Archive of Our Own ^beta

It wasn’t like Choso planned to run into him. 

He had very few plans these days at all – now that Kenjaku was dead and his brothers avenged, there wasn’t much for a reformed curse to do. He didn’t want to hurt people anymore, hadn’t in a long time. Living out the rest of his days spending time with Yuuji was as solid as any of his affairs got.

So no, bumping into Yuuta Okkotsu in the wild was not part of some greater scheme. 

They’d worked in tandem during those final battles – not side-by-side, per se, but they were certainly fighting for similar causes. Yuuta had excellent control and focus over his abilities, and Yuuji respected him.

But from the moment Choso learned that he had ended Yuuji’s life – even briefly, even if it was for a “good reason” – there was no doubt in his mind.

Yuuta Okkotsu had to die. 

But when he’d mentioned this to Yuuji, his brother had stared at him for a moment before saying, “Dude… please don’t.”

So killing him, unfortunately, was off the table. But that didn’t mean he had to like Yuuta, and in fact, he liked him not at all.

So when Choso saw Yuuta in the grocery store, he dropped the shopping basket (filled with protein shakes, instant noodles and… nothing else) he was holding and found himself storming over to the young sorcerer. 

“You,” he growled. “Yuuta Okkotsu.”

He felt Yuuta’s heart rate quicken and his cursed energy levels rise as he turned to face Choso – and subsequently how they lowered, just incrementally, when he saw who it was.

“Oh! Choso. Uhm, hi.”

“I told Yuuji I wouldn’t kill you,” Choso said, feeling the beginnings of blood dripping down his face.”So I won’t. But you killed him, and now you have to answer to me.”

Yuuta frowned for a second before realization dawned on his face. “Oh, I – I didn’t know you knew about that.”

“I do. I know what you did to my brother.”

The thought of losing his last surviving family, the final tether Choso had to this world – it had almost been too much for him to handle, even though it was Yuuji telling him about it after the fact. He’d started to have trouble breathing, and the mark on his face started bleeding,  something that had only ever happened before when he was angry or fighting. But this was something else, fear in a different, spikier shape. Yuuji had told him it was called a panic attack.

That same fear was starting to creep up on him again, so he closed his eyes and balled his hands into fists until he felt the pain of his fingernails pressing into his palms. He took slow, deep breaths, the way Yuki had later taught him to when the panic attacks had resumed during the Culling Games. 

“Are you okay?”

Choso resented the concern in Yuuta’s voice but didn’t know what to say. He didn’t think it would go this way.

“I’m sorry for what happened with Itadori,” he said, voice low. “It was always the plan to revive him, but I know that probably doesn’t help.”

“He’s my brother,” was all he could manage. 

Yuuta’s face was inscrutable, but he nodded. “I know.”

“The only brother I have left.” He hated how small his voice sounded.

Yuuta sighed, glancing toward the front of the store. “Why don’t we go to my place and we can keep talking.”

Choso frowned. “My groceries…”

Yuuta huffed out a small laugh. “We can check out first.”

Half an hour or so later, they had bought their groceries and walked the three blocks to Yuuta’s apartment.

The sorcerers (and curses) that were involved in defeating Sukuna and Kenjaku had mostly stayed in the Tokyo region afterward. Some had moved, the area carrying too many painful memories. Choso could understand that. He still hadn’t been anywhere near Shibuya. He didn’t know if he ever would.

Yuuta, apparently, had stayed nearby. This was not much of a shock to Choso – Yuuta was the only special-grade sorcerer left, and a lot of curse activity centered around populated areas. There needed to be at least one sorcerer of his ability nearby, if not multiple lower-grades. 

“Sorry for the mess,” Yuuta commented as he unlocked the front door. Choso looked around and frowned. He was used to the surroundings that Kenjaku had set them up in, and after that there was mostly the rubble of leftover fights. 

“What mess? I don’t understand.”

Yuuta laughed quietly as he picked a pair of shoes up by the door and tossed them into a nearby closet. “Good point. I guess this probably isn’t much compared to the places you used to hang out.”

“Why aren’t you scared of me?” Choso asked. 

Yuuta turned to look at him. “Huh?”

“Even though I fought alongside you and the other sorcerers, many of them are still afraid of me. I can tell. They don’t trust curses.”

It wasn’t as though his feelings were hurt by this. He understood why, even if he thought they were wrong for it.

“I don’t mind curses.” Yuuta shrugged. “You know about Rika, right?”

“Your Queen of Curses? Of course I do.”

“We were each other’s only friend when we were kids.” The sorcerer’s smile was small, and it hid something Choso couldn’t identify. “We were going to get married.”

Choso did not know this. “Oh.”

“I can bring her out for a little bit, if you want to meet her.” 

He found himself nodding before he realized what he was doing. Yuuta smiled and held up his left hand, the ring on his fourth finger starting to glow. 

“Come, Rika,” he muttered, and suddenly – out of nowhere – a huge curse materialized in front of Choso. Choso had seen her before, but only briefly, and the details of her rough skin, swollen gums and curved, jagged teeth were much more stark up close.

