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Things were rather quiet for the Gojo Clan sorcerer trainees. The old era sorcerers off on missions while the new era Okkotsus accompanied them. So for Tomu, he decided to work on his flame archery skills at the training grounds. All he needed were some fire resistant targets so he could practice as many times as he needed without having to burn up equipment.
But after a couple of practice shots, a peculiar sight caught Tomu's attention. It was Kin, but he appeared to be carrying some kind of stuffed animal. Curiosity overtook his mind as he lowered his arms, the usual flames disappearing in the process and he ran over to the dark-haired older teen.
"Hey Hayashi!" Tomu called out. "What's that you got?"
Kin was startled by the unexpected shout, but he quickly relaxed. "It's only you, Nakai," he sighed. "What is it?"
"I just asked you," Tomu stated. He pointed at the panda doll. "What's that?"
Kin glanced at the doll. "An old friend," he revealed, sounding a little sad. "We only met once, but his words still left an impact on me." He squeezed the doll into a gentle hug. "I was hoping to give him some of my curse energy so I could speak to him one last time."
"Can I see that?" Tomu wondered. "Everyone else is off doing their own thing, so I'm kinda all alone."
"Sure," Kin agreed. "I guess this could count as a private lesson for my cursed technique."
And so, Kin brought Tomu over to his dorm. Upon arriving, Tomu was a little surprised with what the room had to offer. There was a lot of computer equipment on his desk with at least three different monitors on small stands and a pile of Mini-Mechamarus near the keyboard. A large cork board was hanging on the neighboring wall that was covered in various head portraits resembling a mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces. And right beside the bed was a small table that had various carving tools, presumably used for making more puppets if necessary.
"How does your technique even work?" Tomu asked. "Can you really bring a doll to life?"
"This isn't just an ordinary doll," Kin corrected as he sat by his cluttered desk. "He's a cursed corpse, one created by someone else a long time ago. The first time I met him was in my previous life, during what was once called the Exchange Event." he suddenly looked tense. "He offered to help me after defeating me in combat. We haven't spoke to each other since then."
"Sounds like this guy really meant a lot to you," Tomu remarked.
"Of course he did," Kin confirmed. "But I died before we could properly reunite. And after so many years, I found out what happened to him." He continued to hug the panda doll. "Okkotsu told me her aunt and uncle were the last people to see him talk. After that, he supposedly lost all of his curse energy." His hands started to glow bright blue. "But maybe if I supply him with some of my own..."
Things were quiet for a while. Kin continued to hug the doll while attempting to channel his curse energy into the small panda. But no matter how much time passed, nothing happened. Tomu felt unconvinced by this silent process. Was Kin even right about this soft doll? A quick glance at his cork board confirmed there were only human faces among the sketches. Not a single panda in sight.
"I don't understand," Kin suddenly spoke as he lifted the panda doll so it was facing him. "Are you really that far gone?"
"It might have to do with your technique," Tomu guessed. He took out his own Mini-Mechamaru. "I've only seen you control your communication puppets. Maybe these 'corpses' are different."
"That's not how Puppet Manipulation works," Kin corrected. "It allows me to control all sorts of dolls remotely, including cursed corpses. My communication puppets are also cursed corpses, ones I carved by hand."
"So why just those puppets?" Tomu wondered.
"That was due to circumstances," Kin explained. "I grew up in a normal household for my second life. I could only make small puppets using tree bark, not the more humanoid puppets I used to control in my previous life. And even then, that was due to the Heavenly Pact that was forced on me. It granted me immense cursed energy production at the cost of a fragile and unhealthy body. I had to forge a different pact to remove it, but it was short lived." He hugged the panda doll. "But even with this new life, I'm cursed to remember everything while everyone I know is dead or lost all their memories."
"So that's why you wanted to bring this doll to life," Tomu realized as he pocketed his Mini-Mechamaru. And then, a thought crossed his mind. "What about me? Did we know each other?"
"Just barely," Kin answered. "I only remember hearing about you from my school's principal. And when I first saw you, you popped out a metal box and shouted 'Oppappi' with your teacher describing you as long-dead. We weren't exactly close, but I trusted you with my contingency plan because you were the least likely to leak any information."
Tomu was surprised to hear that. Kin...trusted him in his previous life? But why? He was supposedly a vessel for that Sukuna guy. And every time he tried to think about his own previous life, he could only remember vague images of a guy who resembled Asumi. Yet here he was, bonding with someone he apparently knew a hundred years ago but never really was that close.
"So you remember why you were reincarnated?" Tomu asked, changing topics.
"I do," Kin confirmed. "I died wishing I could have lived a better life among my friends. I guess that's why I was able to retain all the memories of my previous life."
"...That stinks," Tomu blurted out. "You got to live a new life, but you can't enjoy it with your actual friends."
"Which was precisely why I was hoping to see Panda again," Kin reinforced. He looked at the panda doll that was still in his grasp.
Tomu felt a little unsure on what to say. It sounded like Kin really missed this panda doll, whatever it was. But then he glanced at his own hands and a thought crossed his mind. If Kin was convinced he could revive the doll with his curse energy, what if he had too little? Especially since it seemed it was stronger in his previous life because of some kind of pact. So without really thinking, Tomu walked towards Kin and knelt towards him, placing his hands on the doll while channeling his own curse energy into it.
Kin was surprised with this sudden act of kindness. "What are you...?"
"I don't really get what's going on," Tomu admitted. "But it sounds like you were close to this doll. I can help you try to revive it."
"Are you sure?" Kin checked. "Your curse energy is different from mine."
Tomu nodded in response. "You must've trusted me that much in our previous lives," he recapped. "Let me return the favor."
Kin looked a little hesitant, but upon realizing how determined Tomu was, he nodded as well. And so, the two ended up spending the rest of the day together, kicking off what would ultimately become a strong friendship.