Chapter Text
As soon as Kento stepped into the movie theater, he could feel a certain presence. Like a cloud had shifted in front of the sun, reducing the ambient heat and light. It looked like that kid hadn't been lying then—this really was Higuruma's lair. Good. He was tired from walking all afternoon, and he wanted to get this over with sooner rather than later.
The entrance hall was empty aside from some spilled popcorn and an upended cardboard cutout of some cartoon character. The carpeted floor swallowed the sound of Kento's steps as he went in deeper. But before he could even decide whether to check the individual cinema halls or roam the building, a voice halted him in his tracks.
"Who are you?"
Kento turned slowly, keeping in mind his reduced field of vision. Standing in the hallway branching off into the individual theaters stood a tall teenager with a mop of shockingly pink hair that clashed horribly with his yellow hoodie. One of his hands was in his pocket, while the other loosely held a plastic bag. He had wide, light brown eyes with scar-like markings below them.
"Apologies for barging in." Kento carefully shifted his weight. The boy looked harmless and exuded practically no cursed energy. He couldn't be Higuruma. This teen was probably a civilian, caught up in the Culling Game's barriers. Even so, he could not throw caution to the wind. "I am looking for someone. A man called Higuruma Hiromi."
The teen's brow furrowed, his open, though somewhat confused expression morphing into something fierce from one blink to the next. He snarled: "Why are you looking for—"
"Yuuji-kun."
They both froze. The boy, Yuuji, recovered first. He stared at something over Kento's shoulder, eyes widening. Cautiously, Kento turned to follow his line of sight.
"Wait," Yuuji called out tremulously. "Don't—!"
At the top of the stairs that led to the second floor of the cinema stood a man. Kento's first impression was that he looked … normal. Not impressively tall, nor impressively built. He was wearing a black suit over a white shirt, and a jewel-toned, green tie. From this distance, and with Kento's damaged eyesight, it was difficult to discern anything else except that he had short, dark hair.
He had raised his hand, to stop the teenage boy from speaking further.
"Answer his question, intruder," the man said coolly, his voice reverberating in the empty building. He slowly began to descend the steps. Despite his average build and appearance, Kento could discern that there was something in his gait, something like the anticipatory coiled power of a wolf in pursuit of prey. Plus, there was a faint sheen of cursed energy haloing his form, its cool edge bleeding into the air.
This must be him. This colony's top scorer, the sorcerer with over 100 points.
Kento clenched his good fist tightly, thoughts racing. He could feel that his next words were going to determine the outcome of this encounter. Whether it would come to a fight he was no longer confident he would win, or whether this entire building was going to come crashing down on their heads.
"My name is Nanami Kento," he eventually said. The stranger had already descended half the stairs. "I am a grade 1 sorcerer affiliated with the Tokyo branch of Jujutsu High."
He watched the man's expression carefully for any sort of emotion or recognition, but it remained smooth and even. Not even his cursed energy wavered. Was this man a modern sorcerer at all? Perhaps he was one of the reincarnated sorcerers of the past? Or …
"I've heard that before. Jujutsu High," the man mused, taking the last step. There, he paused. "Though last time it was someone who asked me whether I was with them."
"You are Higuruma Hiromi," Kento said. It wasn't a question, though the man, Higuruma, still nodded.
"I am he," he said. "Why were you sent to find me?"
"We stand in opposition to the one who started these Culling Games," Kento began to explain. "We are gathering our forces. Thanks to the new rule, we were able to discern the persons with the highest point score. Here, in Tokyo Colony No. 1, that is you."
Higuruma tilted his head to the side, then said: "Yuuji, come here."
Kento jumped as the teen brushed past him to walk to the man's side. As he passed, Yuuji gave him a suspicious look, but Kento's attention was drawn to his hand where he was holding a strange, wooden hammer. It niggled at Kento's senses, like a cursed tool might. Where had the kid gotten that from? Had he hidden that in the plastic bag or his pocket?
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He'd had his back turned on the boy, in the false assumption that he was mostly harmless and unarmed. Kento now realized that all that saved him from getting his head bashed in was likely Higuruma's assessment. If he had given the boy a signal to attack …
A rookie mistake. Kento should not have lowered his guard.
