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"It's not unreasonable of me to want to have a nice day prior to my upcoming death. We should do this tomorrow instead."
Yuuji ignores his older brother's complaints with years of practice. If he were to listen to Choso in everything, then nothing would get done, and especially not this. "Then tomorrow you'll say it doesn't qualify as a nice enough day, then the same for the day after, and so on, and I'll be old and gray by the time we do this. No way!"
He places the finishing blow on the curse that guards the vault. In turn, the entrance creaks open and Yuuji slips inside. Choso follows him like a shadow, his arms crossed and an expression on his face that Yuuji's rarely seen directed toward him. Gone is the usual indulgence, even as he follows Yuuji into the vault.
"Just trust me on this," Yuuji says, taking his hand briefly. "It will all work out."
Into his pack, he throws several cursed objects that might make a good trade on the market, plus a few that could be used as gifts as needed. A few weapons, too. Yuuji prefers his fists and Choso prefers his blood, but maybe with newfound freedom they might get into daggers, who knows.
"I'm going to die," Choso sighs. "I won't be able to protect you. Kenjaku will make me watch him kill you before he kills me."
"That does sound like Dad, yeah," Yuuji says, unconcerned. "That's why we need to steal enough to make our way south." He pauses at a stack of coins. "Do they still use money?"
Choso pokes at the coins, which try to bite him. "These are cursed, anyway."
"Just in case," Yuuji says, and he throws them into his bag. "Anyway, I've heard about this robbery concept. We'll take a hostage to ensure our success."
Choso doesn't look as optimistic as Yuuji thinks he should. "There aren't any people in here. Besides, Kenjaku doesn't care about anyone."
"It doesn't have to be a human hostage."
Choso freezes, then points an outraged finger Yuuji's way. "My cherished brother, we are not stealing that cube. I forbid it."
Blue Eyes already in hand, Yuuji has no way of slipping it into his bag without Choso noticing it. He pets the cube with his other hand. Its eyes meet Yuuji's own four eyes all creepily and Yuuji strokes the ridge over the nearest eye.
"Is this all about your weird obsession with that cube?" Choso asks. "Is that why we're here, to steal it?"
"Stealing, hostage, what’s the difference," Yuuji says. "Isn’t it cool? And we’ll, uh, use it to ensure Dad doesn’t follow us. We won’t say where we put it unless he agrees to leave us alone."
"You’re putting it in your hoodie pocket."
Yuuji waves a hand. "I mean after the kidnapping."
"Is it really kidnapping if it's an inanimate item?"
"I feel like as the kidnappers, we get to decide what counts. Besides, I heard a rumor that Dad sealed a super powerful jujutsu sorcerer inside this thing." Yuuji throws the cube up in the air, catching it carefully. "I overheard Jogo boasting about it once."
"Wouldn't Kenjaku have already destroyed it in that case?"
"Maybe it's indestructible," Yuuji offers. He pats the cube. "Yeah, you're indestructible, aren't you, Blue Eyes?"
One of the eyes blinks at him. Yuuji grins in return, holding the cube close.
Choso isn't wrong, exactly. Yuuji will defend the need to steal tradeable items prior to their escape, but part of the plan was always to take Blue Eyes with him. As the ninth of the Death Paintings and the smallest, Yuuji's bottle was held toward the back of the shelf, away from Choso, Eso, and Kechizu. His other siblings were less active, sleeping away the decades, and Yuuji spent a lot of time bored until the arrival of Blue Eyes. He got an unsettling glimpse of his father setting the cube next to him, then leaving again.
It was almost as though Yuuji now had a companion. Yuuji would tap his fetus body against the glass and Blue Eyes would look his way, sometimes blinking at him, sometimes just staring. Yuuji liked to imagine conversations between them. He listened to the conversations of various vault guards and visitors with interest over the decades. He was certain that he and Blue Eyes could make successful conversation if only they had mouths.
