[It was an exceptionally peaceful period of time.] [You fell asleep back-to-back with Miss Itadori, yet somehow, you always woke up face-to-face.
Perhaps because the weather was simply too freezing, the two of you instinctively sought out each other’s physical warmth.] [The lights inside the cubicle were turned off.
Aided only by the faint glow bleeding through the crack of the door, you could barely discern her silhouette and listen to the rhythmic cadence of her breathing.] [During the day, you went out to wander the streets, idling away the hours exactly like ordinary students.] [“Huh?
Did I never mention it?
I actually grew up in Iwate!
When I was little, Grandma and I lived around this neighborhood.
Whenever we had free time, we’d go play in that park over there.
There are tons of beautiful hydrangeas…
Do you want to see them too, Senpai?
No?
Come on, let’s go, just look at it as accompanying me to jog my childhood memories, okay?”] [She ran ahead, gripping your hand tightly as she guided you through the winding streets and alleys.] [In reality, your original intention for resting up in Iwate was explicitly to let her recover from her illness…
yet within a single day, she was already bursting with life and bounding all over the place.
Worrying about this girl was entirely unnecessary.] [But since that was the case, why were the two of you still lingering here instead of moving on?] [“Do you want to try fishing for crawfish?”] [Failing to catch a single one, you were subjected to her wild laughter as she violently slapped your shoulder, teasing you mercilessly.] [“Ah!
This ramen shop is actually still open!
Let me tell you, this place is incredibly delicious.
Missing out on this is practically equivalent to missing out on life itself!”] [Yet, it turned out the shop’s management had been transferred to someone else, and the flavor tasted completely different from the original.
To comfort the utterly dejected girl, you took her out for conveyor-belt sushi instead.] [“This is Koiwai Farm!
Grandma used to bring me here every now and then when I was little…
Oh, wait, Senpai, did you already see this when you looked at my memories?
Peeking is strictly no-good!
Next time, please remember to fake an expression like it’s your very first time hearing about it!
By the way, I highly recommend the ice cream here.
Well, even though it’s currently winter…
it might end up being a massive hassle if we get diarrhea…”] [Ultimately, you bought it and ate it anyway.
She continuously insisted on feeding you, which you fiercely refused, causing the situation to devolve into an archery game to determine who got ownership of the spoon.] [“A movie theater…
It feels like this place has been open for thirty years already, hasn’t it?
It was already standing here when I was little.
The vibe is a far cry from modern blockbusters…”] [The two of you stepped into the theater, masquerading as a couple to purchase tickets at half price.
Seizing the microsecond when the ticket vendor completely believed the act and turned around to retrieve the tickets, the two of you shared a stealthy high-five, her smile revealing her small canine teeth.] […The film playing was a re-screening of an old classic.] [A princess longing for freedom escapes her gilded cage, encountering a journalist by a fountain.
The two spend the entirety of their brief, fleeting window exploring, bonding, falling madly in love, and etching memories together, only to ultimately part ways.] [The theater seemed long neglected; even the couple’s seating was a bit too cramped for two people, radiating a distinctly damp, musty odor…
yet since you were already here, you and she squeezed into your seats amid playful bickering, sitting close enough to literally count the rhythm of each other’s heartbeats.] [“…Miss Itadori.”] [Unexpectedly, you were the one to shatter the silence first.] [“Why are you accompanying me on this sightseeing tour?”] [*Accompanying you*—not the two of you doing it together, but her accompanying you.] [As if completely at a loss for an answer, Yujina Itadori looked away in acute embarrassment.] [“Ah…
so Senpai noticed?
…I’m sorry.”] [*Why on earth was she apologizing?*?] [“I…
I just thought doing this would make you happy, so…”] [She merely wanted to cheer you up.
That wasn’t something that required an apology in the slightest.] [“…I’m sorry, Senpai.