The hammer passed from Yuuji to Higuruma, who twirled it thoughtlessly between his fingers as he continued to watch Kento from afar.
"Well. Here I am. What do you want from me?" Higuruma then asked. Another twirl. "Keep in mind that there are young ears listening in."
"Of course," Kento said, at the same time as Yuuji protested: "I'm not a little kid!"
While the teen was busy pouting, arms crossed despite the plastic bag he was still holding, Kento carefully explained the plan.
"As I said, we oppose the creator of these Culling Games. This is essentially jujutsu terrorism, having caused great harm, disruption and damage already. It is our wish to mitigate that. For that reason, we are currently trying to figure out a way to let more people either resign from the games, or leave them at will. And," he added carefully, "in order to change the rules to that effect, we need someone with at least 100 points."
Higuruma was silent for a few moments. The hammer in his hand had come to a rest as well.
"Kogane," he then said. Next to his head, the stupid mascot popped into existence with an obnoxious greeting. "Show me the available information on player Nanami Kento."
"Right-o!" The Kogane opened a screen window and showed it to Higuruma. His dark, shadowed eyes shifted to the side.
"Zero points," he commented lightly.
"I only just entered the games."
"And you decided the smartest move is to directly approach the man with 102 points—in your condition?"
Kento grit his teeth. He knew what he looked like, with his left arm in a sling, and his eye hidden behind a thick wad of white gauze and a bandage. Despite Shoko's healing, half of his face and neck were still scabbed over and red. Some of his hair had been singed off and not regrown yet. And that was only what was visible from the outside.
"I volunteered. There aren't that many of us. I wanted to do my part," Kento explained, letting his eye flick over to Yuuji for a moment. Whatever the relationship between these two, it was clear that Higuruma was protective of the teenager. Perhaps an appeal to that instinct would open up negotiations.
Kogane popped out of existence again.
"What do you think?" Higuruma asked.
"Ahh, umm, err," mumbled Yuuji, rubbing his neck. "He seems like a good guy. Probably. I think we can trust him."
"Alright. Come with me, Nanami-san." Higuruma gestured with the hand holding the hammer, and then turned on his heel, walking back up the stairs.
Huh? Kento blinked. It was this easy? A positive assessment from the kid, and he was let in?
No, he reasoned. This was likely another test. But whether it was a test for Kento or the boy remained to be seen.
He slowly went up the stairs, following after the strange duo. They had their backs turned to him with no apparent distrust, speaking casually without regard for Kento listening in.
"Did you find anything useful while you were out?" Higuruma asked.
"Oh, yes! Look, I have four apples, two bottles of gatorade, a bunch of protein bars, a bag of trail mix, and I even found some laundry soap. Maybe I'll be able to save my shirt after all!" Yuuji opened the plastic bag and let Higuruma peer inside.
"Well done, Yuuji-kun. And did you see anyone?"
"A guy around my age was loitering, but he didn't feel dangerous, so I let him be. But those people in the skyscraper are still there, I think. They might have been watching."
A boy Yuuji's age? Must be the kid that led Kento here.
"Mm, probably."
"Say, Hiromin. Do you think we'll be staying here for much longer?"
Hiromin? Kento blinked. What a childish nickname. But … not otou-san? So they weren't father and son after all, as he had begun to assume? Not that they looked similar at all, but the way the acted with each other had led Kento to this presumption.
"I think that depends on what Nanami-san has to say."
Kento refocused his senses and then stepped into a smaller cinema hall after Higuruma and Yuuji. There must be a backup generator somewhere in the building, since a few low emergency lights were on towards the front of the stage, turning the silver screen into a backlit square wall of illumination. He watched as Yuuji straddled the backrest of a seat in the middle somewhere, and Higuruma sat down in the front-most row.
"Why a movie theater?" Kento asked, then regretted saying the first thing that had come to his mind.
"It was Yuuji-kun's idea," Higuruma said mildly, crossing his legs and propping up his chin on one hand. "It is located centrally, with many stores nearby for food and other necessities. It has few entry and exit points, and it has basic amenities, such as bathrooms."
