Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I don't want to hurt anyone again! I don't know how to control this… Why do bad things follow me wherever I go?! Why is she still here?!"

"Don't die don't die DON'T DIE DON'T DIE DON'T DIE"

"WHO AM I?"

Yuta Okkotsu awoke abruptly within the world of Dream Land, on the planet Pop Star. It was his home. That was all he knew. All memories that he might have kept vanished, scant tracings of them simply wisps in his mind. He couldn't recall a thing. Only dread weighed heavily in his mind, overshadowing whatever he could've forgotten. Such a negative feeling.

But as he gazed at the great green hues of the grass and trees, the spiraling clouds dotting between the rainbows above, listening to the bustle of wildlife and critters fill the air, this negative feeling began to disappear. Whatever lay trapped in his memory that he couldn't recall didn't matter to him anymore. This world was the definition of peace, and that liberated him.

Yuta became accustomed to his newfound love for Pop Star. Eventually, even the wildlife would come running to his side, chirping and screeching as if they wanted to be friends.

"Friendly…"

It wasn't long before a certain memory of Yuta's resurfaced.

"Y Uu UU TA aa!! FRI E Ee NN DSS?"

Yuta screamed as something formed behind him, its energy so dark and tense. It was a monster, and truly of monstrous size, with skin of bone and teeth sharper than he could imagine. But he knew who this was.

"Rika?!"

"YUUUUUTA! WE'RE FRIENDS, RIIIIGHT?"

"Y-Yes Rika… We're friends. Always!"

Rika was Yuta's closest companion. However, after her tragic death, she manifested as a dark entity and never left Yuta's side. He remembered this much. With a furrowed brow, he tried to remember more. And at that point, he wished he hadn't. Images of mutilated bodies and sounds of screams returned to him—the times when he felt cornered, trapped. He couldn't control Rika, such a powerful monster, and because she was indebted to Yuta through her intense feelings of love, she did everything she could to protect Yuta—and she did so violently.

"Rika… What did I do to you…? What is this dark power…? I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

And Yuta Okkotsu's feelings of dread began to return once again. He couldn't help but collapse to the ground, curl himself up and cry, while Rika's own distorted, murmured sobs meshed with his own wails. Eventually, she faded back to whatever shadow Yuta had, ready to manifest again no matter how much he despised her as she was now. Or was he despising himself? He loved Rika too much. He wanted to despise himself. He vowed to despise himself from now on.

"What are you doing moping around over there?"

Yuta's attention shot up to whoever spoke to him. A few meters away stood a tall man with bandages wrapped around his upper face. How mysterious , Yuta thought, Is he trying to hide his identity?

"...You gonna keep starin'? You sure you're okay?"

"AH– Sorry! Uh… Who– who are you…?"

The man chuckled as he stepped closer, a hand on his hip and the other reaching out to Yuta.

"Satoru Gojo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to, uh… to meet you, too."

Yuta still felt on edge. Something about Gojo set off alarms in his head, and he clenched his jaw so hard his ears started ringing. Why did this man make him feel so… uncomfortable? It was like he had a dark aura surrounding him, but it's not like he could confirm that. He certainly wasn't like Rika, who was clearly something to be afraid of.

"You can relax! I'm not gonna– Oh?"

Something seemed to have piqued Gojo's interest. Yuta was utterly confused for a moment, awkward and wide-eyed, until he sensed the familiar ominous aura of Rika floating behind him. Speak Think of the devil…

"YUUUUTAA… IS THIS… A FRIEND…?"

Gojo didn't hesitate to interact with Rika, as if he was fearless, as if these things didn't phase him, as if he had encountered them before. "That's the intention! I think being friends would be… great, actually."

Yuta unintentionally continued to stare at Gojo, as it seemed the white-haired man got extremely lost in thought. Now, they were both awkwardly staring—or, at least, it felt as if Gojo was staring. Yuta couldn't tell because of the bandages. After a moment, Yuta felt too much weight from the awkward silence, gulped to muster up his courage, and spoke.

"Uh–" His voice cracked a bit, "I'm Y-Yuta Okkotsu, by the way… Th-This is… Rika…"

"Rika, eh?" Gojo paused, seemingly scrutinizing the grinning monster behind the blue-toned boy. "...You and Rika love each other, yeah?"

Yuta was taken aback slightly by Gojo's sudden assumption. Was that just a really good educated guess, or was that obvious?

"Um… Yeah, we–"

"WE PROMISED TO GET MARRIED ONE DAY! I LOVE YUTA SO SO SO SO MUUUUUCH!"

"Ahhhh…"

Through yet more bouts of awkwardness, Yuta attempted to explain to the white-haired man of his and Rika's past. As a living girl, Rika presented Yuta with a ring, a gift of her love. In utmost childish innocence, they promised they would get married one day.

"It's an engagement ring."

"What's engagement?"

"It means a promise. A promise that one day… we'll be married."

That promise was cut short. On that same day, Rika passed away unexplainably, her body mangled in front of Yuta. As he stood there helpless and shivering, he continuously prayed that she would stay alive.

"Don't die don't die DON'T DIE DON'T DIE DON'T DIE"

And with those prayers, her soul had escaped that destroyed body of hers, morphing through some coalescence of darkness into the horrific creature that floated behind him.

