Chapter Text
"Itadori...are you sure about this?"
Yuuji Itadori, who was sitting cross-legged and preparing a ritual circle in his old dorm of Jujutsu Tech, which had been long abandoned for decades, looked up to see Kugisaki looking at her friend in worry and concern. He stared for a moment before going back to prepping the ritual.
"I'm sure of it...It's only necessary if the future has an anchor to something. I know I worry too much about it, but I want to continue saving those in need...I've done all I can here."
"...I see...when do you think you'll start it?"
"Once I'm finished preparing. After that, I'll come and say my goodbyes to everyone...You managed to contact Todo, right?"
"He came as soon as I mentioned your name. For a geezer like him, he moves quick."
Itadori chuckled to himself. Of course, Todo would run to the edge of the planet if Itadori were there. He wouldn't let up the chance to help Yuuji in a situation, even if he could handle it on his own. He even had to remind Todo not to overdo it because of his frail body, but he always shoved it off.
"I will never hesitate for a second to help my brother in need. Never!"
Ain't that right, Todo...
"Good. I wanted him to be here...I'm assuming Okkotsus' grandkids aren't coming, are they?"
"...seems so. In fairness, they barely know you, so it's appropriate. Shouldn't you need a shaman for this?"
"It's preferred, but I can do it myself."
"Of course, you and your dedication."
Yuuji scoffed lightly, just quiet enough for Kugisaki to miss it. As much as he found it funny about the shaman, he wished that he had gotten to know Yuuta's grandkids and had somewhat of a connection with them before this. Nonetheless, he wished them a bountiful life ahead without problems.
Kugisaki left after a moment, giving Yuuji the space to finish the circle before he went out and had one more conversation with those he knew...which were only Todo and Kugisaki. Everyone else had already passed on, or he just barely knew them to have significance in coming. Yuuji had planned this for a while now, discussing it with Kugisaki one day when he came by to have a conversation, but now that he was really about to do this, and without a guarantee that it would work...it was distressing for him. He had known it would be a huge risk, infusing his soul into the digits of his fingers through the method of a binding vow. Still, he did have the fact that Sukuna had done it to his pinky, and that Yuuji had done it to his own ring finger once, which both have since been regenerated through a slip-up that caused his entire left hand to be severed clean, but all ten, while infusing his entire soul evenly? Who knows what would happen?
Itadori shook his head, fanning the thought away as he finished up the little ritual circle, which consisted of a chalked ring in a certain pattern with candles at six points of the circle. Small sakura petals decorated the perimeter of the circle, but they were a simple decoration and didn't truly have significance to the ritual. Itadori had also placed exactly six red spider lilies as well, each to represent the deaths of those closest to him that had shaped his soul into what it was now.
One was for Junpei, the boy whose blind rage made him regret his actions too late.
One was for Nanami, the mentor who gave his final smile too early and gave responsibility to a kid who knew no better.
One was for Gojo-sensei, The Strongest of a Generation who gave his life to stand on equal ground with a foe and show he was human like everyone else.
One was for Choso, the brother who took the hits for him as any sibling would and gave him another chance when he shouldn't have.
One was for Fushiguro, the friend and comrade who was there from the beginning but was the first one to go in a casket.
And the final one was for his grandfather, Wasuke. The man who raised Itadori and cursed him with the strength he never asked for...but used it with the good of his heart nonetheless.
The last thing Itadori had created was the familiar pattern of the forehead mark Sukuna had in the middle of the circle, an ironic addition to the conditions Itadori was willingly falling into. Standing afar, once finishing to make sure everything was in accordance, Yuuji took a look at a small book that Choso had given to him after Yuki Tsukumo died to Kenjaku long ago. Yuki had written quite a bunch about certain techniques and occurrences in the Jujutsu world as the designated Star Plasma Vessel, but one had caught his eye when reading through it, and that was the creation of cursed objects through a specific ritual, which was the one that sat ready on his old dorm floor. He took a scan of the pages, making sure he had prepared everything correctly before snapping it shut, all the boxes of the requirements checked off in his mind.
Now, he had to say his goodbyes. This ritual would kill him, without a doubt. The difference was whether the ritual would successfully transfer his soul into his fingers and his consciousness would be put into a dormant phase, or he would just be dead where he would sit and become a martyr for a good cause. Either way, it was nerve-racking and bittersweet. Finally turning away, Itadori left the dorm to see Kugisaki waiting nearby in the rotted hallway, and Todo, who was using a cane to support his large but weakened frame, came walking over.
"Hello, brother. It's been a while."
Yuuji gave a sad smile, hearing how Todo's voice had lost its bravado over time. He used to be over the top at times, and Todo and Yuuji were always the loudest ones in the room. Now, he really did sound like an old and gentle man who cherished the time he had with his loved one. Yuuji wishes he were the same, but for as long as the universe would last, that wouldn't be possible.
"Same to you, Todo...you've been holding up okay?"