"Comfy seats, too. And snacks," added Yuuji. He was crawling over the rows to the front, then plopped into the seat next to Higuruma.
"Ah. Makes sense." Kento carefully picked a seat in the first row, but on the other side of the aisle. "You're not looking to relocate then?"
"Not unless necessary," said Higuruma.
"The Culling Games aren't really a safe place for a kid."
"I'm not a kid!" Yuuji protested again, seemingly on reflex.
"The outside world is not much safer," Higuruma retorted, ignoring the kid's comment completely. He then turned to the boy: "Yuuji-kun, why don't you grab that laundry soap you found and see if you can get those stains out."
"Oh, right!" the teen yelped, jumping straight out of his seat. He rummaged in the plastic bag for a moment, then jogged towards the exit with a jaunty wave over his shoulder, bottle of detergent in hand. "Later, Hiromin!"
Kento watched him go, then said: "He is remarkably resilient. Still, I can't imagine it has been easy for him these last few weeks."
Higuruma huffed a toneless laugh.
"Don't let him fool you. He is a cheerful young man for sure, but right now he is putting on a brave face for my sake. He has nightmares most nights, and cries himself to sleep."
"He's strong," Kento said, shaking his head. "He will be fine after a while. Once he feels safe and is able to return to a familiar environment—"
"I know what you're doing."
Kento snapped his mouth shut, caught. Perhaps he should not have pressed the issue of the boy so much.
"You don't understand anything." Higuruma rose from his seat. In his hand, the wooden hammer had reappeared, putting Kento's teeth on edge. He hadn't noticed where it had gone earlier, but it was clear now that it had to be some sort of cursed tool, or a manifestation of Higuruma's technique. "You don't know what Yuuji-kun has gone through, or what his circumstances are like."
"Then explain it to me," Kento tried to say calmly, despite his heart hammering in his chest. Already, he could feel his breathing turning shallow, his injured lungs protesting.
Higuruma's face distorted, the shallow light diffusing through the screen rendering his expression eerie and flat. In his hand, the hammer twirled once. Twice.
"I am only Yuuji-kun's legal guardian," he then said. "If we leave now—not that we can, with the Culling Games still ongoing and both of us being players—"
"Both of you?" Kento blurted out. He had assumed the boy to be a civilian. But Higuruma did not stop to elaborate on that.
"—and I don't know what they did to him because I wasn't there, and he won't tell me," Higuruma yelled. He raised his free hand to rub at his brow in visible distress. After a deep breath, he continued, calmer: "I refuse to help you, if the outcome is simply that Yuuji-kun will be taken away from me. He does not deserve to be tossed around and abandoned again. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it. Even if it means I have to kill you."
As Higuruma lifted his hammer to point it at Kento, he slowly, carefully rose from his seat and held up his good hand, as if to show that he was unarmed. He wasn't, of course. A sorcerer was never unarmed or harmless.
"If you and Yuuji-kun are both players, then the Culling Games themselves pose a far greater risk to him than anything else right now," he argued slowly. "If his technique gets confiscated … Such a procedure messes with the brain. It would kill him for certain. He has zero points, yes? The clock is ticking, Higuruma-san. If you would allow us to use your points—"
He stopped. Higuruma's face was stricken.
"Kogane," the man said. "Show me the information on player Itadori Yuuji."
"Here you go!" chirped the mascot.
Kento could not read any details from where he was standing, plus it was back to front. But even he could see that the number behind Yuuji-kun's name was not zero.
"Oh Yuuji …" Higuruma whispered.
"You were separated for a while?" Kento asked, frantically thinking. "If Yuuji-kun got in trouble right after he got his technique … If he doesn't have full control of his powers, he might be a danger to both himself and others. We can help him."
"But, let me guess, only if I help you first."
"No. If you both come with me, we can find a way—"
A thundering crash interrupted Kento's plea. Higuruma instantly paled and turned heel, racing up the stairs at a speed that told Kento that he must have already mastered cursed energy manipulation to such a degree that he was able to enhance his physical abilities. He himself was having trouble keeping up with his diminished body, even though Higuruma quite literally bulldozed the way free in front of him, toppling chairs, bashing in doors and crashing down guard rails.
