go back there?”
“No. You can’t. Principal Yaga’s been taken in. It’s not looking good. Ieiri-san moved Kugisaki-san somewhere safe, away from the higher-ups and the conservatives and I think Toge, and Maki are there too. Megumi-kun and Panda will be there too probably. Everyone who’s recovering and not on the conservative’s good side I’d say.”
“Is that where we’re going?”
“Yeah,” Yuta nodded. “I would like to see everyone again after so long. Help out a little.”
“See everyone. That sounds nice,” Yuji agreed. “Do you know where it is?”
“Ieiri-san messaged me the location of the general area, for security reasons. Once we’re there, I can probably sense someone’s cursed energy and find the right place,” Yuta took his phone out of his pocket and tapped on the screen, flinching slightly as the bright light illuminated his face in the darkness. “It’s not far from Shibuya, we can get there pretty quickly.”
“What are we waiting for?”
“Well… I was waiting for you to wake up but you’re up now, so let’s be on our way. Be on your guard though, Tokyo is a mess now. Curses could be anywhere.” Yuta warned, standing up and lifting his katana up with him, wrapping the strap around his chest and letting the gleaming blade rest against his back. Yuji rose to his feet, brushing the back of his hand against a bleeding cut on his cheek and wiped the blood away.
“Lead the way, Okkotsu-senpai.”
And lead he did. Yuta wasted no time in getting them out of Shibuya, because the whole place felt so off. He didn’t like it here, and this came from special grade who felt like he had seen a lot of gore and blood and horrible things in his life, but this topped it. Shibuya was a massacre. There was blood everywhere and dead bodies scattered, limbs attached, and others tossed in different directions. The energy was so heavy, he felt like he could suffocate under it.
Yuji kept up with him, Yuta didn’t know why he was surprised. He’d been told about how strong the younger boy was even before he housed Sukuna in him. He’d seen in firsthand in their fight, this boy had an incredible raw strength with little to no cursed energy behind a good amount of his blows, and yet they hit hard… harder than a lot of sorcerer’s blows would hit with cursed energy. It was impressive to say the least, although it wasn’t surprising considering Gojo was the one who mentored him.
It took around ten minutes of non-stop running through Shibuya and its surroundings before they arrived in the general area. Yuta held up a hand to stop Yuji. “This is the area. I’m going to try and feel out for someone’s cursed energy.” But it turned out that he was searching for the lack of cursed energy. Everywhere around was all curses and sorcerers and remnants of battle. Residuals of cursed energy where everywhere.
So, when Yuta reached out to look for energy, he found it everywhere except one place. Of course! Maki! She didn’t have cursed energy so her presence should be an anomaly around them. That was where they were. “I found them.” He lowered his voice, gesturing to a building a little further with blacked out windows, but it looked normal otherwise.
“That’s the place? You sensed their cursed energy?”
“Lack of. Maki doesn’t have any. It’s like a gap in all the cursed energy around us,” Yuta corrected. “Come on. I’m sure you’re dying to see your friends.”
“Our friends!” Yuji amended.
“Yeah. Our friends,” Yuta nodded. “Come on.”
Yuji was right beside Yuta as the special grade walked up to the building and knocked on the door sharply. It was a minute before the door swung open and a shocked Shoko stood there. “Okkotsu-kun! Itadori-kun!”
“Ieiri-san,” Yuta nodded, a soft expression on his face as she patted his shoulders and his arms. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You’ve grown,” She concluded from her examination. “Are either of you hurt?”
“No.”
“I’m fine.”
They both replied at the same time.
“Come in, come in. I assume you’re here to see everyone.” She moved aside and opened the door even more to let them into the narrow hallway.
“Ieiri-san, do you think it would help if I tried reversed cursed technique on Kugisaki-san?” Yuta asked.
“I don’t think it would hurt,” Shoko replied. “She’s right this way. Itadori-kun, would you like to join us?”
“Yeah.” Yuji’s voice was breathless at the thought of seeing his friend. The one who was as good as dead the last time he had seen her, her hair smeared in bright red and one of her eyes knocked right out of its socket.