"And I don't know HOW, or what that darkness was, or how she even died, or what ANY of this is… I just don't know how… I can't control her… It's like a curse… Like she's cursing me…" Yuta began to cry as he explained his tragic love story, grasping his head in his hands as he could not come to terms with his or her circumstances. But Gojo remained intrigued. He leaned forward, resting a hand on Yuta's shoulder.

"Don't worry. I think I know at least SOME of what might've happened." Obviously, Yuta took some interest, and his hands moved back to his sides and shot a glance back up at Gojo.

"What?! Really?!"

"Mmmmmhm. You mentioned 'curses', right? There is something in this world… that goes completely unnoticed by almost everyone here. That darkness you spoke of… I'd consider that to be something of a curse. A substance only ever detected by those that fall to negativity." Gojo chuckled, "You're lucky I found you, Okkotsu! I do… quite a lot of research into this dark substance you called a 'curse.' Actually, I'm in the process of teaching a few others about it right now. If you wanna hear more about it, you should probably meet up with them. That way, you can probably unravel the secret of your own curse."

"...But what if I hurt them? I can't control Rika, and when she's upset, she–"

"If you think like that, you'll be lonely. Trust me, by learning about what she is, you may be able to learn how to control her as well."

With wide eyes, Yuta listened intently to Gojo as he pointed out where to meet up with these other students, his motivation to solve his curse at the forefront of his mind. However, he was still left in the dark about far too many things. The dark substance that Gojo deemed as a "curse", which transformed Rika into a monster, was somehow spread across Pop Star, yet remained undetectable by those who lived in peace and happiness. Rika's death certainly flung him into a world of despair, but if it was the curse which killed her, how could it have done so if they were happy before? And how does Gojo know about this substance in detail?

Regardless, he pressed on, Rika suppressed for now. He would find the other students and learn the answers to these questions. He had to. For Rika.

Chapter Text

"Did Gojo tell you we've got a new 'transfer student'?"

"There's another person who can see the darkness?"

"Salmon."

Deep within the forest of Grass Land, a country of Pop Star, rests a sacred, abandoned temple. Despite its eerie nature, Gojo decided this would be the best place for his "students" to gather. It has a large expanse of land surrounding it, perfect to test out abilities that have the potential to combat the cursed darkness. Plus, it's secluded enough so that nobody else is able to spot them. On the way towards the temple were three individuals: a girl with the wings of an owl, a boy with the fins of a fish, and a panda-hamster hybrid—the other animalistic students of Satoru Gojo.

Gojo was already waiting for them within the temple. For some reason, he insisted that Yuta have an ultra-grand entrance and demanded him to wait outside while the others filed in. What a strange personality… but endearing, in a way.

Once the three students were there waiting, Gojo most certainly introduced Yuta… extravagantly.

"STUDENTS OF SATORU GOJO'S DARK MATTER CLASS!! WE HAVE A NEWWWWW… TRANSFER STUDENT!! GIVE HIM A HAAAAANND!! LET'S GET THIS PARTY–"

None of the students expressed nearly the same kind of energy as Gojo did. In fact, they looked annoyed. Or tired. Or both.

"I wouldn't say that having someone else affected by the darkness is anything to celebrate." The owl-girl scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Well, whatever." Gojo looked defeated, "Yuta. You can come in now." And he definitely sounded defeated, too.

Yuta shyly creaked open the door, trembling with anxiety as he stepped to the front of the room. The atmosphere was extremely tense, and his heart was pounding.

"I'm Yuta Okkotsu… Nice to me–" And before he could finish his timid greeting, purple feathers were flung at his head, nailing the wall behind him. "AGH?!"

The owl-girl looked stern, putting up a fight. "Hey. You've been tainted by the curse, y'know that? We don't need you bringing in any more trouble for us."

Dumbfounded and terrified, Yuta could only stutter as a response. Was he not supposed to have been affected? He thought everyone else here was. Luckily, Gojo intervened, "Now, now. Come on, Maki, didn't you learn with me that not everyone who has cursed energy brings trouble? Though, Yuta is quite a special case." He stood up straighter, and suddenly an ominous, looming presence filled the room, "I'm sure you all have noticed it, since that's why we're here. The dark cloud that's been covering all of Pop Star. It's called Dark Matter, and it multiplies rapidly, changing life on the planet as we know it, making it evil and twisted. I want to teach you guys how to WIELD the cursed energy caused by the Dark Matter so that it can ultimately be destroyed. That's the only way peace will return to Pop Star." After a short, awkward silence, Gojo's freaky presence dissipated. "Anyways, that's why you're all here learning from me on how to use cool cursed abilities and stuff!"

"You're… SERIOUSLY just telling him now?!" The panda-hamster shouted, baffled.

"...My bad! I forgot!" Suddenly, the ominous presence returned to the room again, somehow even scarier than before. But Gojo's posture didn't change. In fact, he looked smug. "You're gonna regret trying to pick a fight with him, Maki…" Gojo folded his arms and smirked.

The three animal students grew extremely tense as the wall behind Yuta seemed to morph into a shadow, a darkened mass beginning to stretch across it. Yuta knew this shadowy feeling. Something he couldn't control. Something he wanted to loathe, but couldn't, for his love was too strong.

"DON'T BULLLLYYYY…"

"Rika, wait!"

"YUUUUTAAAAAA!!"

Crashing noises filled the room as the furniture was tossed, wood cracked, and holes littered the walls and floor. Luckily, the students were already skilled considering they had practiced fighting against the darkness for some time under the care of Gojo, so they did not suffer any terrible injuries from Rika's attack. With a couple of bumps and bruises, the three of them just stood there, plainly annoyed, as Rika faded back away.