"Yuuji!" he yelled.
Another loud boom sounded, followed by the teen's distant voice echoing: "HIROMIN!"
Kento was too slow to follow, losing sight of Higuruma before he reached the cinema's front hall. As soon as he rounded the corner, he nearly collided with Yuuji, who had to stabilize him with a solid grip on his good arm.
"Stand back," the boy hissed. Over his shoulder, Kento could see Higuruma with his hammer in hand. Then he saw the black shape rising from Higuruma's shadow. A white face pressed through the darkness, eyes stitched shut. Its formless arms were weighed down by golden scales. A shikigami? Regardless, as he prepared to engage a man and a woman with propellers and jet engines for hair respectively, Kento could tell that this was going to be a terrible matchup.
"Let me help—"
But before he could wiggle out of Yuuji's grip, he heard Higuruma's sonorous voice: "Domain Expansion: Deadly Sentencing."
And before his eyes, the three figures were wrapped up in a black sphere.
"Holy shit."
"Nanami-san. Let's just … wait here. It will be fine now."
"You're alright?" Kento asked. Though mentally he was struggling to move on from the sight of what was clearly a recently awakened sorcerer casually opening a complete domain, proper chant and all.
"I'm fine." Yuuji smiled weakly, though it almost instantly collapsed into tears and a wobbling lip. "I messed up, Nanami-san. I … Hiromin … It's my fault."
"Deep breaths, Yuuji-kun," he said. "Why don't you leave the fighting to us adults, hm?"
"But that's all I've been doing since … since …" A hitched breath, like a sob. The words kept streaming forth like something inside the boy had popped. "Hiromin was at work when it happened. This thing just grabbed me and stuffed something down my throat. I blacked out. And when I woke up, there was blood and bits of—" Yuuji retched, sobbing. "I think I killed them, Nanami-san. I didn't know what to do, so I went to find Hiromin, and he's been protecting me all this time. He's had to kill people who attacked us, and I couldn't do anything, I couldn't help at all!"
"Yuuji-kun …"
… stuffed something down my throat, echoed in Kento's mind. He wondered. All the other ancient sorcerers that had reincarnated through cursed objects had completely taken over their hosts, essentially erasing them. But Yuuji-kun …?
He gently put his hand on the teen's shoulder.
"Stand behind me, just in case. Let's talk about this when your guardian returns."
"Y-yes. Alright." Yuuji wiped his face on his sleeve. Then he nodded, determined. "Hiromin will be fine. He'll come back right away."
It was heartbreaking to hear. Kento wondered how many times this boy had been left behind, if this was his core fear. No wonder Higuruma hard line revolved around staying together with his protégé. Kento had only just met the teenager, but already he felt protective of him too.
A delicate ringing sound preceded the black domain sphere breaking apart and spitting out four bodies, including the shikigami. One of them moved near instantly, and Kento was only able to keep up thanks to his honed battle sense. It was Higuruma, utilizing the fact that his opponents were dazed, to deliver a devastating blow to one of them. It was the man who had previously used his hair as some sort of propeller, though now it was hanging down limply.
"How—?" the man cried, before crumpling to the ground. Another smash delivered to his head left him either unconscious or dead. Higuruma wasted no time, swinging his hammer again, now suddenly ten times its original size, to knock the woman out as well. She slammed into the opposite wall with a sickening crack before she could even mount a defense.
Kogane then popped into existence and cheerfully announced: "You have earned ten points!"
Ah. Just like that, they were dead, then.
"Hiromin!"
Yuuji-kun ran towards his guardian, and they met in a tight hug. In the background, the shikigami sighed and slowly faded from view.
"Are you hurt?" Higuruma asked, then pulled back, hands searching the teen's back, head and arms for injuries.
"No, I'm fine." A pause. "Hiromin, I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for."
"No. I mean …" Yuuji muttered, then halted. He looked over his shoulder back at Kento. Higuruma followed his gaze as well, expression hardening.
"Let's get back. We have unfinished business," he said sternly.