Ieiri led them down the long hallway to a room right at the end. She opened the door and entered, holding it open for them. Yuta was the first in and he locked eyes with Megumi, who rose to his feet from where he had been sitting beside the bed. “Okkotsu-senpai!” His eyes widened and then his mouth opened slightly when he saw Yuji walk in right behind. “Itadori…”
“Megumi-kun,” Yuta greeted. “Good to see you again. Are you hurt, after Shibuya?”
“Ieiri-san healed me,” Megumi replied. “I – when did you get back? How did you find Itadori?”
“Not long ago,” Yuta murmured, his concentration now on the girl laying in the bed beside Megumi. “It’s a long story, I can tell you when everyone’s gathered. I want to try and heal Kugisaki-san now, or… do my best to.”
“Of course.” Megumi moved away from the bed.
Yuta took his place, patting Megumi’s shoulder as he passed. “I’m glad you’re alright, Megumi-kun. We’ll catch up soon.”
The darker haired younger nodded and moved back to stand beside Yuji, who looked at Nobara, stricken. He saw Megumi nudge him and saw them start to engage in a conversation, but he turned away. His focus should be on the injured girl in front of him. He sat down on the edge of the bed and putting both of his hands over her face, specifically on the black eye-patch, closing his eyes and concentrating.
He focused on letting the cursed energy flow out and into Nobara, activating the technique and healing. He hoped he could do more than what Shoko had done because she was occupied with multiple people, which must have drained her cursed energy, not to mention Yuta’s cursed energy reserves were massive in comparison to many other sorcerer’s.
It didn’t take long before he felt something change in Nobara and he pulled his hands back, opening his eyes. “Ieiri-san, I think I –”
“You healed her,” Ieiri-san gasped softly, brushing her own hand over Nobara’s locks. “She’ll be fine. She’ll wake up soon enough.”
“Ku-Kugisaki’s okay?” Yuji’s voice broke, stepping forward.
“She will be. She’s strong. You all are,” Yuta stepped away from the bed. “I’ll leave you to spend time with her. Let me know when she’s awake, I would love to meet her. I’ve heard a lot about her.”
“Where are you going?” Yuji asked.
“Inumaki-senpai and Maki-san are upstairs, Okkotsu-senpai,” Megumi informed him, already knowing where he wanted to go and who he wanted to see. “They’re both awake.”
“Thank you, Megumi-kun.” Yuta waved as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. He leaned on the wall outside, sucking in a deep breath and feeling his katana dig into his back. He helped. He did something good.
If only he’d been here earlier to help more people. If only the higher-ups hadn’t waited until all the action was over to summon him, because maybe if he was here, Toge wouldn’t have lost an arm, Maki wouldn’t be burnt so badly and Nobara wouldn’t even need any healing in the first place. Maybe… maybe he could have saved Gojo. But it wouldn’t do to think in if only’s and what if’s. What was important was that his friends were alive, and he was here now. He could protect them, although it wouldn’t be easy. They were all strong on their own.
He sighed, opening his eyes and pushing off the way. If he didn’t stop moping, he’d end up down a dark road, one he didn’t want to go down. Upstairs, Megumi said they were all upstairs. So, he walked to the stairs and trudged up. He was a little drained from using reversed cursed technique twice and also exorcising curses before he went looking for Yuji, but it was nothing too bad so he could hold out for a little bit longer. Just until he saw his friends, at least.
There were only three rooms upstairs, but Yuta knew which one they were in: the only one with light spilling through the crack at the bottom of the door. Quiet murmurs escaped the room, but they were too low for him to understand anything. Then… they stopped, and so did he. He assumed one of them must have sensed a presence outside the door.
He approached the door, standing just in front of it but not opening it or knocking. If he knew his friends, he knew one of them was standing right on the other side, waiting, cautious, slightly paranoid but considering what they had just been through, it was expected. And just like he anticipated, the door opened, and he was pulled inside and pressed against the wall before he could blink. Someone’s forearm was pressed against his throat and when his eyes focused, he realised who it was.
Maki.
His best friend, Maki. Marred to where he almost had trouble recognizing her, but he could never forget her, even when she was covered in burns. “Maki,” He breathed. “Maki.”