“Yuuuudaaa,” a high, warbly voice came from the curse. “Hiiiiiii.”

“Hi, Rika,” Yuuta said, his tone and expression warm. “I wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine. Is that okay?”

She nodded, turning to Choso. 

“I’m Rikaaaa,” she said, and he couldn’t help but feel a tug of affection at the childish way she spoke.

“Hello, Rika-chan,” he replied, bowing slightly. “I’m Choso.”

“Yuda! He’s a curse too!”

Yuuta laughed and nodded. “He is! That’s why I wanted to introduce you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Rika-chan.” 

“You too! You toooo!” She swung back and forth, as if she were so excited she couldn’t stop from moving.

Yuuta was still looking at her with that same expression from before – patience, warmth, fondness.

This girl wasn’t just a weapon to him, Choso realized, his heart seizing slightly in his chest. He really cared about her. 

“It’s my fault that Rika turned out like this,” Yuuta explained softly, running a hand over one of her forehead ridges. “I cursed her after she died, when we were kids. Her spirit has been released, so she’s resting now, thankfully – but she was bound to me for years. I never wanted that for her.”

“I love being with you, Yudaaaa!” Rika chirped, and Yuuta smiled. 

“I love being with you, too.”

He turned to Choso. “I guess what I’m trying – and probably failing – to get across is that I understand being… protective. Of someone you love. And even though I had never planned to let Itadori actually die – I understand how even that split second could be terrifying.”

Choso’s throat was thick.

“So I’m not afraid of you because I know what drives you is your love for your family. And that’s something I can relate to, no matter if you’re a curse or not.”

“I…” Choso didn’t know what to say. “You do not share the same views as many sorcerers, it seems.”

“In a lot of ways, I think,” Yuuta laughed. 

Just then, Rika started to seemingly blink in and out of sight. 

“Oh,” Yuuta said, touching his ring. “Her time’s almost up.”

“Time?” 

“I can only summon her for five minutes at a time,” he said regretfully. “So when it’s time she has to go back in my ring.”

“I see,” Choso said. They were silent for a moment, and he had no idea what to do or how to proceed. He felt annoyingly out of his depth and didn’t really know why.

But Rika turned to Choso and gave him a wide, toothy smile before disappearing, and he realized: It was because he had enjoyed talking to her, and he wasn’t ready for it to be over.

“Do you want to see her again?” Yuuta asked, voice soft and patient. Choso looked at him in surprise.

“You can summon her again so quickly?”

Shaking his head, Yuuta twisted the ring on his finger absentmindedly. “No, sorry – there’s a cooldown. What I meant was… do you want to come over again sometime in the future and spend time with her? She doesn’t really interact with any other good curses. I think it’ll be good for her.”

Choso could hear the unspoken ‘and for you, too’ at the end.

“I – I’d like that,” Choso said, clearing his throat awkwardly as he did.

Yuuta grinned. “Great!” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “What’s your number? Or should I just text Itadori?”

Yuuji had gotten Choso a phone and helped him set it up – right now the only contacts he had were Yuuji and a local Italian restaurant he’d order from occasionally. He wordlessly handed his phone over to Yuuta, who looked at him for a moment before chuckling. 

“Alright, this is my number,” he said as he punched it in. “I’ll text myself so I can have yours, too, and then I can call you or whatever to set up times to hang out. Is that alright?”

“It is,” Choso nodded. 

“Awesome.” Yuuta tapped for a few more seconds on Choso’s phone before handing it back to him. “I appreciate you agreeing to this, it’ll be nice for Rika to have another friend.”

Choso didn’t say anything to this, just nodded again.

“Alright, well,” Yuuta said, rocking on his heels, “See you soon, then?”

“Yes,” Choso said, his voice clearing. “Thank you.”

As he left Yuuta’s apartment, his mouth tugged upward slightly. The world felt like it had expanded, even just a little bit, in that afternoon.

Yuuta would end up texting him again about a week later. 

Want to come see Rika tomorrow? the message read. She’s been asking about you!

Choso couldn’t help smiling at this, and Yuuji whooped when he turned his phone screen to show his brother.

“This is great, dude!” he exclaimed. “I feel like… I dunno, a proud dad whose kid is going to his first playdate.”

“So you’re my father now?” Choso deadpanned. Yuuji just rolled his eyes. 

“Okkotsu is cool, is all I’m saying. I’m glad you’re hanging out with him and Rika.”

Choso smirked fondly. “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“That’s the thing, though,” Yuuji said, his voice more insistent. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve been… kind of worried that you don’t, like, know how to exist without me.”

He’d been causing him worry? All of the warmth and humor dissipated into anxiety. Had he been pushing too hard?

“Yuuji…” Choso started, but Yuuji violently shook his head, cutting him off.

“No, listen – I’m happy to hang out with you as much as you want. This isn’t about me, it’s about how I want you to, like, I don’t know… grow and make friends. It’s healthy! That’s what Ieiri-san tells me, anyway.”