But Yuuji-kun stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"Wait. I think … Hiromin, I think we should help Nanami-san and his people."
"What?"
Kento shifted uncomfortably, then stepped forward. His movement drew Higuruma's ireful glare again, though he ignored it for the sake of reinserting himself back into the conversation.
"All we want is a way for players to transfer points, to stave off the threat of technique removal. We will help you both with whatever it is you need in return," he said.
"You can't promise that," Higuruma shot back.
"I can," Kento said. "If Jujutsu High won't help, then I will personally ensure both of your safety."
As Higuruma opened his mouth to argue, Yuuji stepped between them. He had his back to Kento, so he could not see the boy's expression. But he heard his trembling voice, and he saw his shaking fists.
"Hiromin. Before I found you, I … You know— … I told you, some people gave me something. I don't know what it was or what it did. I blacked out."
"Yes, Yuuji. You told me."
"I think … No, I know that I killed some people then. I don't know how many."
"Probably three. Or seven."
"Huh?"
Higuruma sighed and put a hand on Yuuji's shoulder.
"I looked at your points earlier. You have seven points. That means either seven civilians, or one person with powers and two civilians."
"Oh." Yuuji gulped audibly. "Probably seven, then. From what it looked like."
"Ah. I see."
Yuuji-kun then said: "Do you remember what jii-chan said before he died? He said that I'm strong. And that I should help people. Hiromin, I don't think I'm helping anyone right now."
Higuruma turned his face to the side, looking pained. He bit his lip, then nodded.
"I've been a coward," he grit out. "I'm sorry, Yuuji-kun. You're right."
"I'm so grateful to you. Hiromin, I don't know where I would be without you. After jii-chan died, I was lost, and alone. You helped me then. And you're still protecting me now. But I don't think we can go on like this. Nanami-san … Nanami-san said he'd help. I believe him. I think this is a good thing," the teenager said, his voice gaining brightness and volume as he kept speaking.
"I think …" Higuruma trailed off, rubbing the side of his face with one hand. "I think you're right. What a wise boy you are."
"Yeah, you should listen to me always," Yuuji joked weakly.
They hugged again, and Kento had to avert his eyes as soon as he saw the first tears falling. But time was ticking, and he had a job to do here. Everything else could come after.
"Higuruma-san," he said after a few moments.
"Yes. The points." Higuruma extricated himself from Yuuji's arms. "Kogane."
"At your service!" the mascot chirped.
"Please use 100 of my points to add a rule: Players may transfer any amount of their own points to another player. Naturally, this should count towards the point count change mentioned in rule 8."
"Approved!"
Two more Kogane popped into existence next to Kento and Yuuji. In unison, they announced: "A player has added a new rule! Rule 10: Players may transfer a number of points of their choosing to another player."
Yuuji cheered, pumping his fist in the air. Despite the tears still drying on his cheeks, he seemed to have completely cheered up again. Or, perhaps this was a false impression. A front he was putting up, as Higuruma had said.
Kento then bowed towards both of them, and said: "Thank you for your cooperation. I am glad not to have had to fight you for these points."
"I think I have had enough of fighting for a while," Higuruma admitted tiredly.
"Unless ..." Kento bit his lip. Should he really say it? He had to. "You should join us. We might have need of your talents. Both of you."
"I am not letting Yuuji fight," Higuruma said. All exhaustion was wiped from his face again, replaced by fierce protectiveness. He angled himself to stand in front of Yuuji, even though the boy could still easily peek over his shoulder.
"I can help in other ways," the teen offered. "I'm really strong, you know?"
"I'm sure you are."
"So, do you want us to come with you? Can we, Hiromin?"
"Do you have a base of operations?" Higuruma asked.
"Most of us have scattered and distributed among the larger colonies. But there is one other within Tokyo No. 1 that I would like to reconvene with. Each of us had a different objective. Mine was to find you, and persuade you to add a new rule." Kento paused and adjusted his arm in the sling. "We did not agree upon a set meeting point, so it's up to you if you would like to come with me now or join us later."
"I don't know ..."