One by one, Dad came for Yuuji's siblings. Choso was the first to go, then Eso and Kechizu, then groups of two and three from Yuuji's slumbering siblings. At last, it was Yuuji's turn, and he was finally born into this world. It wasn't until later that Yuuji learned that the Death Paintings were roused once the Second Golden Age began, that Choso was the only one left alive of his siblings.
Five years into this new existence, Yuuji hasn't forgotten Blue Eyes. He would sneak into the vault whenever he could, holding the cube while he told it about his life.
When Choso found him with Blue Eyes, he would say, "That thing is not one of our brothers," and Yuuji agreed, he really did, but that didn't mean that Blue Eyes wasn't important, too.
"Let's just make this quick," Choso now says.
Yuuji hurries up, throwing the last of the stolen goods into his pack. Choso's pack is just as full with clothes and food for the both of them. It's easier to sneak out of the vault than the compound, which is more thoroughly guarded, but Yuuji and Choso have lived here almost longer than anyone. They make their way out from a less watched side door, fleeing into the woods just past the property. Once they've made it far enough, they loop carefully around, making their way south.
By daytime, Yuuji's heart has finally settled its rapid beat. He holds Blue Eyes in both hands, clutching the cube close. "Think we got away with it?"
Choso looks his way. "I don't know. Kenjaku should still be visiting Sukuna up north. If we're lucky, our absence won't be noted immediately. If we're unlucky, then we're unlucky."
"This is already worth it," Yuuji says as he walks next to him. "Haven't you always hoped to explore the world? And not just to visit Uncle Sukuna."
"He's not our uncle."
"Dad finds it funny when I call him uncle."
"You should try to remain beneath his notice," Choso says. It's an old argument. "Certainly now."
"Yeah, don't think Dad's patience will extend to this," Yuuji agrees.
For all that Dad has always been slightly more lenient toward Yuuji, less likely to kill him than he had two of Yuuji's siblings or send him to death on a mission as he had with the rest, Yuuji knows that he signed his death sentence when he escaped alongside Choso. It's not pleasant to consider the end of his existence. Far more pleasant is to look out at the sun, the trees, the birds. If it's his fate to die, then Yuuji wants to see the ocean before he goes.
As the days pass, he and Choso walk through several human towns from before the Second Golden Age. Most are uninhabited, left to nature, but a few have groups of remaining humans. Yuuji and Choso avoid them, not wanting to cause trouble, and they are largely avoided in turn. Eventually, they reach a town on the underground postal route, and Yuuji checks for any mail before continuing on.
Curses largely ignore the two of them. Choso is a special grade and for all that Yuuji was once the weakest of the Death Paintings, his power has grown immeasurably in this body. Their cursed energy makes them uninviting targets. Nature has overtaken many former towns. Hanami has been busy over the years.
At night, Yuuji and Choso camp together, sleeping under the stars. Next to the bundle of clothes Yuuji uses as his pillow, he places Blue Eyes. "It's nice to be outside, isn't it? You were cooped up for so long."
Blue Eyes' gaze always tracks him. Yuuji likes to believe that it can understand him. Maybe there's really a sorcerer inside it, maybe it's a cursed object that has gained sentience, maybe something else, something Yuuji doesn't know about. There's plenty that he doesn't know about; it's his chance to learn now. Yuuji falls asleep with his hand over the cube.
In the morning, Choso wakes him and they continue their journey.
"I wish I'd found out how it works before we escaped," Yuuji says, turning the cube over in his hands. "Is there a way for you to grow a mouth? I want to talk to you, Blue Eyes."
"What companionship could a cube provide?" Choso asks grumpily.
Yuuji hugs him with one arm as they walk. "I'm not looking for another brother. I have the best one. But haven't you wanted to make friends? I was so lonely for decades and Blue Eyes was my first friend."
"It doesn't even speak," Choso grumbles, then sighs. "Try using your cursed energy to open it."