"I'm… so sorry…" Yuta shook as he apologized, shooting a glance at Gojo for help. Gojo only chuckled, then in his extravagant, happy tone that COMPLETELY juxtaposed the situation, explained to the students what he knew about Yuta and Rika's past.

"So, that's that! Yuta's cursed by Rika, the girl who loooooves him! You all better get along, okay~? …And don't try attacking him, obviously."

Everyone could clearly hear the owl-girl curse under her breath in frustration with Gojo's lack of warning.

"Jeez…" Gojo turned to Yuta, "They're just going through a rebellious phase. Don't mind them!"

"You seem to be causing trouble, too…"

Gojo ignored that comment. "I suppose I should introduce you to them properly!" He pointed at the owl-girl, "The owl, Maki Zenin. Other than her wings, she's proficient with using weapons!"

"Weapons…?!"

Again, ignoring Yuta's concern, "The fish, Toge Inumaki. Being a fish, he can breathe underwater, which can totally come in handy! He's been affected by the darkness, too, so he can only speak in rice ball ingredients. Good luck talking to him!"

"Wait, how was he–"

AGAIN, "And Panda-Hamster, but that's a mouthful, so just call him Panda. Anyways… That's about it!"

Yuta quickly learned why the other students seemed so annoyed with Gojo all the time. No explanation…

"Hey, newbie!"

"AH?!" Yuta, so tense that being called jumpscared him, whirled around to face Maki.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You're so… mushy . Like the smallest thing would just make you melt from the stress." She sighed, furrowing her brow, "Maybe I should just start calling you Gooey or something, since you're basically just full of goop, anyways. You need to be stronger, like iron, to be able to combat the darkness, alright? I mean, you're super soft all because you've been lucky enough to have one of the Dark Matters on your side. That's grossly passive, and you've been playing the victim… Jeez. You're gonna be a serious pain to work with…"

Yuta listened to her go on, trembling even more despite her harsh words criticizing his softness. He felt like he might faint from the overwhelming intensity of her words, until luckily Panda stepped in, a heavy paw on Yuta's shoulder. "Calm down, Maki. Loosen up on the kid, will ya?"

"Bonito flakes!" Toge chimed in with his limited vocabulary.

"Whatever. I do think the name Gooey would stick for a codename, though. Like the ones we have." Maki shook her head, seemingly to clear her thoughts, but she still looked as stern as ever.

"Right! Yuta, we've got these codenames we use as students under Gojo. He doesn't exactly play along, but it's fun considering we go all out on these missions." Panda chuckled.

"I thought it was childish at first, but whatever. Anyways, mine is Coo. You can call me that. I don't really care. Just don't you dare call me by my last name, okay?" Maki's feathers ruffled at the mention of her last name. Yuta didn't dare question it. He didn't want any more commotion…

"Maki's nickname is obvious, considering her owl appearance and everything. Toge and I decided on a bit of a play-on-words for ours, though. I'm Rick, and Toge's Kine. 'Rick' kinda sounds like riku (land), doesn't it? And 'Kine' sounds like kai (sea)." Panda looked awfully proud of himself for coming up with those nicknames. Toge looked the same, nodding along with Panda's description. "Gooey's got a nice ring to it, too!"

"Ah… O-Okay! I'm okay with that." Yuta laughed awkwardly. He wasn't sure if he actually liked the nickname, considering the connotation. But again, in an effort not to cause a commotion, he complied.

Gojo grinned watching his now four students start to get along. After a bit of laughter, he called everyone to pay attention again. "Alright, students! Let me repeat the game plan so that Yuta knows how exactly we're gonna go about defeating the Dark Matter." Once again, he straightened himself out, the atmosphere of the room getting chilly again, but this time far less foreboding. "The Dark Matter has a weakness… and that is love… or even happiness, or any positive emotions. But love is the strongest weapon against it. On Pop Star, love has the ability to manifest itself into a physical form, if the feeling is mutually shared and strong enough. Now, who knows what we call that item?"

"Heart Stars!" Panda shouted out in full confidence.

"THAT IS CORRECT!" Gojo gave a strong thumbs-up in Panda's direction. "SO! The goal is to find as many Heart Stars as possible and search for the source of the Dark Matter to destroy it with the power of LOVE! …You following, Yuta?"

Yuta was still as wide-eyed as ever, completely unaware such an object existed in the world. "Uh… Yeah! I got it!"

"GREAT! But let it be known… that wherever these Heart Stars linger, there is Dark Matter trying to steal it away in the hope of destroying it. It KNOWS that they're its weakness and seeks to eliminate it. Hence why you've gotta be prepared to fight off enemies at any given moment during your excursions!"

This only petrified Yuta even more. "...Oh."

"But you'll be fine! You're learning how to fight from the one and only SATORU GOJO, after all! Everyone can attest to how helpful I've been!" That comment elicited a sigh and groan from the crowd.

Such an odd man…

After Gojo's short lesson, he pulled Yuta aside for a moment as the others left to the field to train. "So… they're interesting, aren't they?"

"Yeah… I'd like to know more about them and their lives, considering they know about mine…"

"I'm sure they'll tell you eventually. I mean, you're already accepted into their group! With your codename and everything." He chuckled, lightly patting Yuta on the back.

"I'm not sure how I feel about it… but you don't like the nicknames, right? They said you don't play along."