"I've been doing better than some. I heard about the duel that happened in Tokyo. Was that your doing?"
"Oh, that? No, that wasn't me. I only killed a bunch of curses during the fight between Mahoraga and I think Dabura was his name. I didn't directly fight, though."
"I see...well, I'm glad to see you're in good condition and in good spirits."
Yuuji nodded, not having the heart to tell him he was anything but in good spirits with the fact that he was about to pretty much die. He turned to Kugisaki, who also had a sad smile on her face. Damn it, he hated this. Hated he had to be the next one to go. He wanted to stay as long as he could, comforting those whom he deeply cared for...but this was for the better. He had to remind himself of that.
"Well...I guess this is goodbye...I'm going to miss you, Kugisaki...Todo...It'll be difficult without you two around- oof!"
Itadori was then caught off guard as Kugisaki suddenly enveloped him in a hug, her body shuddering from the sudden movement as Itadori stood in a momentary shock, feeling her arms wrap around him as if to try and hold on to him a little longer.
"Hey, idiot...promise me if we reincarnate, you'd come and find us as well as everyone else...please."
Kugisaki had choked on her last word, a sob ripping at her fragile throat as tears began to lightly soak Yuuji's jacket. Yuuji stood stunned, his stomach doing knots at the sound of Nobara's crying. Turning towards Todo, he saw that his brother was also crying softly, the tears running down his aged face as he seemed to look at Itadori with pride in his heart.
"...I'm thankful for such a great brother...farewell, Itadori...make sure to remember your type of woman."
...heh...of course, Todo...
Itadori blinked before his vision got blurry, feeling his own tears drip down his face as he brought his arms up to return Kugisaki's hug as he turned back to her, cradling the back of her head gently as he spoke hoarsely, trying not to sob himself.
"Of course...I'll make sure to find all of you in the future...I promise I will..."
The two of them hugged a little bit longer as Todo came slowly, putting his hand on Itadori's shoulder to comfort their friend before he would willingly give up his life for the hope of the future. Itadori didn't want to break the contact. He wanted to stay planted where he was and comfort his friend and brother for eternity. A part of him wished he wasn't about to do this and leave them behind. He couldn't bear loss anymore, but he had to let go eventually. With a final few seconds, he hugged Kugisaki as much as he could before peeling away lightly, a warm smile on his face to tell her not to worry. Turning to Todo, Yuuji put his hand on Todo's shoulder in return.
"I'll make sure I will, Todo..."
Todo looked like he wanted to bawl right there, but shook his head as he patted Itadori's hand lightly with his own before Itadori politely pulled away. He lingered for a second before heading back to the dorm, tears still falling down his face as he shut the door behind him. The sun was setting at this time, and a gentle light shone down onto the ritual circle, almost like the world knew of his bravery and was giving him the final hoorah he deserved. With a shaky breath, Yuuji walked slowly to the center and sat down on his knees as in prayer directly on top of the symbol in the middle. The candles around were not lit yet. That was fine. The ritual required the use of cursed energy to light them anyway. The room felt noticeably quiet while Itadori calmed his nerves, taking deep breaths as he set his fingers onto the hardwood floor. It was time.
"...wait...I should write something for them if it works."
Pulling out Yuki's book, Yuuji flipped through the pages before he landed on a blank page, yellowed with age but intact enough to write. Pulling out a pen he conveniently brought along, he wrote a quick but thoughtful message before he carefully ripped the page out and tossed it outside of the circle as well as his pen and Yuki's book. Now it was time as he placed his fingers back on the ground. He closed his eyes and started to pour his cursed energy into the chalked ground, feeling it vibrate as his fingers felt a swell of cursed energy.
One by one, the candles suddenly ignited as a gust of wind blew in from a crack within the foundation, blowing in a vortex around the ritual circle as the candles burned brighter and the spider lilies decorating the circle began to wilt and darken as if life was being sucked from inside for a moment.
But then they began to flourish beautifully, the red popping out and almost glowing in the darker room.
And the symbol in the middle was illuminated with a pink hue.
Yuuji kept his focus up, his eyes deeply closed as all 10 of his fingers began to grow numb with each passing second, as well as his strength. His life force began to slip from his fingers almost literally, and his skin started to shrivel and darken like his fingers were doing as of now. The sound of the wind began to die down, and Itadori's shoulders slacked, his remaining strength now gone as the room intensified with the glow of pink. However, just before the ritual was complete, Itadori opened his eyes one last time, his vision fading at the edges as he saw his fingers plump but dark purple-red, almost as if all the blood in his body swelled to those points while the world shone pink. With his final breath, he smiled.
...good...it...worked...
Then the ritual stopped.
The pink glow faded away.
The spider lilies returned to their natural hues.
And Itadori exhaled one more time before his heart stopped in the middle of the dorm, and his body became mummified over the course of the ritual. His mind faded to black, and his existence seemed to be no more.