"Let's go, Hiromin! Please? I think it would be good to see what these people are all about," argued Yuuji. "Plus, then we won't have to take naps in shifts. We will have Nanami-san to watch out for us too. It will be much safer, won't it, Nanami-san?"
Kento's heart clenched, hearing this from the young teenager. Yet, at his hopeful look and faced with his guardian's skepticism, all Kento could do was nod firmly.
"Of course. I offer my contribution to your efforts. If there is anything at all that you require from me, I will assist you to the best of my ability." As he said the last part, Kento could feel Higuruma's gaze on his left arm and covered up eye. It stung, but he understood. Feeling just a little petty, Kento reached under his jacket and grabbed the handle of his nata. "My sword arm still works just fine."
"Whoa! That's so cool, Nanami-san!" Yuuji cried. He came forward to gawk at the wrapped-up, cursed blade and made ooh-ing and aah-ing noises. "Why is it all wrapped up like that? Doesn't that make it blunt? Why does it have spots?"
"It is blunt, but that doesn't matter. My technique makes it so that I can still cut through almost anything." Kento lifted the blade to let Yuuji look at it even closer. "The cloth is a cursed object. It just makes it so that I don't have to clean it all the time. I don't know why it has spots."
"Cool. Do you think you could use Hiromin's gavel?"
So that's what that was. Of course, it made sense with the whole courtroom aesthetic that it wasn't a regular hammer. And now that Kento could pay more attention, he was fairly certain that neither Yuuji nor Higuruma were hiding the gavel anywhere on their person. Which mean that it was a manifestation of the latter's technique.
"Let's not overload him with questions, Yuuji-kun," Higuruma said, putting a hand on his young charge's shoulder. "I know you're excited, but we'll have time to talk on our way to this meeting point."
Yuuji nodded, then suddenly broke into a beaming grin.
"Does that mean we'll go? Hiromin, Hiromin! We're going?"
"Yes, Yuuji-kun. We're going," said Higuruma, though his eyes were trained on Kento. Then he smirked a little and elbowed the teen. "I hope you're not too sad to abandon your movie theater."
Yuuji gasped and then ran off as if his pants were on fire.
"Wait, let me grab some more soda and snacks! And the stuff I brought earlier! Be right back!"
Both Higuruma and Kento watched him go fondly, then chuckled as their eyes met.
"I think he will fit right in with the other students from Jujutsu High," Kento then said and stowed away his nata again.
"You are a teacher at the school?"
"No. Not officially. Though I was tasked with mentoring here and there, so I know most students pretty well. They're good kids."
Before their conversation could trail off into awkwardness, Yuuji was already back. In his arms, he held the plastic bag from earlier, and he had two backpacks slung over his shoulders that looked filled to the brim.
"I got your clothes and stuff too, Hiromin!" he chirped, handing off one of the backpacks.
"Thank you, Yuuji-kun, that was very thoughtful of you. Shall we, then?"
As they set off, Kento was pleasantly surprised to find that both Higuruma and Yuuji were very willing to follow his lead. He had assumed that either Higuruma would challenge him, that he would claim to know better, especially when it came to Yuuji. Or that Yuuji, as a teenager, would refuse to simply trust a new authority figure in his life when he already had one. But neither of them complained when Kento urged them to keep moving, or called for them to stop, or suggested a different route than what they had clearly had in mind.
Since they had no set destination, Kento mostly aimed to avoid known hotspots while also directing them to where he hoped Fushiguro might be. Now that all the Kogane had announced the addition of a new rule, it should be clear that Kento had succeeded in their mission. In order to plan ahead, it would be only natural to meet up.
They stopped for the first night at a Western-style mattress store. Yuuji immediately jumped on one of the showroom exhibits and snagged himself a memory foam pillow and a weighted blanket. Despite his high energy so far and his general enthusiasm, he was out like a light as soon as he finished eating an apple and a protein bar. His soft snores filled the small store while Kento and Higuruma sorted themselves out.
"How long have you been Yuuji-kun's guardian?" Kento asked.
Higuruma finished chewing his protein bar, then washed it down with some water. He offered the bottle to Kento, before answering: "Five years."