Choso wasn’t sure he understood, but Yuuji bumped his shoulder with his own, affection clear on his face.

“I’m not mad at you,” he explained, “and I don’t want to stop spending time with you or living together. I’m proud of you!”

The feelings of fear assuaged, Choso took a deep sigh of relief. “Thank you, Yuuji.”

Yuuji grinned. “No worries, bro!”

Choso really was very lucky to have Yuuji as a brother. He glanced down at his phone and typed out a response to Yuuta:

😄👍💍🧁🐍

(Yuuji had explained that his version of texting didn’t make much sense, but he refused to change. Emojis were fun.)

The next day, Choso made the trek to Yuuta’s place – which Yuuji was delighted to learn was only 20 minutes away from their apartment. He was slightly nervous but took deep breaths as he pressed the button by the door. A few seconds passed before the speaker buzzed and the door unlocked. Another deep breath as he stepped inside and spotted Yuuta’s apartment down the hall.

He was going to take another breath before he knocked, but Yuuta had already thrown open the door and waved.

“Choso!”

He winced a little bit at the sound of his name echoing off the tiles, but he let himself return a small wave as he stepped inside.

“Thanks for coming,” Yuuta said, crossing to his kitchen where a kettle was boiling on the stove. “I’m about to make some tea, do you want any?”

“No,” Choso said automatically – then, remembering the whole ‘manners’ talk he and Yuuji had had a while back – ”Thank you. No… thank you.”

Yuuta cocked an eyebrow as he poured himself a cup. “You seem nervous.”

Choso cleared his throat and looked down at the floor. “I think… I just hope Rika-chan still likes me.”

At this, Yuuta let out a clear, loud laugh. “Oh, Choso, you do not need to worry about that. She was so excited to meet another curse that the next few times I summoned her after that she asked where you were. As far as she’s concerned, you’re her new best friend.”

Choso blinked. “Oh.”

“You’ll see,” Yuuta said as he held up his hand. “Come, Rika.”

The ring glowed and, suddenly, she was there. Choso found himself smiling in spite of his nerves.

“Hi, Rika-chan,” he said.

“Chosooooooo!” the curse trilled, wobbling back and forth in excitement.

Those five minutes passed far too quickly for Choso’s liking, but he could no longer question whether Rika actually wanted to spend time with him. Her eagerness was obvious, and she’d even made him promise to come back before she retreated back into Yuuta’s ring. Choso felt a little foolish for worrying, and he knew Yuuji would laugh when he told him about it – but mostly, he was just happy he’d agreed to come over. 

Choso stayed for a bit after Rika left, talking with Yuuta about various other sorcerers, which transformed into local restaurant recommendations, which turned into Yuuta offering to make Choso and Yuuji Moroccan food sometime.

Night was beginning to fall by the time Choso said his goodbyes, but not before setting up another time to spend time together. Choso offered up his and Yuuji’s apartment for the next meeting, and Yuuta agreed happily.

The meetings became a weekly occurrence after that – to the point where it felt strange when one of them was on a mission or out of town and couldn’t make their scheduled time. Sometimes other people joined them – the Inumaki boy was a frequent presence, as were Maki Zen’in and Yuuji’s friend Nobara. When it was his and Yuuji’s turn to host, Megumi and Nobara would sometimes pop over. 

If Choso’s world had expanded when Yuuta introduced him to Rika for the first time, then it had all but exploded now. He hadn’t been lonely before – he never would be, with Yuuji around – but he had to admit that there was a kind of comfort in being around other people, too.

Maki and Nobara had decided to throw a barbecue at their apartment – and no one batted an eye at Choso being there. He helped monitor the grill, sipping on a sports drink while he did. He was wearing a baseball hat that Yuuji and Nobara had gotten him as a joke that said “Let the fish who thinks he knows no fear look well upon my face.” He didn’t understand it, but it made them cackle whenever he wore it, so he liked to take it out on special occasions.

Someone laughed, and as he looked up, he noticed it was Yuuta. 

“You look like a dad,” he explained, chuckling.

“Or a big brother,” Choso countered, and Yuuta’s expression shifted into something warmer.

“Yeah,” Yuuta said, nodding. They were quiet for a moment, the sizzling of the grill and chatter from their friends punctuating the silence, until: “You had other brothers, right? Besides Itadori?”

Choso’s heart caught in his throat. “Yes.”

Yuuta nodded, his face unreadable.

“That’s part of why I enjoy spending time with Rika so much,” Choso continued. “She reminds me a bit of them. Kechizu and Eso. They were curses, and they were my family. We were all each other had.”

He looked at Yuuta. “Thank you for introducing me to Rika.”

The space in his heart that hurt whenever he thought about his brothers, whenever he thought about how he almost lost Yuuji, had not gone away. The pain was still there, probably always would be. But he felt like he understood it more, now – or, at least, he had more people to help him understand. 

“You’re welcome,” Yuuta said, grinning. “I’m glad we met, too.”

At that moment, Yuuta was pulled away by Inumaki, and Choso just smirked, turning the pork over on the grill and reveling in the loud laughter around him.