But his fingers pulsed with vast amounts of cursed energy. Suddenly, all 10 had detached from Itadori's knuckle, falling to the floor stiffly as they rested as they were. A minute or so later, the door creaked open, and a sob echoed throughout the rotted campus of Jujutsu Tech, followed by urgent feet that fell to their knees as they softly cradled the head of a sorcerer who chose this outcome. Another pair of footsteps came in, heading towards the note that sat on the ground and was highlighted by the beam of sun through the stained window. With a heavy heart, the person reached down and picked it up, reading the note outloud for the final member of the trio made long ago.
"Dear Kugisaki and Todo,
I write this to you both as my final words and instructions following my sacrifice here in this room (if it works, of course). I know I have said my goodbyes, and I shed my final tears with you both, but my dying wish is for you to do what was done with Sukuna's: Seal my fingers away and put them across Japan. This is necessary for what I desire to do once I come back to circulation. The cursed energy will be stable for a while, but as time persists, it will become unstable, and I have no doubt that cursed spirits will flock towards them, desperate for power. Make sure they aren't able to. Hell, put barriers around the places you choose to put them in so they can't. As for my final words on paper, I'd like to wish you both well. I know it's pretty shallow, but we can agree I'm not the wisest in most cases.
Kugisaki. Please try to keep the memory of Fushiguro and me alive, as well as everyone else from Jujutsu Tech, for as long as you can. The memory of the generation that defeated the King of Curses shouldn't fizzle out ever, and let the Okkotsus know of their grandparents' past and the friends that fought alongside them.
Todo. Don't dwell without me. There are plenty of other people out there. You just need to find the right one who will love you like a brother unconditionally as I have for 68 years I had to cherish with you. I wouldn't want to hear your applause stop, for I can't hear your soul if you do.
Farewell, and may the stars shine bright.
-Itadori Yuuji."
The message was met with the tears of grief, and two people who made up Itadori Yuuji's life in this day and age mourned in the place they used to call home six decades ago. The Strongest had left again, and this time, it was uncertain if anyone could live up to the standard of it.
The cursed objects of the sorcerer Itadori Yuuji, dubbed The King of Black Sparks, had been distributed throughout the country of Japan in the following year, in 2087. Two sorcerers who were familiar with Itadori Yuuji, Nobara Kugisaki and Aoi Todo, had spread them to various shrines across the Island with the permission of the Jujutsu Society and shrines that were willing for divine protection. By mid-August, all ten fingers had been properly spread out and given protection from civilians and curses.
For the remainder of her life, Nobara Kugisaki had been in cooperation with the Okkotsu clan, sharing the tales of sorcerers who made up both schools for Jujutsu. Both Tsurugi and Yuuka, who were the grandkids of Yuuta, had learned about what their grandparents did during their time and the people they knew, including Yuuji himself and his accomplishments as Sukuna's successor. She eventually wrote a scroll containing her life and the people she knew for her story to be solidified. She died a peaceful death in 2091, being buried in the same cemetery as Megumi Fushiguro and leaving her fortune to the Okkotsu Clan, entrusting they wiil make good of it.
As for Aoi Todo, he kept Itadori's words to his heart and found comfort in sharing with the younger generation of sorcerers, allowing them to share more comfortably than their average, strict schedules of what the Jujutsu Society had laid out for the modern generation. Todo had known his life was close to concluding, but being able to show the future that they didn't need to be all strict business. Even asking his simple yet iconic question allowed for sorcerers to have a conversation rather than a discussion. Aoi Todo took his final breath on his deathbed in 2094, just three years after Kugisaki had gone on. His vibraslap went into the grave with him, the wood engraved with his and Itadori's name.
Not much was heard of Ui Ui after Itadori had willingly given his life up, but through the perspective of his grandkids, Ui Ui had lived a normal life and gave his best to his grandchildren, and that was that.
Tsurugi and Yuuka lived their lives to the fullest, exorcising curses before they're able to cause pain to others and enjoying each other's company. They had also found their father living in solitude in the northern mountains, and they scolded him for leaving them before they sat down to talk about it. After a thought-out discussion, they made amends, and Iori promised to come back and be the father he failed to be. Aside from that, Yuuka and Tsurugi continued to enjoy life and have moments that anyone else would. On occasion, they would stop by the burial places of the deceased sorcerers of the past and give their respect, as well as occasionally check on the state of Itadori's fingers throughout Japan. They had done this until they died in 2164, being buried right next to each other in a secluded spot, pointing to the ocean and the sun shining down upon them in its warm glow.
For decades on, the world seemed to live in peace and in coexistence of sorcerers and non-sorcerers alike.
Until one day, when a sorcerer committed a massacre in the White House of the United States. The current president at the time had suffered an unfortunate death, and the sorcerer was quickly killed by the CIA and Secret Service personnel.