"Been working on it! It's like a maze." Brute forcing his way in hasn't worked. Yuuji's had to settle for the slow way, slipping his cursed energy inside. The maze inside is endless, with dead ends and loop arounds and everything made all the more confusing because Yuuji can't see in with his eyes. "I won't give up, Blue Eyes."
"Just don't get stuck inside yourself," Choso advises.
"Blue Eyes wouldn't do that to me!"
It takes a full week of working on it before Yuuji makes real progress. When he does, he stops in place, not daring to even breathe for a few moments.
"Yuuji?"
"Can we camp here?" Yuuji asks, not looking away from the cube. He doesn't want to disrupt his cursed energy, which has finally, finally fallen into place. It's as though he's made a key, but his key is made of water.
Choso helps him take a seat on a log, which Yuuji does carefully. He continues on to the second level of the puzzle, then the third. Night falls without Yuuji noticing, still in the same position. Blue Eyes watches him more intently than ever. Yuuji wants to say something supportive, but he can barely breathe as he works his way through the layers of the cube.
As dawn breaks, so does the cube's enchantment.
"Open," Yuuji whispers, and it does.
The cube falls to the ground, opening outward and glowing. When the glow fades, it's replaced with a tall man dressed in black. His hair is a mess of white, his features pretty, and most importantly, his eyes are the same blue as the cube.
"Blue Eyes, it's you," Yuuji says, scrambling up from his seat. He approaches slowly. Blue Eyes looks spooked, his shoulders tense, his breath coming out hot. Yuuji pauses, then goes the rest of the way, tapping his head against the man's shoulder like he used to tap his fetal form against the glass bottle. "Remember?"
Blue Eyes' hand lands in his hair. The grip is rough at first, then it gentles, sliding through his hair and out. "Yuuji. I remember you."
Relief coursing through him, Yuuji hugs him. He's never hugged anyone except Choso, but a friend must be enough like a brother that it's allowed. He's seen Jogo and Hanami embracing once, so it can't be an unknown thing. Blue Eyes must be unaccustomed to hugs; he freezes first, then relaxes, mirroring Yuuji's gesture carefully.
Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuji sees Choso rise and approach, his face blank. "Do you want to hug him, too, Choso?" At Choso's expression, Yuuji figures it's a no. "Blue Eyes, this is my brother, Choso. Choso, this is my first friend, Blue Eyes."
"I also go by Gojo Satoru," says Blue Eyes.
"Satoru," Yuuji repeats. It's a nice name. This is the first Satoru he has met. "It's nice to know your name, Satoru!" He finally lets Satoru go, not stepping away too far. Just enough to see him properly. "Are you a human, Satoru?"
"Of course he is. Look at him," Choso says, waving a hand.
"I haven't met that many humans," Yuuji replies. "Maybe they come in more shapes than I realized! I've never seen anyone with eyes as pretty as yours."
Satoru closes those same pretty eyes briefly, rubbing at his head. "Thanks. Can either of you tell me what happened after I was sealed?"
"When were you sealed?"
"Shibuya. October 31, 2018."
"It's been almost five years." Yuuji looks in Choso's direction. "My brother can explain it better than I can."
Choso agrees to discuss it as they walk. Yuuji interjects with the occasional anecdote, for the most part letting Choso take the reins. Neither of them have the best picture of what happened prior to the Second Golden Age. Dad won't talk much about it and most of the curses at his compound aren't the chatty types. Sukuna is chattier, but Yuuji's only met him twice, both times when Dad had business up north.
Society collapsed, that is to say. Sukuna's claim is all of Japan, but in reality he tends to stay in the north. Dad claimed the compound a few weeks' travel from Sukuna's, and to the south remains the last stronghold of jujutsu sorcerers who often make trouble. Humans are scattered throughout the country, just trying to survive as curses flourish. It's into this new world that Choso and Yuuji were born.
"I remember it," Satoru says. "You were removed from the shelf. I wondered where you had gone until you started visiting me again."
"He shouldn't have done that. It was dangerous."