"Oh, I do. I just haven't told them my nickname yet!" He grinned, but for some reason, it seemed sinister.

"Y-You do? Can I ask what it is?"

"Because you're so special, Yuta, I'll let you know. My codename is…"

" Zero ."

Chapter Text

It was finally time for the group's first mission. They were all lined up on the field, ready to go.

"So, with all those Heart Star facts in mind, your duty today is to search!" Gojo began conducting the students, "Grass Land is a very open country, so your mission today might be a long one. I won't mind if you return today with only one or two Heart Stars, but the more the merrier! And remember… where love exists, curses follow."

The students gave nods and grunts of affirmation, though the mood was quite varied. Maki seemed bored. Panda was determined. It was hard to tell what Toge was thinking… It always is…! And Yuta… he was petrified. He had no clue how to combat the darkness, his only "weapon" being the uncontrollable Rika. He didn't want to freeload on the others' skills, either. So he was teeming with anxiety.

"If everyone's good, then I'll leave you to it. Be careful, you guys~! Try not to die." And with that, Gojo disappeared.

"Wait, SENSEI–?! Where'd he go?!" Yuta was rightfully perplexed.

"He always lets us do ALL the work. It's incredibly annoying." Maki sneered before pivoting, heading towards the woods. "I'm headed this way. If we're gonna search for Heart Stars, we should split up."

"Good plan! Then Kine and I will head towards the river. You can team up with Gooey!"

Yuta paused, honestly forgetting about the codenames for a second. But he supposed the mission HAD begun. Before he got too lost in thought, Maki let out an exaggerated sigh, "I really gotta take him? Fine. He'd probably be dead meat with either of you guys, anyways."

This, of course, elicited some form of a lighthearted argument. It was… friendly. And despite the fact that he was amidst the attacks, Yuta was beginning to enjoy himself. Eventually, the four of them began to laugh (though Maki only ended with a slight chuckle).

As they entered the deep forest, the sunlight began to blot out under the canopies, encompassing Yuta and Maki in a dim light. It definitely made the atmosphere more tense, and Yuta's anxiety began to settle in once more. He was glancing around the area frantically, afraid that a monster was going to jump out and attack at any moment. Then, suddenly, Maki stopped in her tracks, which caused him to bump into her. "AH–"

"Pay attention! Just wait…"

And before Yuta could get another word in, an unbelievably dense black fog filled the area, his heart sinking with terror. Dark Matter. They were surrounded by curses. The fog shifted, and dozens of spiders crawled out from the darkness, long, spindly legs killing the plants wherever they stepped. More began spilling out from the trees, holes burning their way through the wood which they escaped.

"AAH! They're coming after us! What do we do?!" Yuta's voice trembled, having to shout over the sound of the hundreds of legs that scuttled towards them.

"Be quiet. Just watch and listen." In one fell swoop, Maki flapped her wing, sending the tiny critters flying, dark dust scattering and dissipating. "Curses…" As more sprouted out from the ground, she took care of them swiftly, "like to team up if they're weak." And with that, the fog vanished. "Guess the same could be said for us."

"Just one swing each…" Yuta gawked in amazement. Maki, however, was disappointed.

"Ugh, not a single Heart Star from these guys. But that means there's probably a lot nearby. Let's keep moving."

The tense, looming atmosphere only got worse as they trekked further into the woods. There was definitely something nearby, and Yuta couldn't stand it. Every rustle of the leaves or snap of a twig made him jump, his heart feeling like it was going to fall right through him. "Aren't you scared, Zenin?!" Yuta spoke with an even worse tremble in his voice than before.

"DON'T CALL ME BY MY LAST NAME! …And use the codenames, remember?!" Though Maki seemed to not have a problem with being loud. 

So much for potential stealth , Yuta thought. "R-Right! Sorry! Oh god something moved I swear I saw something move– "

"Hey."

"YES?!" He didn't even mean to shout. He didn't want to shout. Now all the curses are totally after him oh god–

"That blindfolded idiot took you aside for a moment after our lesson. What was that about, anyways?"

"Blindfolded idiot… Uh–"

"Because it's really strange how he's been treating you compared to…"

Nothing else Maki was saying was registering to Yuta. If his heart hadn't actually fallen out of his chest already, what he saw in front of him now certainly let his heart drop and disintegrate. What stood before them was a ginormous, mangled tree, taller than any other in the forest. How had they not noticed it before? Or had it just appeared? Yuta didn't have time to consider these options, as soon enough, the tree sprouted thick, twisted branches for arms and opened its mouth, a gaping maw of sharpened wood that could shred any object to even come near it.

"ZENIN! R–"

But it was too late, as the two of them were quickly caught off guard by the tree's sudden inhalation. It took the two of them in, its giant maw swallowing them whole. Yuta screamed before his head slammed against the inner wooden wall of the tree, and he was left unconscious…

"DAMMIT! LET US OUTTA HERE!!"

Yuta came to after a minute or two by Maki's incessant screaming and swearing. She was kicking at the wooden walls, trying to shake the tree from the inside. Yuta was still super groggy, his memory of getting inhaled by the curse blank. "Where are we…?" He muttered out, rubbing his eyes.

"Inside the curse. Can ya wake up, already?! I need you to use that monster of yours to get us out!" Maki responded, giving Yuta a swift kick to the shin.