That event led to another, and that one to another. A cycle began, and before everyone knew it, the world fell into despair and chaos, war ravaging the globe as non-sorcerers and sorcerers fought against each other. The Simurians were forced to either join the sorcerers' side, who were their close imitation brothers, or the non-sorcerers, who were far weaker. Cities burned to the ground. Beautiful meadows turned into demilitarized zones. Peace treaties shattered faster than a projection sorcery user's technique. The world was aflame.
Then, the bombs dropped.
People were incinerated.
Metropolises were reduced to ash.
And curses were left in the wake of the destruction.
Everyone was affected in one way or another.
The planet no longer saw the sun that shone from above, as clouds from hydrogen bombs blocked the generator of life, and human extinction was imminent.
The reason why humanity didn't die out was for the same reason that started their extinction: Sorcerers. Scant but efficient, they saved humanity thousands of years of re-evolution, and the technological date had been set back to approximately the 1980s in 2982.
However, formal leadership changed. Sorcerers were now the ones in charge and the bureaucrats who ran the globe, giving the supernatural individuals a chance to live a life in total acceptance. Nations were reformed under fair justice for all, or so they claimed. In reality, non-sorcerers had been swept under the rug, and anyone with a cursed technique was given special treatment. Simurians were roped in with sorcerers as well, so they were given the same treatment. Japan, or what was now Nanokawa, was the most respected of all, hailing that ever sorcerer in history had originated from Old Japan. Mass cities such as New Tokyo and Odai were some of the most grand and flourishing economic centers in the world...but what sat under were the slums of non-sorcerers, people barely getting by as they worked for cursed users, making just enough to stay alive, but not live. Some towns did treat non-sorcerers equally, but it was few.
One boy in particular in 3018 was subjected to this harsh reality in a town just 68 kilometers from New Tokyo. A boy who wasn't particularly special in any way except for the fact that he was ignorant and a deliquent that caused issues for the local law enforcement. Every time he did something that was disruptive, he would get apprehended, sit in jail until his mother got him, and get scolded on the way home. It was bothersome, but he didn't care. He just hated how he wasn't special; how he was made fun of because he was a 'non-soc.' It pissed him off, so he made it his declaration to be anything but a basic non-soc, even if that meant acting out as he did.
On occasion, the towns throughout Nanokawa were subjected to cursed spirit attacks due to suffering slums that emitted negative emotions to create them, and sorcerers would be called in to defend and also earn a chance of getting enrolled into a school that specialized in honing the selected sorcerer's abilities. However, seven distinctive towns, as well as New Tokyo and Odai, were under protection from cursed objects that were found in the Old World, protected by nature and by government laws preventing tampering with said cursed objects as they sat in dedicated shrines. The boy's town wasn't one of them, unfortunately. He just wasn't lucky enough to be born into one. However, curses haven't attacked the town since its establishment, and no one has found the reason why that was. The boy didn't care, though. As long as those pesky spirits backed off, he was fine with it. Not like he could see them anyway, so what did it matter?
However, that would all change one day when a vandalism attempt went wrong, and the boy would find himself in a place untouched for nearly a thousand years that held the reason for his town's untouchable status...and the memory of a boy he knew long ago in a different body.
"Honey! Wake up! It's 8:30, and you're still in bed! You have school, damn it!"
The boy blinked awake, the sun shining through his blinds as he rubbed his face and pushed himself up from his bed. His covers slipped from his shoulders, revealing his rather toned muscles for a 15-year-old boy, as he had no undergarments covering his chest when he slept soundly. He blinked again, staring at his closet, which sat in front of him directly before basically sliding out of bed. Rising to his feet and walking with a slow gait to his mirror, the boy rubbed his eyes as he looked at his reflection, slowly waking despite having been out for nearly 13 hours.
The first thing he looked at was his hair, which was an odd salmon pink but surprisingly natural. His friends called BS on it when he told them, which who wouldn't? No one had pink hair as he did, and some swore he was secretly rich since hair dye was only for wealthy people. The only person who somewhat believed him was the quiet kid who tagged along with him, and his hair was as white as snow, a definite marker of wealth even if the brat, as the boy liked to refer to him at times, denied it.
Next were his gauges, a gift his mother gave him after he had stretched the lobe through getting piercings at a young age. He thought it would look cool to have the single-flare ones he saw on an advertisement, and he finally got them on his 13th birthday once he had done the necessary time to properly stretch them out. Even now, as he currently hated the world for waking him from his slumber, he thought they looked awesome.
Then there were the small slits under his eyes. Those were an odd birth defect he had when his mom brought him into the world, and neither his mom nor the doctors could explain why. It wasn't dangerous, though, just a bone dip that caused the skin to seem like there was a second pair of eyes under his regular eyes. In other words, it looked hella awesome.
"Are you up yet!? Come on, get a move on, honey!"
The boy groaned, yelling back to his mother in response as he waddled to the closet.
"I'm up, Mom! Give me a sec, I'm getting dressed!"