Yuuji blows a raspberry in Choso's direction. "Don't listen to Choso. He's always ordering me around. He thinks he's cooler than me because he was born earlier. I'm not a child. I spent almost as long bored out of my mind in a bottle as he did."
Satoru raises a white eyebrow. "How old are you?"
Yuuji pauses. "How old am I again, Choso?"
"Hundred fifty. Barely out of diapers."
Yuuji laughs. His brother's grumpy expression is just too cute.
"You don't look a day over twenty," Satoru says.
"Thank you!" Or at least Yuuji figures that's a compliment. Not being human himself, he's not quite sure how humans age. Dad isn't a credible source and the humans in his employ never liked to answer Yuuji's questions. "How old are you, Satoru?"
"A sprightly thirty-three, it seems."
"Thirty-three is a very pretty age," Yuuji assures him. "I've never met anyone more handsome than you. Not even Uncle Sukuna is as good-looking as you are."
"Uncle Sukuna," Satoru repeats. "I've heard you mention this before. Explain it for me."
"I was the last of the Death Paintings. I wasn't as powerful as the others initially. Dad was going to dispose of me until he encountered a descendant of Sukuna's family, whose DNA he used to create a body for me to incarnate into." Yuuji runs a hand through his pink hair. "I never got to meet Jin. He was very kind. He gave Choso a necklace to give to me."
Yuuji pulls it out from under his hoodie to show to Satoru, then hides it again. He doesn't like for it to be away from his skin.
Satoru's expression softens slightly. "I see. And where are we walking to?"
"Tokyo!" Yuuji says, brightly. "We're going to—"
"Jujutsu High."
"That's right. Have you been there?"
"Have I," Satoru sighs. "It always leads back there, doesn't it? All roads." He doesn't sound too excited about it, closer to Choso's perspective on the matter than Yuuji's. "At least it's still around. Small wonders."
"My friend lives there," Yuuji explains.
Choso snorts. "He's being catfished."
"I'm not being catfished. Catfishing isn't real."
"It is too. My body had knowledge of this concept," Choso argues. They've had this argument before.
Yuuji frowns. "Mine didn't."
"Yours was grown in a lab."
"If there's anything I should have known, then my body should have made this knowledge for me like yours did. That means that this can't be that important. My body's special."
"Yes, incredibly. My only remaining brother. You are the most precious thing on this earth."
Yuuji coughs. "Anyway! I made a friend through the underground postal network and I want to meet him. He seems really cool! It's only that Dad isn't really about letting us have free will and my friend lives in the sorcerer stronghold in Tokyo. He said I could visit him, so here we are."
Amusement crosses Satoru's expression. "Does he know who you are?"
"Of course! I told him immediately." Yuuji can't imagine having kept his origins secret. That's not how a proper friendship is made. Satoru knew who he was as soon as they met, cube to bottle, and look at them now, wandering Japan's countryside together.
Satoru raises an eyebrow.
Yuuji deflates slightly. "Well, yeah, he's also sourcing information from me and inciting me to defect from Dad's side. But no friend is perfect! He's also really funny and tells me all about human movies. Did you know that they managed to get electricity going in the sorcerer stronghold? I could watch all the movies I want."
"What's his name?" Satoru says, almost unwillingly.
"Fushisaki Megara."
Satoru chokes on air. "What a name." He's smiling, the smile wider than the hand that briefly covers his mouth. His chest heaves. "A good guy, this Fushisaki?"
"The best. He's very fashionable. He tells me I shouldn't wear hoodies all the time and sends me old magazines sometimes. I've learned a lot about what human society used to be like. Did you know about video games?"
"Mass Effect, perhaps?"
"That's his favorite game! Did you play it?"
"I watched it some," Satoru says. His gaze is fixed on the horizon, more defined now than it was minutes ago.