"OW! W-Wait, we're INSIDE THE CURSE?!" Yuta screamed, trembling, eyes wide and face covered in sweat, "A-And I can't control when Rika comes out, what am I supposed to do–"

"Are you kidding me?! Ugh, you really are useless… Whatever. Gojo will realize we're lost soon and help us, I'm sure… How pathetic, being saved by that idiot…" Maki scoffed, giving Yuta the meanest of glares before their attention was quickly turned. A few peaceful critters lay in the belly of the tree monster, whimpering, injured. Yuta cooed in sadness, running to their aid immediately.

"These poor things… Should we try to save them? …Zenin?" Yuta turned to Maki, who was lying on the floor, looking unwell. It was then Yuta realized the true nature of the Dark Matter—curses that were bound to inflict pain and nightmares, never-ending negativity. Which means those animals, and now Maki… As Yuta was lost in thought about the situation, a useless feeling washed over him. "I can't do anything… What do I even do? I can't–"

Suddenly, a feathered wing reached up to Yuta, talons grabbing him by the cuff of his uniform. "Okkotsu," Maki spoke, still as firm as ever, but Yuta could tell she was weakened, "why the hell do you even want to defeat the Dark Matter?! What'd you expect?!"

Yuta froze. Why DID he want to do this? It was scary, and beyond his expertise, and he'd have to give up so much of his life training away to learn how to best it…

"If you think like that, you'll be lonely."

Gojo's voice resonated around in Yuta's mind. Images flashed by, those same sole memories that he had of Rika destroying and hurting and maiming. How scared and guilty he felt. How alone and CURSED he felt to have this, and not have control over it. Not have control . Would beating the Dark Matter mean having control? Would it mean feeling less guilt? Would it mean… having friends?

"I…" Yuta looked down at Maki, his gaze dark and serious, "I didn't want to hurt anybody anymore. I tried to isolate myself to achieve that, but… he said I'd be lonely. I couldn't disagree. I WANT to be with people! I want to be relied on by somebody! I want to believe… that it's okay for me to keep on living!"

Maki gripped Yuta's shirt cuff tighter, using all her remaining might to keep her stern demeanor over him. "Then… start beating curses… start… collecting Heart Stars… so that the Dark Matter can be purged from this world, already…! As for your own feelings and others' respect… you'll be fine… Just focus on… cleansing this world of darkness!"

Yuta remained completely still, eyes wide, face blank. He felt something surge within him. Some strong power. Something… that maybe he lost, that maybe he forgot. It was almost primal, a baser instinct within him calling his name. He had to release it somehow—and he knew how to do it—control. Control. Control. He pulled a ring out of his pocket—was it always there? It looked like the engagement ring that Rika gave him all those years ago…

"Hey, Rika?"

"YES, YUTA?"

"Lend me your power."

In a mad explosion, the tree was set aflame, and everything within it was spit out. Rika was there, bony claws and needle-sharp teeth chewing and scratching at the bark like a wild animal. It only took a moment before the mangled, dark tree was destroyed. All that was left of the poor tree once she was finished was a single tear-stained piece of debris. But, also… a glowing crystal, in the shape of a heart. The injured animals all scurried to it, and almost in a flash, they were healed, as if nothing ever happened.

Maki was out cold in the grass while this all went down, Yuta desperately trying to drag her away from the carnage to prevent further injury, still worried that he wouldn't be able to control Rika. "Come on… Come on! It'll all work out… It's… gonna change! I'll be able to control this… Just a little longer–" Yuta's eyes shot up back to Rika right as she finished taking care of the curse. She swirled over the remaining piece of debris, giggling, clearly enjoying herself and priding herself over her successful kill. "Rika…" Yuta murmured, still holding tightly onto Maki.

"You did it, Yuta~" Rika praised, still swirling around in circles.

"Me? You're the one who–"

"How freaky~ So, this is the true power of your little curse. Heheh… Women sure are scary… " Gojo stepped up to everyone, applauding Yuta on his victory against the darkness. "Congrats. Now we've got ourselves a nice Heart Star."

"Maki will be fine. Don't worry about her. She just got a little injured fighting the curse." Gojo and Yuta were back at the old temple in the woods—the secret hideout for Gojo's class. "Toge and Panda are patching her up right now."

"That's good…" Yuta was staring off into the distance.

"You don't look too good yourself." Gojo turned to Yuta, "What happened?"

"For the first time… I'm the one that summoned Rika. She didn't just show up on her own… A-And, I remembered something… I felt something. Something… dark… and scary. A power of some sorts." A memory flashed through Yuta's mind of him and Rika when they were little…

"It's an engagement ring."

"What's engagement?"

"It means a promise. A promise that one day… we'll be married."

"Great! That means we'll be together forever and ever!"

"Gojo, I think… I really do think I'm the one cursing Rika, and not the other way around. What else would explain all of this?" Yuta turned to Gojo with a desperate look in his eyes. Gojo hesitated, and a somber look appeared on his face, one that Yuta had never seen before. It was… tragic, and strange. It's almost like that whole expression filled the room with a numbing hopelessness.

"Yuta… I have always believed that… love itself is the most twisted curse of them all ."

After a long silence, Yuta's determined voice chimed in, "I'm going to do it. I'm going to learn how to control Rika and learn why she exists, all while saving Pop Star from the Dark Matter!"

"Heh. I knew you had it in you."

Chapter Text

It was a windy afternoon. Gojo was alone, with his hands shoved in the pockets of his oversized sweater. He removed the bandages off of his face before mumbling to himself.