The boy opened his closet, revealing the clothes he wore regularly, with the school button-up and slacks sitting untouched. He hated the standard uniform, so he put it in his closet and forgot about it. The only thing he wore of it was the gakuran, since it looked decent with some of his hoodies. Today, he put on his red hoodie, his favorite of the few, and threw the gakuran over as he quickly searched for his cargo pants that somewhat resembled old techwear he had heard of in history class (when he bothered to show up for it at least). Finally, he put a pair of old, red sneakers on that he had found while going through a lost and found box. Two bags were sitting by the door. One had his school stuff, which was a bunch of old homework he never touched, and library books overdue by months. The other was the one he usually took, which had a bunch of spray paint and other things he used to tag old structures of the past. It was fun to do and ten times better than school, but it's also what got him in trouble. Thankfully, neither his mom nor the police knows that he has this bag. He keeps it hidden when he does his dirty work, so it's never been a topic of discussion.
With a sleight of hand, the boy yanked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder, opening the door to his room and stepping out into the kitchen as his mom, who was busy at the stove cooking up something that smelled of eggs for her breakfast, turned and looked at him in disappointment.
"It's about time. You need to set your alarm; I'm not the one who should be waking you every morning."
"Sorry, Mom. I just forgot; it's an honest mistake."
"That's what you told me when you somehow clogged the toilet with an entire roll of toilet paper. You need to get better with your excuses, young man, or just stop lying altogether and get your life straight."
"Tell me that in three years. I'm still enjoying the childhood I have in front of me."
"You're impossible sometimes...here, you're already late for school."
The boy perked up as his mom took a piece of toast and tossed it at him, which he caught with ease and took a bite as he headed into the living room and for the door.
"Thanks mom," he said with a mouth full, "I'll be leaving now."
"Wait."
The boy stopped just before he turned the knob to the door, looking back at his mom, who was holding the spatula she was stirring the eggs with. She sighed and gave him a soft smile, a contrast to her parental approach from a second ago.
"...Have a good day at school, Sachi. Make your mama proud."
The boy, Sachi, almost rolled his eyes at his mother's words but nodded.
"I will, Mom. See ya."
Opening the door to the world that lay beyond him, Sachi held a hand up to say bye to his mom. He shut the door behind him, toast in mouth as he breathed in through his nose, smelling the calm air of the sunny, mid-summer morning. Today was peaceful. No rainy or cruddy weather. No cold chill or harsh wind to blow him around. Today felt like a good day, and a great day to tag some abandoned structures in the eastern part of the valley. He took a step off the porch of his home when-
"Morning, Sukuna! How'd the resident loser sleep?"
Of course, the good day could not last long. It was by his luck that the kid next door was an unofficial sorcerer whose parents thought it was a great idea to live in the less rich neighborhood. Sachi took the toast from his mouth as he turned towards the kid, who was walking down the road, having just left his home, and gave him his usual stupid, smug smirk. God, it was irritating.
"Shut up, dimwit! My name's not Sukuna; get that shit through your thick skull that my name is Sachi! S A C H I!"
"Oh dear me! I shudder under the correction of the great Sukuna...or Sachi if that makes you feel better."
Sachi gritted his teeth, eager to swing at this asshole, but he took a breath before he acted out. He was not trying to screw this day up right now.
"...consider yourself lucky I'm in a good mood right now, or damn it, I would've pummeled your ass right in front of my house shamelessly."
"Really? You? A normie against someone like me who can reset your heart with the zap of my finger? I'd like to see you try one day, non-soc."
Okay, now he was really pushing it.
"Just get the hell out of here!"
The neighbor just laughed away into the sunset as Sachi angrily walked in the opposite direction from him, heading towards the east so he could begin his tagging session of the day. Rolling his sleeves up due to the slowly rising heat, Sachi continued to eat his toast until it was gone as he walked off his irritation. He was almost calmed down until he rounded the corner and bumped into someone by accident. That someone happened to be the quiet, white-haired brat. The brat hit the asphalt hard, but not too hard to hurt him.
"Ow, who the...oh, morning, Sachi. Didn't see you there."
Sachi just sighed, looking the other direction with a faux nonchalance.
"Same to you, I guess...you alright, brat?"
"Yeah, I'm cool...why do you call me brat?"
"'Cause it's your nickname. Duh."
"I get that part, but have you bothered to ask what my real name is?"
Sachi shrugged as he offered a hand, which the boy took and pulled himself up with as he got to his feet.
"Nah, not really. I'm not good with names."
"...I don't see how Ura is hard to memorize."
"Don't tell...wait, you're actually right. I can memorize Ura pretty easily...wait, isn't that a girl's name?"
"You don't have to mention it."
"Nah, there's nothing wrong with it...just unique for me."
Ura blinked at Sachi, looking at him for a second before smiling and hitting his arm lightly.
"I'm glad you're my friend."
"When did you decide that?"
"Since the day you helped me. C'mon, if you weren't my friend, you would've just ignored me and blow me by."