I never told you, but…
I saw it.”] [Yujina Itadori spoke in a tiny whisper.] [On the night the two of you fled Sendai, your foreheads had been pressed together…
What she had witnessed at that exact moment was “the entire night you slaughtered the Kamo Clan, including every single cause and consequence.”] [Every single cause and consequence—which naturally included the fatal Binding Vow the Kamo Clan had etched into your soul.] [She had known from the very beginning that your days were severely numbered.] [*What was this supposed to be?
End-of-life hospice care?*] [Your train of thought violently snapped back to that hospital room.
Back then, it had also been just the two of you, and she had quietly stared at you, telling you that your skin looked so pretty…] [In reality, there was nothing inherently wrong with what she did.
It was just that when she uttered those words while possessing a perfectly healthy, vibrant body, a compliment would instantly morph into a cruel curse.] [You suddenly felt an acute wave of exhaustion wash over you.] [Should you step out of the theater to clear your head for a moment?
(LEAVE / STAY)] “Huh?
Shoving a choice into a moment like this…
is there any point to it?” Outside the simulation, Rui stroked his chin.
He was deeply immersed in the emotional flow of the narrative when this choice suddenly popped up out of nowhere.
[Replying to host: Every choice you make carries weight.] *Are you seriously stealing Geto’s quotes now, System?* Rui gave it some thought and ultimately selected “LEAVE”…
Just like in his previous simulation, he hadn’t immediately comforted Yuna Okotsu while in the detention cell, preferring to grant her a little bit of breathing room.
The moment he locked in his choice, the vision before his eyes blurred once more as the scene flooded his consciousness.
…
Rui splashed cold water onto his face in the restroom, letting out a long, heavy exhale.
In truth, the exact moment he had questioned Yujina Itadori, regret had already begun to consume him.
*It would have been better if I never asked.* He turned around, intending to head back into the theater as though absolutely nothing had happened…
Perhaps Miss Itadori harbored the exact same intention, and the two of you would walk out of the cinema, continuing to laugh and chat, exploring the entirety of Iwate before potentially heading off to Hokkaido.
Then, on some random day right as spring approached, he would quietly slip away to embrace his demise.
——*But if he did that, what was she supposed to do?* Before Rui even had a window to process this dilemma, he suddenly noticed a stark white figure materialize in the hallway out of nowhere…
Logically speaking, a white outfit should have looked entirely inconspicuous within such a dim environment, yet when draped over this individual, it undeniably became the absolute focal point of the entire frame.
It was as if she was naturally born to be the protagonist of the world.
Just by standing there, she radiated an unparalleled, overwhelming sense of presence.
“Heh, you really are just as young as Yuna described…
balance that out, you’re practically a toddler.” Not wasting a single second to worry over Yuna Okotsu’s failure to capture him, the individual immediately deployed to the battlefield was none other than the strongest modern sorcerer—Satomi Gojo.
She slid her sunglasses down a fraction, her Six Eyes radiating a piercing, terrifying azure luminescence.
“Though saying this might trigger an acute defensive response from you, would you and that girl mind accompanying me to Jujutsu High for a bit?
Depending on how things play out, execution isn’t necessarily the only option on the table, you know?” ——*She is absolutely lying.* Rui, who harbored a perfect zero percent trust in jujutsu sorcerers, didn’t even need a single microsecond to deliberate.
He immediately began utilizing cursed energy to construct a cursed tool.
…
Simultaneously, on the other side.
Yujina Itadori sat quietly in her original seat, the spot beside her completely vacant.
She wasn’t entirely certain whether she was supposed to pursue him.
Her body desperately wanted to move, yet her brain commanded her to sit tight and wait…
Overwhelmed by a profound sense of uncertainty, her thoughts grew increasingly chaotic.
Rather than paying any attention to the movie’s plot, her gaze was single-mindedly locked onto the exit, desperately wishing for him to push the door open and walk back in.
——The door did indeed open.
The woman with stitches running across her forehead—her biological mother, Kaori Itadori—stood directly at the threshold, offering her a faint smile.
“Yujina, did you know?
That boy you care so deeply about…
is about to be slaughtered.” —