"Rika Orimoto, huh… How does she connect to Yuta Okkotsu? We still know next to nothing… Yuta wants to control her, but you can't control what you don't understand. Tch… Oh, well. We still have time." He slowly picked up the bandages again, getting ready to head back to his students. He pulled the gauze over his face, hiding the bloody, singular red eye that rested in his skull.

"Whatever happens, I'm on Okkotsu's side… even if it comes down to THAT. Dark Matter's taken a wrong turn… I don't wanna be anything like it anymore. Guess that's the only option, really. To truly end this nightmare. Heh. Isn't that exciting… But, it's all worth it in the end. Anything to let this world see happiness once again. To let the youth thrive… no matter who they are."

Gojo arrived back at the temple, and it looked like everyone was out in the field training. "Hey, everyone! How's it goin'?" Gojo greeted, giving the crew a wave.

"Oh, uh–" Yuta was about to respond, but was quickly smacked in the face by a purple wing.

"PAY ATTENTION!" Maki scolded, her brow furrowed. It seemed she was busy catching Yuta up to speed with the rest of the group, training him tirelessly.

"Yes, ma'am…" Yuta sighed before preparing himself for another bout.

Not long after the incident with the tree in Grass Land, Gojo pulled Yuta aside to teach him a one-on-one lesson about curses.

"So we know that Rika herself is a curse, right? Something inflicted with Dark Matter. Defeating a curse that strong is nearly impossible, but we can at least figure out how she came to be. However… unraveling this mystery is going to be solely up to you, Yuta." Gojo explained.

"How…?" Yuta tilted his head, staring at the back of Gojo's neck as Gojo was fiddling with something in front of him.

"You use… this!" With a goofy expression, Gojo held up a red and white parasol.

"A parasol?" Yuta looked dumbfounded.

"Indeed! It may look weak, but it's actually pretty handy against curses—especially for you. A curse can become stable by possessing an object. It seems your connection with Rika came about through that ring. Think of the darkness like a pipe that's already there; invoke the curse of Rika, channel it into the parasol and control it. Repeat that process, increase the energy, and master it. Do this, and a bright, free future awaits—for you and her. Got it? Oh, and I guess you also gotta learn how to fight with the parasol, too."

Yuta blanked, his eyes wide. That was a lot of information all at once… and he has to learn how to fight with a parasol on top of all of it?

"You're still super weak, after all. What did Maki call you? Gooey? Yeah, that checks out. We're really gonna be putting you through the wringer!" Gojo chuckled before giving Yuta a reaffirming thumbs-up.

Yuta's second bout with Maki was just about to begin, and he readied his dainty parasol. Maki held up her wings, talons outstretched. The two lunged at each other, frantically yet skillfully dodging each other's hits. At one point, Maki leaped up into the air, hovering, flapping her wings.

"Hah–she may have dodged my last attack by flying, but I'll be able to catch her off guard while she's landing!" Yuta thought to himself, smirking as he schemed up a way to finally get a point in their training session. However, it hardly went that way, as Maki was able to swoop down and avoid Yuta's parasol completely while also tugging Yuta down to the ground. Yuta gasped and grunted as his back hit the ground, and Maki gave him a little smack on the head.

"Aaaaaaand you're dead. I win again." Maki smirked.

"What was that last hit for?!" Yuta whined.

"Don't get complacent! Act like this is a real fight. We improve more quickly if there are consequences to suffer… In other words, we get stronger if we go all out."

"Oh… That's right! One more bout, Maki! Please!" Yuta readied himself again, determined. The faster he gained some skills, the faster he'd learn more about Rika's curse, he thought to himself. Control, control, control. He kept that in mind.

Panda, Toge, and Gojo were watching them, chilling off to the side.

"It's been three months since Yuta joined us. He's movin' a lot better." Panda nodded along with Yuta's precise movements—still not as precise as Maki's, but they were getting there.

"Salmon." Toge spoke one of his few words.

"He's more positive, too!" Gojo giggled, his hand on his hip.

"Maki also looks happy… she's found someone to train with her in a proper melee… Wait a minute!" Panda stood up, one foot in front of the other as if he was going to dash, "YUTA! GET OVER HERE!" He called.

"Yeah, Panda-Hamster?" Yuta stopped fighting Maki for a moment to see what the fuss was about.

"Listen up, this is something super important–" Panda took a deep breath before leaning in close to whisper to Yuta, "What's your type? Do you like owls?"

"H-Huh?! What's this about?! I-I mean, I don't NOT–"

"Heheh. Hey, Maki!" Panda had a sly expression on his face when he called Maki over.

"What do you want?" Maki looked over, pretty annoyed that Panda interrupted their training.

"Things are looking good~" Panda kept his sly expression as he pointed over to Yuta.

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING ON ABOUT?!" Maki screamed before jumping into a fight with Panda. They tousled while continuing to shout back and forth, "I'LL KILL YA!"

"WHY ARE YOU SO EMBARRASSED? WHAT'RE YOU, A KID?"

"YOU'RE DEAD MEAT! NO PET STORES ARE GONNA HAVE YOU!"

Yuta chimed in, completely oblivious, "Heh, what are you guys talking about?"

Toge sighed, turning to Yuta to try to explain, but of course, his limited vocabulary didn't help. "Kelp." Yuta froze, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Did he upset Toge in some way? He couldn't understand him, and that made him a bit afraid of him…

"Everyone, gather around! It's time for me to explain the next mission!" Gojo clapped to get everyone's attention. It didn't look like Panda and Maki were going to end their fight anytime soon, though. Gojo shook his head, turning his attention just to Yuta and Toge. "That's fine. You guys can tackle this mission just fine on your own."