"...I guess?"
Sachi started walking in the direction he was going again before Ura called out to him as if he was thinking of something and needed to say it before Sachi got too far.
"Wait! Can I...come with?"
Sachi's eyebrows almost flew off his face as he turned to Ura, who was scratching his head innocently as he looked cheekily at Sachi, waiting for whatever his delinquent friend would say about his proposition. Sachi, however, couldn't believe his ears.
Ura was the type to get straight As and be a model student in the school they went to. The fact that he was offering to ditch classes and hang out with Sachi instead was mindblowing...and exciting. A smile grew on his face as he imagined what secrets that Mr. Academic was hiding
"...Y'know what, hell yeah. I didn't take you on to skip class."
"Well, my mom's going to kill me when she finds out, but honestly, I'm just looking for something exciting to do instead of boring old school. I mean, seriously. How is a Grade Point Average going to determine what lies beyond my life, except for the lack of true understanding of concepts and-"
"Speak something I can understand. You're blabbing off again."
"Right, sorry...let's just go."
"Better."
And so, Sachi had a friend who wanted to tag along with him now to do what Sachi did almost daily, and deep in his heart, he knew this day was going to be very different from the ones when he got caught by cops.
He just didn't know how much different it would be.
"Are you sure this is safe?"
Sachi, who was now tagging the top of a column of an old highway from before the Great Sorcerer War from a cliff edge, turned to Ura, who was holding a can of white spray paint and looking concerned as Sachi's tied gakuran hung around his waist.
"Yeah? I've done this a crap amount of times; It's safe as long as you trust yourself...and your body can manage the stress. You're a little short, so I don't recommend reaching like I am."
"That sounds good to me...so, what are you making?"
Sachi was back to spraying light puffs of reddish-pink spray paint, using a shape to cleanly paint the area as he spoke without looking at Ura.
"I was going to make this mythical monster with four arms and a mouth on his stomach, as well as four pairs of eyes and these sick-ass tattoos. It's supposed to be something like the ancient Japan thingy we learned in Ancient History, except he's this all-powerful god that everyone respects out of fear. It's pretty dope."
"Never took you one that cared about history."
Sachi scoffed, his eyes rolling out of sight from Ura's view.
"Puh-lease. I only care about the cool stuff, like the Samurai and the old automobiles they had back in the day, as well as the graphic novel thingies. You can't lie; Chainsaw Man is a classic."
"That series is over a thousand years old; you haven't read it, twerp."
Sachi paused, thinking of a way to excuse his dumb comment, since what Ura was saying was true. In fact, Sachi hadn't even fully picked up a book and read it. They were just too boring to him and were not fun to try to force an imagination, so he stuck to doing what he did best, which was tag places and let the art do the entertainment.
"Uh, well, the pictures in our textbook seemed cool! That chainsaw head panel was freaking sick, and that's why I think it's a classic, alright."
"That sketch was made in 2022, the same year as the publication of the series."
"So? I got that part already. Besides, what I really think is cool is that shikigami we learned about with that wheel above his head.
"You mean the Divine General Mahoraga?"
"...Thats its name?"
"Duh! Haven't you been paying- actually, don't answer that."
"Ha! The answer is no, and you knew it from the start!"
Sachi's finger pointed at Ura as he let out obnoxious and fake laughs, exaggeratedly clutching his chest as Ura deadpanned at Sachi. Sachi had to admit that this was super fun. He really should consider bringing Ura on the weekend when they could hang out without consequence, since he had learned about Ura's parents and how they were really on top of Ura to be a goody two-shoes. He'd laugh when he heard it, and actually laugh too.
However, as Sachi continued his antics, he had failed to notice that the ledge he stood on was cracking from the increased weight, and Sachi was completely oblivious when the shelf suddenly, and violently, shifted downwards with a loud creak, immediately putting both boys on alert as Sachi's laughs died out instantly. For a second, no one moved or made a peep in fear that the ledge would give way. The only sound that was heard was the sound of birds chirping and the trees swaying in the light breeze. The moment stretched on longer until Sachi chuckled and put his hands on his hips.
"Look at that. It didn't fall-"
CRACK!
Before Sachi could say more, the ledge suddenly gave way, and Sachi found himself falling as Ura rushed to the edge and shouted his name out.
"Sachi!"
Sachi could only fall in shock as his arms waved in the air, attempting to stabilize the falling boy as he approached the ground, or what he thought was the ground below. A mass of tree branches obscured the boy's view, and he was unsure if the ground was meters away or 200. His mind began to panic as he involuntarily raced for the ground, approaching with increasing speed as he mentally braced for impact as his back hit the section of branches.
But he kept falling, and the branches only slowed his fall as Sachi suddenly crashed into a wooden structure and slammed into the hard floor below with an 'oomph!' His body ached for a moment as he heard his name yelled out by a severely worried Ura, shouting from the ledge the boy had fallen hard from as his hand drifted to his face.