When they make camp, Yuuji and Choso unroll their bedrolls next to each other. It's a tight fit, but all three of them manage it with Yuuji in the middle. Yuuji listens to the sounds of his brother fall asleep. He rolls over onto his side, watching Satoru in the moonlight. His friend is resting on his back, sleepless like Yuuji.
When Yuuji reaches out to take his hand, Satoru's head turns Yuuji's way. "Handholding wasn't this common in my time."
Still, he doesn't pull away, pressing his palm closer to Yuuji's instead. His fingers are long, warm.
"Some of Dad's human friends said similar. It's not like I was trying to hold their hands. I don't understand why. It's nice, isn't it?"
"It is."
"I always went to sleep holding you," Yuuji whispers, hoping not to wake Choso.
Satoru tries to match him, but his whisper is louder. "I remember. I thought you might claw an eye out in your sleep."
"I wouldn't!"
"No, you wouldn't," Satoru agrees. "I never thanked you for freeing me."
"I would do anything for my friends," Yuuji assures him. "You don't need to thank me."
"I've never acquired a friend in quite this way." Satoru squeezes Yuuji's hand.
"How did people make friends before?"
"School. Work. Friends of friends."
The concept of having multiple friends, enough that you can make friends of their friends. Yuuji can barely imagine it. He wants it badly. "When I have them, I'll share my friends of friends with you."
Satoru exhales the barest huff of laughter. "You're very sweet. How did that happen?"
"Dad blames it on Jin," Yuuji says, shoulder facing up moving in a shrug.
"Maybe. You were like this even in the bottle." Satoru's eyes are visible even at night. "I don't know how many such friends of friends I have remaining. I can't imagine many survived."
Satoru doesn't sound sad, exactly, but Yuuji can't imagine such a thing being anything other than heartbreaking. He releases Satoru's hand to hug him instead, half atop his broad chest and wrapping his arm around him. Satoru wraps his right arm around Yuuji in turn, holding him close. The more that Yuuji looks at him, the more Satoru's smile fades. It's excruciating to see.
"I'm sorry," Yuuji offers. It's nothing, just a drop in a downpour, but it's true.
Satoru's hand strokes his back. "You weren't there." His lips twist. "Neither was I. Nothing to be done for it. Is Kenjaku still wearing the man with the long dark hair?"
"No. His hair's pink now."
Satoru's hand reaches up to stroke Yuuji's hair. "Ah. He had a dormant technique?"
Yuuji nods into Satoru's chest. He doesn't say anything for a while. Neither does Satoru. Eventually, Yuuji asks the question that's been on his mind. "Do you think Fushisaki will like me?"
"I think it's impossible not to. Go to sleep, Yuuji. We'll figure the rest out tomorrow."
In the morning, Choso wakes Yuuji up. Yuuji opens his eyes to find he'd only moved closer in the night. Satoru is already awake, looking over at Yuuji with those blue eyes that have haunted Yuuji's dreams ever since he learned how to dream.
As they approach a lake that day, Satoru leaves them to bathe for the first time in years, while Yuuji and Choso take a seat further away on the rocky shore.
Yuuji watches Satoru strip his jacket, then his shirt. It's times like these that he appreciates having four eyes. He can see Satoru so well. "Hey Choso, I'm feeling a lot of attraction right now."
Choso turns his head heavenward. "You should meditate on the matter to clear it from your system."
"No, don't," Satoru calls from the lake. He doesn't turn around.
"I like his advice better. It's not my fault I like how humans look. We're always surrounded by curses. Or Dad's humans, who are assholes. Or Dad, but he doesn't count," Yuuji says. Toward the lake, he calls, "Blue Eyes, can you take your pants off, too?"
Satoru flashes him a grin, then does. Yuuji only gets a glimpse before Satoru disappears into the water. He reappears with his hair wet, water falling from his chest. This doesn't lower Yuuji's levels of attraction by any means. He looks toward Choso, who appears to be taking inventory of their packs instead of watching Satoru.
"I imagine this is what television was like," Yuuji tells him, gaze inevitably turning back to Satoru.