"On our own?!" Yuta seemed hesitant.

"That's right! Yuta, support Toge—that is to say, watch and learn. Learning how others fight curses can help your own techniques grow stronger. Toge's technique is unique, and a good example. Try to learn what you can. Remember: unraveling curses requires understanding curses."

The crew (minus Maki and Panda) was then escorted to Cloudy Park, a mountain range leading high into the sky. As the name suggests, thick clouds cover the area, making it difficult to see.

"A prime place for curses." Gojo spoke as he stepped up to Yuta and Toge, "Sorry I can't tag along for this mission, but you'll be fine. There shouldn't be anything here that Toge couldn't handle on his own, so relax. The only thing you should be concerned about… is not letting Rika out like last time. There's no guarantee she'll calm down this time. Only use as much of Rika's power as you can control through the parasol. Got it?" Yuta trembled, feeling an immense amount of pressure. What if he messed up?! This was only his second mission…

Toge then reached a hand up to Yuta, an unidentifiable expression on his face, "Salmon."

Yuta jolted, his fear of Toge surmounting. "Um– I-I'm sorry…?" He still felt like he was doing something wrong, and that Toge was just constantly upset with him…

The two of them were escorted further up the mountain by Gojo's friend (and personal chauffeur), Ijichi. But, according to Gojo, his codename for the venture was "Susie". He dropped them off near the summit of the mountain range, where the Heart Star was suspected to be located. The clouds were dense and the atmosphere was gloomy, as if a storm was on its way.

"The summit of Cloudy Park mountain… One of the stormiest and gloomiest sites in Pop Star's upper areas. An inspection revealed the location of a large Heart Star upon the mountain. However, due to its atmosphere, it's likely that this Heart Star is being guarded by a curse. Kine, you're in charge of defeating the curse and retrieving the– wait, where'd he go?!" Ijichi frantically looked around, wondering where Toge could've run off to. As it turned out, Toge was by the solemn few tulips that hung around the edge of the cliff. The tulips chortled and Toge chuckled in return as he seemed to be filling a bottle up with something.

"What's that?" Yuta looked closely at the bottle as Toge held it up to show him, "An herbal throat remedy?" He wondered when that would come in handy, or what the point of it was…

"We're at the summit now." Ijichi said after a few more kilometers of walking, "The rest is up to you. Good luck!" Ijichi stayed put as he ushered Yuta and Toge to continue onwards in search for the Heart Star. The two of them nodded affirmatively, and moved forwards.

"Ijichi–I mean, Susie said it was likely to be a bunch of easy curses guarding the Heart Star, right?" Yuta asked while nervously checking the surroundings. He didn't want a repeat of the last mission where the curse caught him off guard.

"Spiced cod roe." Toge replied, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the incessant murmur of curses, in one large group, gathering together at the top of the summit. Then more, and more all joined in, their ears flapping to keep them afloat. They had great big smiles on their faces, but something seemed off about their cheeriness.

Yuta thought about how Maki mentioned that curses teamed up if they're weak… but there was just such an absurd amount of them, it was hard to believe that this would be easy to take down. "There's so many… What do we do?!" Suddenly, Toge pulled down the scarf that covered his face, revealing strange markings around his lips and on his tongue. "Huh? Kine…?!" Then, Toge stepped closer and even closer to the curses. The closer he got to them, the angrier the curses started to look… until their appearances changed drastically, looking so much more demonic rather than their previous cute exterior. "Don't get too close!" Yuta shouted as he noticed this, however…

" EXPLODE ." Toge yelled, and, just like that, all of the curses spontaneously combusted.

"The fish, Toge Inumaki. Being a fish, he can breathe underwater, which can totally come in handy! He's been affected by the darkness, too, so he can only speak in rice ball ingredients. Good luck talking to him!"

So that's what he meant, Yuta thought, His words have literal effects… "Guess that means we're done here, right, Kine?" Yuta turned to Toge, who quickly turned away from him in embarrassment.

" Tuunaa… Mayoo… " Toge croaked out, his voice sounding like he had some terrible respiratory disease, or even a smoking problem.

His voice is so hoarse! I guess there are drawbacks from the darkness, too… Yuta put his hand to his chin, pondering, before Toge pulled out the bottle of the flowers' medicine from earlier. He took a quick swig, and nodded in Yuta's direction. So that's what the herbal remedy was for, too…

On the horizon, there was a faint glow. There was a Heart Star atop the summit! As promising as that aura was, however, there was also a deep, unsettling, uneasy feeling resting within both Toge and Yuta's chests. More darkness was rapidly approaching. But this time, it felt far, FAR more sinister than the little bundle of creatures Toge took out just a moment ago. It felt overwhelming, a sheer intensity of darkness…

"Do you feel that?!" Yuta asked Toge nervously, "There's something wrong here!"

And before they knew it, the dark clouds of the Cloudy Park mountain range began to coalesce. Chunks of them melded together, puffing and fluffing into one horrific cloudy beast. Horns poked out of its sides, and one beady eyeball rested in its core. It was unlike any curse that Yuta had ever seen before… Its aura was more than menacing or foreboding, the entire entity looming with a core of darkness.