"Sachi! Are you okay! Say something!"
"I'm fine...just give me a sec..."
Sachi lay on his back for a moment, catching his breath as he silently thanked his resilient body for taking the fall and not killing him. If there was truly anything special about Sachi, it was that he could take a heavy beating and still fight with a hole in his chest. He was forever thankful for that gift.
But now he needed to figure out how to get back up, and if there was one thing Sachi was terrible at, it was proper problem-solving.
Groaning in irritation, Sachi sat up and took a look around in a daze, trying to understand where the hell he had just fallen into.
It was completely rotted away and weathered from god knows how many years of rain and snow, but he could tell it used to be a room of sorts. One that might've been a bedroom long ago, possibly before the Great Sorcerer War...no way.
"Hey, Ura! You gotta come down here and check this out! Look how old this place is!"
"For real!? Hold on, let me try to find a way down!"
Sachi rose to his feet, dusting himself off as he continued to chuckle at how cool this was. Sure, his back stung a little bit, but man, did this accidental discovery make up for it. His eyes slowly adjusted to the difference in light, since the only light that was being emitted was the sun that shone through the branches above. The room was bare bones, the only things that made up the space being what seemed to be a bed and a closet, half rotted away. A window sat in the far edge of the room, stained with god knows what and not letting even an ounce of light in.
However, something else had caught his attention. The wall to his right was just as deteriorated as the rest of the room, but a hole in the wall revealed another room that seemed to be brighter and lured Sachi's wonder into it. The hole was far too narrow to look inside to see the contents, so he would have to manually find the room. Turning to see if there was an exit, Sachi sighed in relief when he saw the exit ajar, the remnants of the door folding from the weakened structure, but allowing exit without problem. Putting his hands into his pockets, he went towards the door, taking a step onto the wood...which then gave way, and Sachi's foot went through the floor. Hands shooting from his pockets, Sachi kept his balance to prevent himself from tripping, which thankfully worked as he took a moment to calm his heart rate, which had shot up from the floor breaking. He pressed his hands onto the floor, taking his foot out as he felt around for weak spots. After being certain it was good to go, Sachi, carefully this time, maneuvered to the door and slid through.
Sachi then found himself in a hallway, just as rotted as the rest of the building he was in, as it stretched two ways. One way was blocked off by shrubbery that had decided to grow through the ground, but the other way, which seemed to lead to the room with the light, was awfully clean and similar to the room he had found himself in. In fact, the small area just right in front of the second door seemed to be more colorful, almost like the floor was less decomposed. Thinking none of it, he took careful steps until he was right in front of the door. A rusted metallic knob was present, and as Sachi grabbed it to test its sturdiness, he turned the knob slowly, turning it until the rusted bolt clicked, and he pushed it open. Almost immediately, he was showered with sunlight as it came down from above, the roof overhead broken away completely as a tree with pink petals turned the light it's soft hue. Those same pedals, when a breeze came, floated down onto the floor and decorated it in their beauty. The window in the back was also partially shattered and dirtied like the other, but the sun still came through, defying nature's attempt to hide the sun away in its own benefit. A soft hum could be felt through the room as Sachi felt the warm light make contact with his skin... However, that wasn't the reason why Sachi had stopped dead in his tracks and looked in shock at what sat in the middle of the floor.
...Is...that a body?
Directly in front of Sachi, in the middle of the floor, was indeed what seemed to be a mummified body. No garments decorated the mummy, except for a dirty cloth that covered its crotch area. The mummy was sitting formally, and sincerely, its hands on its lap as it sat stiffly on the back of its heels. The head was pointed downward, staring at the ground just before its knees. Another thing that came as a shock was a patch of the ground surrounding the body, which was sprouting grass and small red flowers that grew in abundance around. The pedals of those flowers grew with a sort of glow that was mesmerizing to Sachi, and he found himself inching towards the body, shutting the door softly behind him as his gaze averted to a small, rectangular box that sat neatly between the body's knees. On it was a parchment of paper, the writing on it unrecognizable to Sachi the closer he got. Just before the small circle of life that surrounded the body, Sachi slowly sank to his knees and sat what would've been eye level with the mummified corpse. An odd aroma filled his nostrils as he sat for a moment longer, but it didn't smell like what Sachi thought a dead body would smell like.
...it smells sweet...almost pleasant...what happened here?
Sachi looked at the rectangular box again, his curiosity leaning towards the possible contents within it. Sachi made a quick choice, and his hand reached out carefully and nudged it. It was loose, so he could grab it without disturbing the corpse.
"...Sorry about this..."
Sachi then yanked the box away, testing for something to lash out for him grabbing a sacred object (if there was one inside), but when nothing happened, he sighed in relief. It wasn't a death trap, so this meant to be found by someone eventually, which happened to be him.
Now, what's so special inside this thing to be kept in a place like this and guarded by a mummy?