Kento paused, then took a sip. With the next one he washed down two painkillers that he had brought with him. He ruminated on that a while.
"You don't have to tell me, but I am curious how that came to be. Are you related to his family in some way?"
"No. He lived next door to my mother with his grandfather. Small city in Iwate called Kitakami."
"Are you from there?"
"Thereabouts." Higuruma shrugged. "I moved my mother into town so I could visit her more often. It was just us two at that point. My father and elder brother had both passed away a few years prior, and she took it very hard. She was lonely. Depressed, probably. When Yuuji and his grandfather moved in next door, she adored them right away. Yuuji was at her place half the time. She cooked for them, and let Yuuji play in her garden. She got a cat and named it Tora-chan because Yuuji suggested that name."
Kento listened quietly, massaging his wrapped-up arm. He did not ask where Higuruma's mother was now. He could surmise from the hardened, bitter look on his face when he spoke of her. But there was also warmth in those memories, he could tell.
"Yuuji was seven when Wasuke-san—his grandfather—had his first stroke," Higuruma continued. "They had been meaning to move back to Sendai, where Yuuji was born, I remember. Those plans were first delayed, then postponed indefinitely, then cancelled."
"That's terrible," Kento muttered.
"Yeah. Poor Yuuji was devastated to see his grandfather so ill. He put on a brave face, but it was taking a toll on him. That was when Wasuke-san pulled me aside and asked me to set up his last will and testament."
"He named you Yuuji-kun's guardian?"
"In case he passed away before Yuuji came of age, yes. He had two more strokes in as many years. The third was so bad, he fell into a coma that he would not wake from. We ended his life support." Higuruma sighed. "Yuuji has been in my care since."
Having listened to this story, Kento's heart was full. For Yuuji, but for Higuruma too. After these losses and hardships, to have been pulled into these Culling Games seemed unreasonably cruel. No wonder the two of them clung to each other as they did, with unrelenting trust and faith in each other, each trying to protect the other to their fullest of their ability. They had no one else.
It was proven again when, into the silence that had fallen between the adults, Yuuji began to toss and turn on his bed. Faint whimpers and twitches of his limbs heralded a nightmare that wracked his pained soul. Before Kento could react, Higuruma had already gone to the boy's side, muttering reassurances in a low, soothing voice. He did not touch the teen, except to brush a stand of stray pink hair out of his face.
"It's alright, Yuuji. I'm here. You're not alone."
Endless minutes passed during which Kento awkwardly pretended that there was a wall between them, to give Higuruma and the boy a semblance of privacy. Once Yuuji fell back into quiet slumber, Higuruma rejoined Kento on their side of the room.
"Apologies, I—"
"No need," Kento interrupted him. "I completely understand."
Higuruma yawned then, fiddling with an empty protein bar wrapper. Kento was just going to suggest a guard rotation for the night, when he was startled by the sudden appearance of the white-faced shikigami.
"He loves Yuuji," Higuruma explained, placing a hand on the shikigami's amorphous, black body. "He will put us all in my Domain if an intruder were to stumble upon us."
"Trespasser," the shikigami whispered.
"Yes. Do not worry, Nanami-san. We can rest easy under Judgeman's gaze."
Unsure, Kento remained sitting on his chosen bed for a while longer. At least his painkillers had kicked in properly. But after a while it became too awkward to listen to Yuuji snoring while the shikigami loomed motionlessly above Higuruma's supine body.
There was a fine line between curses and shikigami, as fine as that between jujutsu sorcerers and curse users. Shikigami were essentially curses—just ones that had manifested from a sorcerer's own soul. No matter that Kento had trained and worked with Fushiguro Megumi and his Ten Shadows extensively, as well as Ino and his Auspicious Beasts, shikigami always unnerved him. Perhaps even more so with this Judgeman.
It felt too much like peering directly at Higuruma's pain and anger, the dark depths of his soul that had manifested his technique. If Kento had a shikigami, he would find it unbearable to bare it to others' eyes. Still, it also meant that Kento could begrudgingly trust this one to do as had been promised. So he closed his remaining eye, shutting out the dull pain of his injuries, and let himself fall into slumber.