"It must have been boring, then." Choso flips the packs shut. "I'll wash our dishes in the meantime."
By the time Satoru joins him, Yuuji feels like a lizard, all warmed by the sun as he lays on the rocks. He opens his eyes to find that Satoru's clothing has returned to cover him. Satoru's hair is still wet and Yuuji reaches out to touch it when Satoru sits down next to him. It's malleable this way, the strands lying down when Yuuji pets it.
As Choso approaches, Satoru instructs them both to put on their packs. He takes Yuuji's hand first, then Choso's.
"Welcome to Jujutsu High," Satoru says a moment later.
They've landed at the main entrance, a long set of steps just behind them. Yuuji is grateful to be at the top of the steps instead of at the bottom.
Within a few minutes, a woman appears just past the barely visible barrier. Yuuji looks on with interest. She has a scar on her face.
"Satoru," she says, stopping just on the other side of the barrier. "Is that you?"
"In the flesh." Satoru waves. "Long time no see, Utahime."
"And who's that?"
"These are Yuuji and Choso. I'm their hostage."
"Nice to meet you!" Yuuji calls while Choso waves.
Utahime glances toward them, then turns back toward Satoru. "Don't burn too fast through the nostalgia I've developed in your absence. Come on in."
Alongside Satoru, Yuuji and Choso are quickly thrust into the limelight of the remaining jujutsu sorcerer society. Everyone suddenly wants to talk to them. Choso ignores most of it and even Yuuji's interest in meeting new people starts to flicker after several hours. He's relieved to be assigned a room, ignoring it in favor of sleeping in Choso's room the first night. He misses Satoru, but that's to be expected.
Some of the sorcerers take issue with Satoru bringing a pair of half-curses into the stronghold. Yuuji isn't present when the issue is settled, just seeing Satoru returning with a satisfied smile. He takes Yuuji's hand as they walk to the communal dining hall.
When Yuuji meets Fushisaki Megara, he learns that his friend is both Fushiguro Megumi and Kugisaki Nobara, which is incredibly exciting. Two friends for the price of one! Being friends in person is even better than by letter. Yuuji would feel guilty about spending so much time with them and not his brother, but Choso's made friends with Yuki in the meanwhile. When he walks in on them once by accident, Yuuji learns just how close their friendship has become.
As much time as he spends with his new friends, Yuuji never fails to make time for his first friend. It isn't a fully pleasant time for Satoru, as Yuuji understands it. People he once knew and took missions with have passed on since his sealing. Not as many as Satoru feared he'd lost when he first exited the cube, not everyone, but enough. They watch movies together, catching Yuuji up on the intricacies of human life before the end of the world.
Sometimes Yuuji will join Satoru or Fushiguro and Kugisaki on a mission of exorcising curses. In time, it will be his father's turn. Sukuna's, too. Yuuji made his choice when he left the compound. It wouldn’t be bloodless. Still, he holds Satoru close and reaches for Choso when he's around.
A few weeks into his stay, in lieu of what Yuuji has learned are the traditional flowers, he presents Satoru with a plate of freshly baked pastries at his bedroom door.
"What's this for?"
Yuuji rocks back on his heels. "Blue Eyes, I've watched two dozen human romance movies. Let me seduce you."
Satoru accepts the plate with a look of bemusement. "Romance isn't always like the movies."
"We're a classic friends to lovers trope, post-apocalyptic version. We even had a heartfelt reunion!" Yuuji follows Satoru into his room, where Satoru sets the plate on his dresser. "It's very romantic."
And then Satoru steps closer, closer. Yuuji throws his arms around his neck. Having discussed human sexual relations at length with his newest brother Todo, Yuuji is looking forward to trying it out.
"You're right. This is the height of romance," Satoru agrees, settling his arms around Yuuji and tugging him even closer. His gaze is covered now, but Yuuji feels its strength anyway. "We’ll have to bring back movie studios to make a film about it." He doesn't have to go far to find Yuuji's lips.