With his curiosity growing again, Sachi felt around the box for an opening, which happened to be a sliding mechanism that was convenient. He slid the box open, taking a peek inside. The contents, from what Sachi saw, were a sort of longer object wrapped in paper seals, the writing the same as the one on the box: Unrecognizable and untranslatable.
That's weird. It's like I'm unwrapping a present or something like that.
Sachi turned the box upside down, shaking it until the object fell into his hand. From the moment it touched his palm, he felt a weird tingle go through his body, and his hairs stand up, reacting to whatever he had just put into his hand. Sachi shuddered lightly, but he didn't feel in danger. If anything, he felt comforted, like the object that was wrapped around had some sort of incantation. This only furthered his curiosity, and he set the box down to start unwrapping the object in his hand. The paper was a pain to peel off at first, but once he got a grip and started unwrapping it, it came off easily. Soon enough, the final amount of the paper was wraveled off, and Sachi could finally see what it was...right before he scrunched his eyes in confusion.
...Am I seriously holding a severed finger? What the hell...
Sachi then looked back at the hands of the mummy, hoping it wasn't what was being inferred. To his luck, it was, and the corpse was missing all of its fingers. Sachi groaned in irritation, hiding the true feeling of what he felt from the fact that he was holding a dismembered digit in his hand. He looked back at the finger, its deep red hue accented with pink. Oddly enough, however, two pink flowers were at the base of the severance, an impossible feat considering it hadn't seen the sun, possibly in centuries. Sachi brought the finger to eye level, holding it by the base while staying considerate of the life that grew. He sniffed again, seeing if it emitted a scent like the dummy.
...Whoa. It smells like a dessert! Wait...is this seriously food? It's a fake finger, isn't it? All of this and for what? So I can chow down on some ancient sweet...eh, might as well since I came all this way by accident. I'm hungry anyway.
Sachi just laughed as he, as disgusting as it was previously, tossed the finger into his mouth and swallowed it without a second thought. Just as he thought, the taste was sweet as sugar, and he shook his head as he stood up. He then bowed playfully to the corpse, his hands at his side as he smiled at it.
"Thank you, oh kind one. I appreciate the snack that your divinity has offered to a mortal like me-"
Then, his body shuddered. It wasn't a shudder as if he was cold.
It was a shudder that he couldn't identify. Sachi stood back up, now in a daze, as the light around him seemed to intensify. His heart began to race again, and sweat beaded at his head as he stumbled back a bit, his back hitting the wall behind him as his respiration quickened.
"W-what the hell? What's happening to...me..."
Then, Sachi fainted. He fell against the wall and slid down as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and everything went black as he slumped unconsciously.
Sachi woke to the sound of a stream running with water. From above, the sky glowed orange as if there were a sunset present on the horizon. A breeze blew overhead, the trees nearby swaying with the wind as cicadas chirped in the distance. He blinked once, then again. His hand drifted to his chest, patting himself down to make sure he was wherever he was.
...Where am I? Wasn't I just in some old building?
"(Oh...you're awake. That's good.)"
Sachi nearly shot up in distress, caught off guard by the sudden voice as his breath quickened again. His hands stayed planted in the grass of wherever he was, and his head swung around, trying to find the source of the voice that had spoken to him.
His eyes then landed on a figure sitting on a rock next to the stream that ran to his left. The panic that Sachi felt suddenly fell away the longer he looked at the particular figure. The figure wore what seemed to be a white rain jacket that glowed orange with the setting sun, and their pants matched the material of their jacket; the only difference was the color being grey rather than completely white.
But Sachi was more focused on the figure's shoes.
They were the same as his were. Not a detail was off from his to theirs.
And his hair was also the same pink as well, the only difference was the back and sideburns being black instead.
The figure then stood up from the rock they sat on, standing to their full height as they towered over Sachi as they approached him. They stopped just short of the boy, though, and sank to a crouch as Sachiro could get a full look at the man's face. Two scars had decorated the man, one being just on his lip to the left, and the other a diagonal cut next to his right eye. His right ear, or a portion of it, was severed clean by something long ago. The man, however, wore a soft smile, contrasting the rugged look of the scars, and his gaze was as calm and protective as it could be.
"(It's nice to meet you.)"
Sachi blinked; the words of the man were incomprehensible as he spoke a dialect unknown to him, and confusion crossed his face.
"...I'm sorry? I can't understand you."
The man's smile slipped lightly, his own confusion crossing his face before laughing to himself and, surprisingly, talking back to Sachi in his language.
"My apologies. I assumed you knew my dialect...appears not so. I said it's nice to meet you."
"Oh...it's nice to meet you too..."
The man stood back up again, but not before reaching his hand out to Sachi. Sachi sat for a moment, looking at the hand before taking it and hoisting himself up.
"Thanks, uh...I don't think I caught your name."
"I haven't told you yet, so that's to be expected."
The man then shook Sachi's hand suddenly, greeting himself in the process.
"I'm Yuuji. Itadori Yuuji."