“Yuta?” Her own voice was breathless, almost weak, but Yuta could never use that word to describe anything about Maki. “Yuta… you’re here,” Her arm dropped and she cupped his face, one of her eyes widened while the other was closed, unable to open. “You’re here.”
“I’m here.” He nodded and that was all she needed to wrap him in a tight hug, tugging his head down so it rested on her shoulder. it took Yuta a second to break out of his shock, but he returned the hug the second he did. In his time knowing Maki, she had never really initiated a lot of physical touch between them. Sure, there was the occasional hair ruffle, or a very brief hug but nothing as tight as this, nothing as intimate as this.
He supposed she needed it. He needed it to. It helped to feel her skin beneath his shirt, feel her shorter hair ticking his cheek and the thrumming of her heartbeat. It helped him know she was here and still alive. That she was okay. “You’re okay, right?” He asked, his voice low.
“I’m “” She paused, pulling away from the hug and harshly wiping the palm of her hand against her eye. “I’m fine,” She muttered, sounding slightly choked. “You – you look different. Weird energy around you.”
“I am a little different I suppose. That’s what training every day for basically a year will do. Plus missions,” He shrugged. “I still don’t think I could beat you in a fight.”
“You can’t,” She snorted. “You might have me beat with cursed energy, but I’ll beat your ass any day.”
“I missed you,” He huffed out a soft laugh. “God, I missed you.”
The harsh lines on her face softened. “We missed you too.”
Someone cleared their throat, and Yuta lifted his gaze to see Panda stood there. “Yuta,” He rumbled, his voice soft and comforting. “You grew!”
“Panda,” Yuta smiled. “I did yeah. Just a little.”
Panda’s lip trembled before he swept up the darker haired boy and wrapped him in a hug, lifting him off the ground and squeezing him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re home!” Panda wept dramatically. “It hasn’t been the same without you! Maki doesn’t have anyone to spar with other than Megumi and he radiates too much gloominess, Toge takes care of his flowers alone and I don’t have anyone to bring me back things from Tokyo!”
“You need to have better priorities, Panda,” Maki deadpanned. “Also, you’re going to kill him. He’s turning purple.”
Panda instantly dropped Yuta, who bent over, gasping for breath. “I – I missed… missed you too,” He managed to get out, catching his breath. “You’re not hurt right, Panda?”
“I’m fine.” Panda assured.
Yuta nodded, relieved and then his eyes wandered, and he met a pair of purple ones. “Toge.” His gaze travelled downwards and landed on the bandages wrapped around his left arm… wrapped around the stump. The cursed speech user lifted his right hand in greeting. Yuta hurried forward, practically falling by his bedside, eyes wide and concerned and his hands hovering over the wound. “I didn’t – I –”
It is fine, Toge signed clumsily with one hand, finger-spelling words that required both hands to sign.
“It’s not though. You – you lost an arm. God, I was so worried when they told me what happened to you,” He looked up at Maki and Panda. “What happened to all of you. They waited to call me in, they waited until everything was done, and people were hurt before they called me in. I could have helped.”
“You know no one can make sense of the higher-ups actions.” Maki frowned.
You’re here now.
“Yeah, I suppose,” Yuta nodded at Toge’s response. “I just wish I was there earlier.”
“Did you meet the first years?” Panda asked.
“Yeah. I – met with Itadori-kun in Shibuya. Long story, I’ll tell you when everyone is here. Megumi-kun was here when I got here and Kugisaki-san…” He sighed. “I healed her.”
With reversed cursed technique? Toge cocked his head to the side.
“Didn’t Ieiri-san already try that?” Maki questioned.
“She did. But she’s also been healing other people, and I had a lot of cursed energy to spare. Kugisaki-san going to be fine. She’ll wake up soon.”
“Good,” Maki dropped into a chair, sighing heavily. “She wants to meet you, Yuta.”
“Really?”
Yeah, she hates you.
“What?” Yuta’s eyes widened. “Why?”
“Because you won the last school tournament, and she couldn’t go to Kyoto because of it.” Panda deadpanned.
Yuta felt flabbergasted. “That… is ridiculous.”