It soon attacked, striking the two with a bolt of lightning from above. Yuta didn't have a quick enough reaction time to dodge, but Toge did—however, instead of dashing, he swiftly pushed Yuta out of the way before his hand got caught in the beam of lightning. As the light dissipated, Toge's hand was most definitely broken, fingers twisted into a gross fashion.

"KINE!" Yuta shouted, clearly fearing for his friend's health. They needed to get out of this situation, and fast. This was too much for them to handle.

Or, so Yuta thought. Toge pulled down his scarf once more and pressed onwards, despite his horrid injury. He screamed, " GET TWISTED! " before the evil cloud started to spin around in circles, losing parts of itself back to the atmosphere. It didn't seem too hurt by the attack, though, albeit smaller. Toge, on the other hand, was on the ground now, coughing. He reached for his throat remedy, but the cloud swiftly came in with another attack, lightning beaming down on Toge once more. This time, it was Yuta who came to the rescue, snatching Toge and running off with him down the mountain range, leaving the cloud curse in the dust.

"Wh-What is that thing?! We were told that this mission was supposed to be easy…!" Yuta sighed, and the two of them slumped down against a cliff when they were far enough away from the curse. Toge held out his injured hand, inspecting it. All of his finger joints were dislocated. "That doesn't look good, Kine… We should call Susie and let him know what happened–ARE YOU SURE THAT'S OKAY?" Yuta's demeanor changed as Toge started manually snapping his dislocated fingers back into place. He hardly reacted.

"Thalmon."

"Oh, well… It's my fault you got injured, anyways… I'm sorry." Yuta sighed once more before turning to look back up the mountain. He could see the cloud curse, swirling around the summit guarding the Heart Star. Guess it still sees us as a threat and is protecting it before destroying it…

Before long, Toge stood up again, swaying his way back up to the summit. "Kine!" Yuta shouted, "Are you sure it's okay to be moving so soon? You're still hurt–"

As Yuta ran after Toge to stop him, Toge put his hand out, stopping Yuta in turn. "Kelp." He wheezed out an affirmation. Toge was determined, no matter what, to retrieve the Heart Star. He started to walk off again.

"Do you… want to go alone…?" Yuta mumbled, staring at the ground. That useless feeling started to wash over him again, mixed with anxiety for the safety of his friend. But no. It'd been much longer, much more time since he first trained. Toge had sacrificed so much for him today alone, so now it was his turn to repay that kindness. He quietly caught up to Toge before telling him, "Thank you, Kine. But I'm okay. Let's do this together!" Yuta cheered with determination, squeezing the handle of his parasol.

Back at the summit of the mountain, the curse was there, waiting. As Yuta walked up, he began imbuing the parasol with Rika's curse, just as he was taught…

"GET IT, YUUUUTAAA… " Rika wafted her voice out from the shadows. This caught the attention of the curse, who started to make strange screaming noises. Its beady eye turned red, and the horns got red stripes—while also sprouting more of them. It turned into what almost looked like a windy torpedo!

"Wh-Why'd it get angry?!" Yuta murmured, his grip on the parasol now shaky. But, as the curse drew close, he shook his head to calm himself, and steadied his hold. "Don't look away. Keep moving. Channel the curse into the parasol…"

And attack. After attack. After attack. Yuta bounced around the mountain's summit, dodging the cloud's incessant lightning and sharp horn stabs. He swung the parasol at the curse, which did little damage, but it seemed to still be losing particles of fluff bit by bit.

Inumaki, you're kind. To keep from cursing people accidentally, you speak using harmless rice ball ingredients, right? You saved me today, too. Trying to keep me away from danger. Back then, when I couldn't tell your expression, you were just trying to calm me down, weren't you? Yuta thought to himself, motivating himself to act upon Toge's kindness and sacrifices. He grunted, feeling a new surge of power flow through him as he lashed out at the cursed cloud, spinning and slashing the parasol's pointed end towards it. The parasol still proved to do little damage to the nimbus, but the cursed energy that Yuta was wielding was clear. It was being weakened, one particle at a time. I'm still no match for this curse, but… Yuta slid underneath the cloud, taking advantage of the grassy side of the clearing, and snagged Toge's throat medicine out from the cloud's guard. But… Inumaki… is! It's my turn… to show MY kindness!

"KINE!" Yuta called, tossing the bottle his way. Toge followed a similar course of action, sliding on the grass to escape the bombardment of attacks while easily catching the bottle. Quickly, Toge chugged the rest of the medicine to completely heal his throat. He was ready to use a powerful attack—

"GET CRUSHED! "

And with that, the cloud exploded into little bits before melding with the rest of the clouds in the air. The Heart Star remained in the middle of the clearing, unguarded and open, shining.

"Wow…" Yuta gawked at Toge's immense power, scratching a cut he got on his face.

"Mustard leaf!" Toge dashed up to Yuta, inquiring about his injury.

"Oh, I'm fine. It just grazed me!"

Toge raised his hand, a smile on his face. It seemed like he was offering Yuta a high-five! "Salmon."

"Yeah! Nice job!" Yuta accepted, and the two of them declared a mission well done, picking up the Heart Star.

"Too bad… I was hoping I'd get to see this famous 'Rika'."

An unfamiliar man sat atop one of the other cliffs, who had watched this entire fight go down. He had long, dark hair, with black wisps that encompassed his body. Orange petaled wings circled around him like an orbit, spinning faster every time he smirked.

"Can't wait to meet you… Yuta Okkotsu."